spaghetttti

This morning I got an early start so I took a long, roundabout way to get to work, and saw this it's a sweet, ripe jackfruit cart. A little scary, but definitely not the prettiest fruit I've ever seen. A family operation -- Mom cuts and peels the rind. That's some huge jackfruit! And then Dad takes over for the precision sectioning. This is a very friendly family and they were joking with me the whole time I was there. While he was cutting, he told me that he was performing meticulous surgery on the nangka . Though it's not my favorite, jackfruit is very sweet with a pungent fragrance. I understand that it's also quite versatile. The young, unripe fruit is used to make a savory stew made with coconut milk -- a dish called gudeg, a specialty of Yogyakarta, Central Java.

Uh huh, whenever I have a sore throat, I brew up and drink a concoction made out of that stuff. Very effective, I must say.

How 'bout this: lengkeng = longan, langsat = dukuh. Michael, when you were in Malaysia did you ever try langsat/dukuh?

Rambutan -- I suppose you know, Susan, that rambut in Indonesian means hair, so your favorite scary fruit = hairy fruit! This morning I walked around the market that's on the way to the office, looking for rambutan. Not the right time for them now. But I did get some lengkeng, very very very sweet.

Some cool and refreshing mangosteens for Suzanne. The neat thing about them is if you look on the blossom end, the little markings show how many segments of the fruit are inside. Laksa, this was my first encounter with fresh passionfruit. There were only those yellow ones at the market, so I have no basis for comparisons as far as taste goes. But I bet the purple ones are very attractive. What do their insides look like? We have a few more months yet for langsat season. The dukuh from Palembang, South Sumatera are especially juicy and sweet.

Back in the '70's, I worked at 1750 Pennsylvania Ave. and would walk over to the Y for those amazing, ooey gooey chocolate chip cookies, didn't they come in a white bag? I'd cross the street to the park and just sit there, people watch and savor my lunch -- those cookies.

Passionfruit, or as Laksa would call it -- buah asmara. Not scary though, huh? I just think that the passionfruit's innards look unusual. Very juicy and slippery. I wish the fruit were a bit sweeter, but the seeds pack a tangy crunch. To me, those seeds are the best part of the fruit. Adam Balic: Have to say that I've never had a turnip. The Thai tamarind were very sweet, almost like candy. And yes, Michael, they were rather dry with just a tad bit of stickiness. But I like those a lot, could eat a bunch of them. fifi: The vivid orange flesh of the sapote/mamey is very striking. It looks much like the flesh of the papayas we get here. KarenS: I actually like the fuschia-colored skin of the dragonfruit. The ones you get with the magenta flesh must look amazing.

Michael, IIRC there's a vegetarian place on Mott, near the church, is it? I'm not really remembering well. I know that we always pass it, but have never gone in. I don't know, but may give it a try. How did your mother fare while in China, was pork pretty much prevalent? Was there a lot of "yi diar" ?

Qing, oh my gosh!!! Thank you for that very important information. It had never occurred to me that that the pastry would contain fat, lard, whatever. So, what you're saying is -- even if I have a vegetable or non-pork dumpling, that the silky wrapping is so delicious because it's made with pork fat?!!! Y I K E S ! ! ! am I destined to no more dumplings at all now?

--Sigh.-- Keep 'em coming, please. There should be a separate forum for We The People Who Love Babies and Children and Food, and who find such things completely charming, and it would be off limits to people who Just Don't Get It. Just as the ultimate thread to praise "foie gras" would be off limits to me. Tana, I totally agree. I mentioned to Danielle before about a children's blog, don't you think it would be interesting to see what kids are eating these days?

Snakefruit or salak is another strange looking fruit, don't you think? Care should be taken when peeling the skin, the "scales" are a bit sharp. The fruit is crisp & crunchy and can be sweet with some tartness (can you say "pucker"?).

Hi Danielle, Looking forward to this. I still get a chuckle from your avatar, Dylan with those mussel tongs is priceless!

This made me really laugh... Keuh keuh in Sundanese, the dialect of West Java, means headstrong, determined, stubborn. So Janet, I guess you're keuh keuh to have some kueh kueh, eh?

Welcome back, Michael

This is a sirsak or soursop that I bought last night, it's still not quite ripe and should be ready to eat in a couple of days. I've only had sirsak shakes, so it will be interesting to see how the flesh looks and tastes. tryska: I think we call passionfruit here markissa, is that right Laksa? I haven't seen the actual fruit but there are markissa juices and syrups that are readily available to me. Let me do some checking around. Laksa : You know, at first I thought that the meaty rind could be eaten as well, but it's just those creamy segments. Again, it was really rather eh. Carolyn Tillie: I am currently living in West Java, Indonesia where the fruit ranges from ugly, scary to really gorgeous. I'm curious to know what exotic fruits are available in your area. Exotic can be relative, because here fresh black sweet cherries are quite unusual and are imported from the States. I saw some nectarines yesterday, and while I was looking them over, an elderly lady came over to ask me what they were and how they tasted. She'd never seen them before. ( BTW I so admire your avatar, what an honor it must have been to have met her and have that photo to treasure. She was a wonderful lady, and will be greatly missed. Also, The Lion in Winter is one of my all-time favorite movies) Jujubee: That Thai tamarind is really good for snacking. Another kind that I get is asem jawa which is used for cooking, but I have a bunch and want to make a refreshing drink using that with some gula jawa/ palm sugar. gingerly: Thank you, I kept trying to figure out what other fruit to compare the dragonfruit to. Yes, kiwi is just about right. Carrot Top: Oh yeah, the 70's disco era was freaky deaky! I was most definitely the Disco Queen -- that was my time! Are the dragonfruit and tamarind easily available at your local supermarket? SG-: What a coincidence! I've been looking all over the place for buah nona, we call it buah srikaya here in Bandung, but can't find it anywhere! I really like it, another fun fruit though kind of messy, right? Sam Salmon: You're not the only person who observed that the dragonfruit is bland. It's really strange because I bought two, while one was sweet the other was only slightly so. So, I'm guessing that dragonfruit is typically bland, then? BTW So the format is bland like dragonfruit, huh? To spice it up a little, may I suggest that you check out the Dinner! thread. Eye-popping, mouthwatering photos can be found there. Or perhaps eGullet Foodblogs -- the most recent, Laksa's, was very vibrant and witty. Some really great photos were incorporated there. Stay tuned, I may have more freaky looking fruit for you all. All the best, Yetty

I've just discovered some of these fruits. The appearance of some of them really scared the heck out of me. This had the strangest "face" - very appropriately named dragon fruit But its flesh was surprisingly sweet and luscious The cacao fruit looked innocent enough until it was cut open and eeek, sure was spooky! Although it had a pleasant custardly texture, it wasn't very flavorful. Very subtle sweet undertones Thai tamarind has an eerie otherworldly aura to it, but I love how it's both sweet and tart. Fun to eat. Do you know/like these fruits? How else can they be enjoyed other than eaten straight?

Does everyone prefer sauce ladled on top of their pasta (or served on the side)? On a few occasions, I have been served spaghetti where sauce and meatballs were all mixed together. There I was -- all sauced up on the platter with meatballs and cheese all over me! Or is this just all wrong?

Hi Greatbigsea, welcome to eGullet! Well, this is all I'm gonna say....if you really look hard enough and are inclined to do so, you'll find photos of some of the blogs authors, including the debonair Mr. Laksa & the very, very lovely Ms. Congee. That's it, I'm outta here.

Congratulations, Marlena I'm gonna pick up a copy when I come home. And probably gain 50 pounds on the grilled cheese sandwiches I'll make from the recipes in your book Much success! Yetty

cdh, that sounds amazingly good. What are your bread & cheese pairings of choice?

Laksa & Ms. Congeeniality, A brilliant, witty and vibrant blog. How generous of you both for sharing your week of food and fun, bugs and all! My personal thanks go out to you for highlighting the cuisine from our part of the world. Wild Man of Borneo, ya done good! (Ms. Congee, good luck & success on your interview tomorrow.) Terima kasih and selamat! Hidup Asia Tenggara! Yetty

iamthestretch, I love Chick-Fil-A! On my annual trips back home to the States, I live in Alexandria and one of the first places I head for is Landmark Mall for a chicken sandwich. Mmmm, I'd like to have one now.

(Psssst, Doreen, do you know he acts like this when you're away?) He's taking pictures of spiders and posting them in his blog?!?!? Poor thing. Yetty

Pray tell, Ms. Congee...what is an Ugoff salad?