Bird’s Nest- The Royal Delicacy

Over a thousand years ago, the bird’s nest was a delicacy for royal families of Vietnamese Dynasties. During the Dynasty time, sailors often went to some islands(a few months a year) to harvest bird nests for royal families. In order to get bird nests, seamen had to sail to some islands near land. The bird nests often sit on high rocks or on the caves in the islands. It was so dangerous, many seamen died on the job. Now royal families were gone, but the bird nests are still considered a delicacy for everybody.

Swiftlet is a kind of bird that use its saliva to construct bird nests. The swiftlet often lives on lands near the sea or islands. The Swiftlet bird’s nest is edible. After harvesting the bird nests, workers have to use tweezers to remove any dust, sand, etc, from the nests. The removal processing must be meticulous. Otherwise, the products will be categorized as low-grade or cheap price.

Why did the royal families(Vietnam, China, Korea, and Japan) prefer this delicacy?

The ancient people believed that this delicacy helps to boost the immune systems to combat many illnesses or diseases. This delicacy was believed to slow aging and help men to make more children.

What do modern sciences say about “ancient beliefs”?

Even though, data is scarce. Daily consumption of bird nests can increase bone strength. According to some research, some ingredients in bird nests can alleviate some brain diseases such as Alzheimer, Parkinson, and cognitive impairment. Based on my knowledge, some scientific findings are preliminary findings. No health departments of any government approve bird nests as medicine for treating any diseases. People should use bird nests as supplements, not medicine.

Nowadays, traditional bird nest harvesting can’t work because many governments of Asian countries protect wildlife. In addition, the cost to produce traditional bird nests is so high while the cost of farming the bird nest is cheaper and the quality can be the same. My childhood neighbor’s friend. After he observed and learned how the bird nest is formed. He has built many concrete houses near the sea to let swiftlet construct the nests.

Whenever you visit Saigon, please take time to visit my friend’s bird nest shop located just 10 Km from Saigon center. His bird nest business covers all over Vietnam and Vietnamese communities overseas(USA, Canada, Australia, etc). Anyone who wants to become a distributor for his products inside and outside Vietnam, please contact the information above.