Fabulous fruit

One of the things I missed most about Taiwan whenever I had to leave to go back to the US was the fruit. In the US grocery store fruit usually has a flavor which strongly resembles cardboard. The only time fruit ever tastes good in the States is during the summers when it can be purchased at the local farmers' markets.

Here in Taiwan fruit always seems to taste great, never as if it had been picked greener than a frog and then shipped miles and miles to a store. Right now the melons are popping out, and there are melons I've never even seen before (including one imported from Japan that would cost me $50 US if I were ever stupid enough to pay that much money for a melon). And we have the coolest watermelons! They're green & white striped on the outside, rather small and round, and the inside is a bright yellow. The taste is almost like the "normal" watermelons, but a little different.

The lychees are beginning to show up at the markets, although they're still a little expensive. The grapefruits here are so juicy that I was a sticky mess after I peeled and sectioned my first one. The wax apples (lian wu) are crisp and juicy, not a lot of flavor, but very refreshing. The dragon fruit (huo long guo) is as much fun to look at as it is to peel and eat (bright fuschia on the outside, looks like scales, hence the name), and the inside is white with tiny, tiny little black seeds. Bananas are very banana-y over here. I hate green bananas, like mine to be very ripe, and that's how they are without being too mushy.

I'll have to take some photos of the many varieties of shui guo (fruit) for all of you. It's too bad we can't get mangosteens here, though. They're dubbed the "Queen of Fruit" and I've only found them in Hong Kong. So, when I'm in Hong Kong, I make sure I eat a lot of those.

There are still many fruits I haven't yet tried, but I'll be giving them the taste test shortly. I may even try durian melon, which is about the stinkiest fruit in the world (and sometimes you can buy it fried!).