Comments on: I have my eyes on the Queen

By: ads

ads — Fri, 09 Sep 2005 08:10:09 +0000

Huh. I missed this post the first time around, because I was in Australia, snacking on mangosteens. (I bet you're all jealous.) I was going to write a blog post about some guy I overheard at Walgreens talking about how his friend has joined the cult of the mangosteen-oil salesmen. (Go Fighting Mangosteens!) So I was looking for that R.W. Apple article on mangosteens and discovered that as usual, The Mutiny is way ahead of me.

Mangosteens are my favorite fruit, but I've never managed to find any in the U.S., due to the ban, I guess. I've found them in Toronto in Chinatown and on Gerard St., and in Australia I found them in Sydney's Chinatown and at the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne, if that helps anyone in colder climes searching for their mangosteen fix. If I recall correctly, mangosteen season in Sri Lanka is around July/August, so maybe your chances of finding one would be better around that time. Happy mangosteen hunting!

By: tech dude

tech dude — Tue, 23 Aug 2005 14:53:14 +0000

Would love to get my hands on this stuff.

By: purple_cross

purple_cross — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 16:08:10 +0000

if anyone has doubts about the overpowering smell of durians, here’s a good one – my aunt once bought a durian and left it in the bottom shelf of her fridge. we had to eat bread with durian-flavoured butter (taken from the topmost shelf) for the rest of the week.

By: Jane

Jane — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 23:40:13 +0000

As a Malaysian, I have to add in something. We grow up revering the gorgeous smell of durian. It used to be seasonal and the annual durian season was a highlight for me. Now agricultural wonders allow for durian all year but I will urge to always ask for the finest durian at the stall (B24 is one of the best variety). Once you remove the thorns, then feast on the creamy custard-like pieces of fruit. A sweet sublime feeling will assault you. We are so mad about it we have durian cake, ice-creams, biscuits and what have you.

By: tilo

tilo — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 23:29:57 +0000

Fruit detective David Karp loves it too.

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_26/findingaforbidden.html

By: nykol

nykol — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 20:56:39 +0000

durian is awesome! i got attached to this fruit while living in malaysia for a short while. my professor once described durian as "eating the most wonderful custard while sitting on a public toilet."

yum!

By: Dhrumil

Dhrumil — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 18:13:07 +0000

mmm, fruits….I them raw, nah i mean? welikeitraw.com

By: cicatrix

cicatrix — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 09:48:54 +0000

adding my two cents: I've eaten a lot of weird stuff, but I could never get past the durian smell. I think the odor becomes more, uh, pungent when it's ripe and fresh, so the imported versions don't smell quite as bad. Like rotten eggs. My mom would make my dad eat it outside the house.

Mangosteen is truly heaven. Again if it's ripe and fresh, it shouldn't be so hard to open up the purple husk. Firmly pushing in and pulling apart should do it. If it doesn't, it's not really ripe enough. I have yet to find it in the US though. Even in chinatown. Suggestions?

Also, anyone had an ambarella?

By: Manish Vij

Manish Vij — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 07:08:10 +0000

More mangoroticism:

"Eating a mango is like having sex," he said. "It has to be dirty to be good." "What's your favourite food?" I ask. "I'm very fond of the Alfonso mango," he replies. "Why?" "Because I always say unless you've had an Alfonso mango you've never had a mango." Stamp goes on to tell me about his most recent discovery, the durian... The durian is native to south-east Asia, he says, where they have Durian men who stand brushing the outside of the fruit with a hard-bristled hairbrush. Stamp first tasted one in Singapore. "Once I got it into my mouth, I found it was like a sort of sachet of cream, with a stone in the middle - a combination of the first ice cream I ever had after the war, and... toffee."

By: maisnon

maisnon — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 06:37:37 +0000

Rambutan rocks, and lychee is luscious...but one of my favorite Malaysian fruits is mata kuching (cat's eye). Kind of like rambutan - they come in bunches attached to twigs. Peel off the thin brown covering to reveal a dark pit in white flesh (hence the name.)

One of my favorite desserts of all time (and I'll order it if it's on the menu) is pisang goreng - fried banana, but it really only works if you are using any of the smaller varietals of banana. Mmm.... pisang mas.

My father tells me all the time that I'm not really Malaysian because I can't get anywhere near durian. What can I say? I'm smell-sensitive.