Friday, May 13, 2011

Life in Malaysia: Fruits Galore

Blessed with fertile and conducive weather, Malaysia is home to many species of tropical fruits. And, with investments in agricultural research over the years, many species have been improved in terms of yield, taste and texture. I love the fact that fruits that in the past could be found only in certain months (seasonal) can now be found almost all the time. Of course, some of the fruits are imported from neighbouring countries. But I'm not complaining. Just look at what we found at Bukit Gantang Rest and Relax area (North-South Highway).

What's with the no animal sign? Mama was upset with this but then we saw so many felines in the area. So, I'm assuming  that's a No Dog sign. Sorry canines, felines rule here.
Ooooohh....fruits galore. Look at that - durians are in season! So are mangoes, dragonfruits, guavas and rose-apple.
Stop by this stall for some yummy dried agar and durian flavoured dodol (a sticky concoction of glutinous rice floor, sugar and coconut milk).
Aaahh....King of Fruits in all its thorny glory.
More durians....it's hard work to get at the flesh inside the thorny casing.
These humongous citrus - pomelo - has bittersweet sacs, either white or pink.
Rambutans galore - red and furry on the outside, white and sweet inside. Ooohhh...that's what we call pisang emas (golden banana) hanging out at the back, yummmy....
A rambutan tree in the compound. I like the fact that the highway authorities were caring enough to plant the actual tree near the fruit stalls. Mama didn't allow me to climb this tree though.
Imported fruits - longan (left) and kundang....yummy too. Longan is called mata kucing (cats' eyes) locally, I don't know why. Kundang has purple seeds.

25 comments:

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

you have soooo many interesting fruits that we do not have here in America. I am embarrassed to say that the majority of the fruits you mentioned, I have never heard of. I must share this with my husband...he is INSANE about fruit and will love this!

Al-Manar said...

Surprise, surprise, our 'mata kucing' plant is fruiting for the first time - may be just about a dozen fruit, not enough for one each if all members of family choose to gather around!

Marilia said...

Wow! Nice post! Thanks for share!

Clooney said...

Wow, theese are some very interesting specimens for sure! We've never heard of durian. (PS: What happened to Brad after his last post? Did you turn him into a durian, Angelina?)

tireless mom said...

My throat is painful, too much of durians which Uncle Shah brought back from his trip in the North. Burrppp... this time my turn to burp. Meowww

Wan Sharif said...

Best kan makan buah dorghyan

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Caren,
Come here. The fruits season will last till Sept. It will peak around July where more varieties will flood the market. I'll report from time to time, just to make your hubby drool.... purrr....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Dear Pakcik,
Ni berkat "berkawan" dengan kucing nih! Jaga buoh tu molek-molek, nanti dicuri dek orang. My grandpa kat kampung put kain net around the fruits. purrr....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Hi Marilia,
Brazil is a tropical country too. We may have similar types of fruits, you know? purrr...meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Heya Cloon,
Ask your mum to take you to Chinatown. They may have the frozen ones. In Sydney, at the Vietnamese shops they have whole frozen durians (thorns and all) as well as frozen durian flesh (imported from Malaysia) in the freezers. Even my Aunty Naz who lives in Norway found frozen durians sold there. purrr...meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Yatt,
Ish! Burp in public is a no-no, OK? purrr....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Ayoh Wang,
Memang best! Boleh sampai mabuk durian gitu. Last time we went to Penang, hak Balik Pulau baru berbunga. Yang di Bukit Gantang dah nak habis. Esok kami ke Segamat, katanya tengah lebat di sana. Nak ikut? purrr....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

"Lost" comments:
1. From Oskar
What cool & exotic looking fruits you have!

Nubbin wiggles,
Oskar

2. From Aunty Nur
wohoooo Angelina
miss me?? of coz u not
u just miss d durian n dodol.. hu3

3. From CO78
Such mouthwatering fruits, Kitties! Agar-agar kering, also referred to as agar-agar bersakar or jemur, is one of my favourite sweets. I look forward to having them during Raya.

4. From Aunty Paula
I feel soooooooooooooooo HUNGRY :-).

Thanks for this post to remind us of how blessed we are to live in Malaysia!

Salam

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Oskar,
We're cool people, dude. That's why we have cool fruits. purrr...meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Nur,
Could you mail me some durians and dodol? purrr...meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

CO78,
We only found the agar-agar at Bukit Gantang Hala Utara R&R. We thought we could get some more on the other side but na-da! purrr....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Paula,
Unfortunately many of us forgot to count our many blessings in this land. purrr....meow!

jul said...

beautiful fruits..and picas

love rambutan and duku langsat so so much despite give angin sufferings to my body after eating them..cobaan

Pat said...

This may seem like it's from out of the blue, but your picture of the fruit makes me ask: Do you like durian, Kitty Kat? Toffee and Jolie love it, and can't get enough!!!

Anonymous said...

Bukit Gantang R&R.. uhmm.. *raking my brains* where is this place again? Between which towns?

one of Fae's humans said...

i LOVE pomelos. i loved to eat japanese pomelos called "buntan" while i lived in Japan. i miss them so so much...

but all the other fruit that you showed i have never ever eaten. i wonder how they taste. :)

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Andrea darrrling,
If you're driving from KL up the PLUS highway, Bukit Gantang R&R would somewhere near Kuala Kangsar and Taiping. After Ipoh. The R&Rs are on both sides of the highway. purrr....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Fae's human,
Know what you should do? Go down to Gold Coast, Coolangatta and drive down to Duranbah. There's a place called Tropical Fruit World and you can find many of these fruits there as well. I've blogged about it sometime last year. There's a search button on the right. purrr....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Jul,
We haven't seen duku langsat yet, I think the season will be July/Aug. Not too far. Rambutans we've seen plenty. Oh yess....yummmmm.... purrr...meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Pat,
Durian is an acquired taste, especially for a cat. I just like to lick Mama and Dad's hand after they've touched the fruit - save water maaa.... But Brad can eat the fruit all by himself. We don't call him JJ Richards (now MBPJ) for nothing. Oh....but I loooove kuah durian with roti jala. purrr....meow!