Bangkok diners explore insect food

BANGKOK - At a hip Bangkok diner, foodies with an adventurous palate tuck into a bug-based menu that includes watermelon salad sprinkled in bamboo worms, nachos with silkworm cherry tomato salsa and pasta made from ground crickets.

Abundant and stacked with protein, insects have long been a favorite snack among Thai farmers. But they have often carried a negative image, perceived as "food for the poor" in a country with profound class divides.

Now bugs are creeping onto the menu of some of Bangkok's high-end restaurants as the capital's gourmands leap on the latest global food trend with a sustainable agenda.