My Sweet 'n' Sour experiences of Malaysia

Having been brought up in a house where a meal was never complete without a fruit to top it off, even if as a post-dessert dessert, I believed nothing could surprise me in that arena. Malaysia broke my pride on that.

As I was biting today into my luscious Kundang, a thought struck me about telling the rest of the world some of the flavours they are missing. So here goes...

1. Succulent Fruits: come to think of it, Longans, Dokongs, Mangosteens, Rambutans... This place is pretty rich in Succulent fruits: close relatives of Litchi, that being the closest I have eaten to these fruits in India
   


• Rambutan: This funny-looking fruit is a very close relative of Litchi. What pulled me to the fruitcart was the interesting hairy skin. I later learnt that Rambut in Malay means "Hair". The trick really is to start taking the fruit off from the "Stick end", else you may wind up with an irritable slice of the stone. By now, I have had a wide variety of Rambutans: from a mall, from the green-market, from the trees... Red ones, yellow ones, white ones... All shapes, colors and sizes. I Love them each time
  
• Mangosteen: This is another close relative of Litchi. The peel leaves purple stains, so most hotels ban it. However, I was able to sneak in a few during the very initial days of my rendezvous with Kuala Lumpur. I love the fleshy fruit. However, it is getting to that fruit which makes it a bit of a labour. Besides, I have not yet been able to find a good lot after my first potluck. It is really difficult to choose a good mangosteen. (I am open to tips on how to do this)
  
• Tampoi: Is a very close relative of Mangosteen, only that the peel is yellow in color. Tastes only slightly different from a Mangosteen
  
• Dokong: Nothing Grand: just another relative of Longan. What is interesting about this fruit is, that you keep guessing with every slice of the juicy morsel whether you are going to bite into 100% fruit or 90% seed. the seeds pattern of this fruit is probably the most unusual and predictable I have ever experienced in a fruit
  
• Longan
• Kundang: aah, now this was probably one of the pleasantest surprises so far. I bought it thinking it was just a malay name for Louquat. However, when I bit into it and experienced the very Mango-ee taste, I was a lot surprised. Later I learnt it is also called "mini-Mango". Only, having had the mangoes here (which I stopped buying now: I definitey prefer the Indian mangoes), Kundang is turing out to be a much tastier alternative to Mangoes. Too bad they are available for such a short season
  



2. Brothers and sisters of Jackfruit


• Durian: "Tastes like heaven, smells like hell" the way the guy in the office described it, was what made me go all out searching for Durians in Malaysia. And trust me I did not have to go very far: Malaysians like to carry the Durian on their sleeves, nothing short of a national emblem. I can run you to ten dollars if you are in Malaysia for 1 week in Durian Season, and not one malaysia asks you "Have you had a Durian yet?". My first experience with the Durian was, as it is with most people, confusing. This is how I described it to someone who asked me whether I had liked it: "I either loved it or I hated it. I am still trying to decide". Eventually I did end up loving it :-) Luckily for me, so did Rounnaq. Now between the two of us, the father-daughter duo can finish off an entire Durian in one go. The heatiness of the Durian later is another problem to tackle: mangosteens come in handy
  
• Durian Belanda (SourSop): Really not worth the labour, or maybe I picked up a wrong piece: a hypermarket, I have come to learn, is not exactly the ideal place to shop for exotic stuff. I prefer the Durian belanda Juice where somebody has already done all the peeling in advance. As the label of my favoured brand says "Any fresher and you would peel it yourself"
  


3. Other Wierdos


• Kendondong: nothing grand. I was introduced to the flavour through fresh kendondong juice. I like it now just because I like the poetry in the name: sounds like a Symbal: Kennn-donnn-donggggg...... Worth at least one experience, though. now I like to add it once in a while to my cooking as a "souring"condiment
  
• Salak: My wife hates the taste. In fact, it tastes a bit like Durian. I love it, I am not sure whether that is because my wife hates it, or is it a genuine liking ;-) One of my indonesian colleagues told me it causes constipation, and is an excellent remedy for diarrhoea. no wonder I was so stuck up after eating it ;-)
  
• Dragon fruit: I didn't know for quite some time that there was also a Yellow Dragon fruit: I was only familiar with the Red and White ones. Now, having tasted all three of them (you dont find yellow ones in a mall), the red ones are a staple part of my fruit diet now. keep the toilet stain cleaner handy, though, for the next morning...
  


4. Nothing to write home about: And then there are the "Also-rans": tropical fruits I ate here, but either did not find them so great, or have tasted before
   


• Elephant Apple: This one was funny. I struggled with the tough fruit, and managed to chew some of the outer part, threw away the core, just like any other apple. Only to learn a couple of days later that the part I threw away was the part I was supposed to eat!! Did not find another piece to buy :-(
  
• Sky Fruit: the first time I experienced it, someone sold me Sky Fruit Capsules for a princely sum. I tasted the fruit later. It may be a Magic remedy, I prefer treatment by nicotine
  
• Jamrul: I was suprised to see how much the Googlers confuse Jamrul with Jamun. Don't trust me? Click Here. I was not very impressed by the taste of the Malay Jambul, though. I personally prefer the Indian "Jambul" (Mostly white, found in West Bengal and the North-East)
  
• StarFruit: um hmmm...
  
• Malay Gooseberry: this one was tasty, though I got to pick only one bite. Cant write about it, not because I didn't like it, but because I haven't had enough yet to write about it. Much sweeter than it's Indian cousin, definitely