Fruits of Malaysia

I felt as if I was scrubbing a baked potato and preparing it for the oven when I was washing this Malaysian fruit, the Ciku – one of nine fruits that I decided to taste this past week and share in today’s post.  After shopping at the new grocery store we discovered, B.I.G. (remember this post), my husband came up with the great and adventurous idea of buying and trying all of the fruits in Malaysia that we had never heard of and should probably experience while we live in Kuala Lumpur.  So here it goes…

1.)  I started off with the smallest of the fruits we bought at the B.I.G. grocery store, the Kundang Buah or Buah Kundang.  Buah is the Malaysian word for fruit and these little fruits are often referred to as the mini mango of Malaysia.  Slicing them open revealed a tiny pink seed that almost perfectly matched my finger nail polish.  The Kundang fruit tasted sweet, but also a little bitter in the end.  It reminded me of a tangerine, but not as juicy and sweet.

2.)  Next up was the Kedondong.  It looks like a baby avocado on the outside, but when you cut it open, it reminded me of a Granny Smith apple…it even smelled that way!  The taste was a bit sour and after I continued to take more bites, it kinda reminded me of celery.

3.)  The third fruit I tried was a Rose Apple.  These are the most light-weight apples I have ever held.  They felt almost hollow, like they were filled with air and tasted sweet, but with a bitter finish.  They were a bit dry…not as juicy as a Red Delicious apple from home.

4.)  When I cut into the fourth fruit on our list, the Ciku, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  As I mentioned above, the outside layer of this fruit reminded me of a US Russet Potato!  Surprisingly, the Ciku, turned out to be my favorite fruit out the nine that I tasted!  It smelled like a pumpkin, but the taste was like candy!  I would compare them to a really fresh pear, like the ones that you get around Christmas time from Harry and David.  The Ciku was amazing!

5.)  My favorite tasting fruit may be the Ciku, but my favorite looking fruit is the Starfruit.  To me, they are just so unique…how amazing that these grow in nature and resemble a perfect little star when cut!  The Starfruit tastes like a bitter apple, kinda like a Granny Smith.  Remember, when you cut them…don’t cut them like this…

Cut them like this to produce perfect little stars.

6.)  The Mangosteen was the sixth fruit that I tried in my taste test.  They have a hard outer shell and when you cut into them, it looks like you have just discovered a head of garlic with perfect little cloves attached.  I pulled a couple out to taste them and was surprised on how sweet and juicy they were.  The texture is definitely something to get used to, but it’s a nice little treat once you get past the outer cover.

7.)  Cutting into this big Soursop was an experience in itself.  I even had to exchange my smaller knife for its bigger mommy!  Unfortunately, I don’t think the Soursop we bought was as ripe as it should have been, but I tried it nonetheless.  It lacked flavor and seemed super sour, but again, it may not have been ripe yet.  I will have to give Soursop another try sometime soon.

8.)  Check out this fruit, it’s the Dragon Fruit!  What beautiful colors and the skin is amazing with its spikes!  Dragon Fruit has definitely become one of my favorites here in Malaysia.  The texture reminds me of a harder watermelon, like cutting a piece of cantaloupe with lots of little seeds.  But unlike watermelon, you can eat all these seeds and they are pretty tasty!

9.)  Last but not least, the Passion Fruit.  Boy, was this baby hard to cut into.  The skin was a bit tough and it took some maneuvering of the knife to open it up without spilling out all of the seeds.  Once you cut it open, it looks just like the insides of a baby pumpkin.  I pulled out the seeds with a spoon and tried them; the consistency is definitely not for everyone.  It’s almost like a gooey, jelly covering protecting the seeds, like a membrane.  But you just spoon it out and go for it!  Surprisingly, it smells and tastes very sweet, although the look isn’t as lovely.

Well, there you have it…the nine Malaysian fruits that I picked up from the grocery store this weekend.  Before today, I stuck with my favorite and more recognizable fruits from home, but I’m so glad I decided to branch out and try these unique Fruits of Malaysia!

What’s your favorite fruit where you live?