FRUITS

Durian

Durian is often called the "king of fruits" by those who love it. For instance, it has a smell that can be "over-powering" to those newly introduced to it. It has a thorny appearance and could hurt if you allowed it to fall on your feet! It is even quite difficult getting at the fruit inside. Good durians have pulp that is neither watery nor hard to touch. It is kind of the in-between that is considered most delicious.

 Star Fruit

Another local fruit that is highly recommended is the starfruit, or sometimes called the "belimbing". It has a greenish to yellowish color, appears translucent, and has a star-like shape with refreshing taste.

 Mangosteen

The mangosteen is considered to be a choice tropical fruit and like the durian, native to Malaysia. While the durian is seen as " heaty" for the body, the mangosteen is "cooling". Shaped like round berries, the size of tennis balls, it has a thick fibrous outer layer that is usually maroon in color. It is easy to open by merely pressing between the palms.

To eat the mangosteen, you open the shell. Inside there are 4 to 8 triangular segments of white flesh. Inside the flesh there are seeds though sometimes the mangosteen is seedless. The flesh is slightly acid and mild to distinctly acid in flavor and is acclaimed as exquisitely luscious and delicious.

Pineapple

The pineapple is known as nanas locally. There are two pineapple commercial varieties in the country. For canning, they are known as "nanas merah" (red pineapple) or "nanas hijau" (green pineapple). For eating raw, the nanas Sarawak (Sarawak pineapple) and nanas Moris (Moris pineapple) is used. The nanas Sarawak is usually minimum in size with pale yellow flesh. The nanas Moris is usually smaller with a bright yellow flesh.

 Rambutan

The rambutan season takes place twice a year. The egg-shaped fruit has a reddish-yellowish color, or a combination of colors, as its outer skin. The skin and seed are discarded, but the flesh is usually white, sweet, and juicy.

Papaya

The papaya, commonly know as pawpaw, is a fruit with its origins in South America. But it has grown well in this region and is considered almost native. This fruit is noted for its flavor and the flesh is usually orange to reddish in color. The fruit can be eaten fresh or chilled. Just add a squeeze of lime or lemon for added taste.

 Banana

Asia has plenty of different types of bananas available. They grow on trees which can grow up to 15 meter. The leafs of the banana plant are 4 by 1 meter sized. Not for nothing those leaves are used for many other things. Before plastic came in the world, everything was packed in banana leaf. Even now, the popular nasi lemak is still packed in banana leaf. And in some Indian shops you can still get your meal on a banana leaf.

There 5 different types of bananas available. Most common here in Malaysia are the apple bananas and baby bananas. Other types are: red banana, fruit banana and baking banana. Bananas are a good source of fiber, potassium and vitamin C.

Cempedak or champedak