I ate Royal Rat in San José de Succotz Village Belize

Yes, I ate “Royal Rat” in San Jose de Succotz for lunch but so did Queen Elizabeth II, when she visited our beautiful country of Belize back in 1985. Even the Headlines in London read “Queen Eats Rat”.

After we finished with today’s wedding photo shoot at Xunantunich Maya Site, we headed for lunch at a local popular restaurant, Benny’s Kitchen, in the San José de Succotz Village which is right across from the ferry that takes you to Xunantunich, located approximately 6 miles from San Ignacio Town, Cayo. The special of the day was Gibnut with Rice and Beans; how could I say no to that.

Paca, known as Gibnut is a local delicacy in Belize. It is often found in menus of local restaurants and sometimes it is offered as the special of the day.

So if you are wondering why it is called “Royal Rat” in Belize it is because the Paca or Gibnut is scientifically classified as a rodent and when the British media learnt that Queen Elizabeth was fed Gibnut, they headlined their newspapers, “Queen Eats Rat”. Here in Belize everyone took it lightly because we are cool like that and hence the dish was referred to as “Royal Rat”.

So remember to ask for and try our famous “Royal Rat” if you haven’t. It is truly a Belizean delicacy 🙂