FEELING FRUITY?

THEN YOU'RE IN LUCK, as this is definitely your time! Although one of the joys of living in the tropics is the year-round local fruits, it's this time of year that they are even more plentiful.





Our sidewalks abound with colourful and abundant local produce, making for a joyful and eclectic display. Mounds of purple mangosteens beckon, as do combs of beautiful bananas which hang prettily, like yellow satellites. However, when I say local, I mean SE Asian of course, as many of the fruits seem to have come from Thailand!



My favourite stop-off point is Tony's who sells every afternoon at Hillside. He's friendly and funny. The other guy (can't remember his name) who sells from the back of his open van a few doors down has more stuff to offer, but he has rather a bit of an attitude problem (ai mai?) so I prefer to leave it (mai) unless I absolutely have to!


Durians of course are in full season; every where you go, a waft of it assails our sensitive olfactory nerves as soon as we happen to roll down our car windows. It's not a problem for me - although I don't claim to be an aficionado, not even a great fan, I quite like an odd "hoot" or two. I know Mat Sallehs liken it to "eating custard in a public toilet", but it's quite delicious. Actually, I know many Mat Sallehs who love them, including my own husband. So in a way, eating it is sort of self-defense (if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!) kind of thing.

And I definitely prefer the ones you can buy "loose" ie in prepacked lots of RM5 each. Simple, convenient (they really are a bugger to prise open, and very painful too), and not so much that you feel sick after (not to mention the good value - it repeats itself SO often, and for the benefit of all those lucky enough to be near you too). And I know purists will HOWL at me in disdain when I tell you that I prefer not to dirty my hands so they stink for the next day or two so I eat it with a SPOON! (Yes yes I know you're supposed to fill the kernel with water and wash your hands in it etc etc but frankly I think they're old wives' tales but please, prove me wrong!).

However it's the other buah-buahan that I love - the purple bang it (mangosteen) is, to me, the real king of fruits. It's full of Vit C and absolutely moreish - I can sit and indulge in a few kilos at a go. After all, there's nothing to it! As for the bananas and rambutans - it's just fruit heaven.

My passion for WATER LILY MANGOES remains undiminished, despite gorging on it for the past two months (although they're not as good as they used to be, it has to be said). Unfortunately, the season is nearly over, so it's back to the tasteless old faithful, the Chukanan. Still, beggars can't be choosers!