Yummy fruit discovery!

[crazycanuck]

I've discovered the love for Rambutans! mmmmm...yummy!

They look a bit alien like but oooooo...so good!

[Cataboo]

I love them.

I usually have to go outside the US to get them. *grumble*

[crazycanuck]

I guess we're spoilt here in Perth since we're so close to tropical climates :o

I'll have some for you :D. How are they served when you eat them??

I'm just going to wash them & have our friends break them open before dipping them in the chocolate fondue thing tomorrow. Must remind them they're pitted!

[Cataboo]

You can get them in Canadian chinatowns, but I think they're only allowed in the US if they've been irradiated to get rid of any possible bugs (because they can't fly over the border from Canada, apparently). Because of the rarity, if you do see them, they're fairly expensive here.

You can get them canned in the Asian markets here.

My Mom and I kept buying huge bags of them in Vietnam, washed them, and just peeled them to eat them. And lychees. And jackfruit. And mangosteen. and all the great fruits we don't get in the US.

I've had them in costa Rica and Canada as well. I've never tried them with chocolate, but I've never been a huge chocolate and fruit fan. I like them separate, but not together.

I've always called them chum chums (their Vietnamese name which I have probably just not spelled right)

[shootingstar]

You can get them in Canadian chinatowns, but I think they're only allowed in the US if they've been irradiated to get rid of any possible bugs (because they can't fly over the border from Canada, apparently). Because of the rarity, if you do see them, they're fairly expensive here.

You can get them canned in the Asian markets here.

I didn't know this, Cataboo. Rambutans remind me very much of lichee/lichti fruit, but not as sweet/juicy. I love lichee ice cream or gelato. You do find this in Vancouver in several places. (But not in Calgary. The most exotic for them is tiramasu ice cream.) Haven't see rambutan ice cream.

I'm less thrilled with canned lichees, longans or rambutans --too sweet/soft/syrupy.

Cataboo, as an aside, I'm sure you have a pile of interesting life stories. Think of the blog... :rolleyes:

[Cataboo]

I didn't know this, Cataboo. Rambutans remind me very much of lichee/lichti fruit, but not as sweet/juicy. I love lichee ice cream or gelato. You do find this in Vancouver in several places. (But not in Calgary. The most exotic for them is tiramasu ice cream.) Haven't see rambutan ice cream.

I'm less thrilled with canned lichees, longans or rambutans --too sweet/soft/syrupy.

Cataboo, as an aside, I'm sure you have a pile of interesting life stories. Think of the blog... :rolleyes:

I remember driving through Toronto's chinatown with my mother once who started screaming "STOP THE VAN" and she had to run out and buy lychees and jackfruit and chum chums. She's only been back to Vietnam twice since leaving in the 70's - so getting Asian fruits was a huge deal for her. On a trip out west, I couldn't find fresh fruits in Seattle's chinatown, but had a really scrumptious sugar apple (sweetsop?) and some jackfruit in Vancouver's chinatown.

I think I was 24 or something before ever tasting fresh lychees or rambutans - I'd only had the canned stuff, or occasionally one of my Mom's vietnamese friends would have some bit of frozen contraband fruit that they'd managed to smuggle back with them. But frozen rambutan is not quite like the fresh.

Oh yeah, that blog I keep saying I am going to make one of these days, which will launch to a great big collective yawn 'cause I will have already bored my audience by babbling at them on facebook or 4 or 5 forums :)

If I get up to Kicking Horse to ski this winter, I'll let you know when I'm passing through Calgary.

[shootingstar]

Then if you had spent lots of time in Metro Vancouver's....um...let's see at least 3 Chinatown areas (downtown, Marpole district and City of Richmond), one would be completely blown over.

The most extensive Asian food restaurant blogs ..in Canada, are bloggers in this area. What helps is Vancouver's proximity to fresh seafood what forms part of those regional cuisines.

And yea in Toronto. I don't know where to begin there because some areas the concentration has become quite high in past 10 yrs. (downtown Spadina & Broadview areas, Richmond Hill, parts of Mississauga, Markham, northwestern part of Scarborough- Agincourt)
Seattle and Portland seem quite quiet and tame to me...compared the sheer volume of Asian descent population and no. of restaurant choices all over.

So Calgary has diversified in last decade but still a tad conservative/timid. It is noticeable, but not quite the same as the other big Canadian cities. Have you see the latest statistics Canada census? Talk to good cycling friend of mine, who grew up in Calgary and is Chinese-Canadian. She now lives in Toronto. Ok, I'm probably abit homesick. :) But CC, it is helping the Calgary mayor, Nenshi is a dynamic Canadian-raised Muslim of South Asian descent.

Ok, Cataboo, if you make it over to Calgary. I live and work downtown... We have cycled in the Kicking Horse area twice...about 12 yrs. ago or so. and got into the Continental Divide area. Get a hold of Maidei by that time and bring her along. :)

[bmccasland]

OK, you have me intrigued.... my next trip to the oriental grocery store (supermarket size) in Renton I'm going to look for these exotic fruits, and report back. Must remember to take notes.

[Cataboo]

I saw a small bag of mangosteen for sale last week at the vietnamese community - not in a store, just someone standing with a small selection of fruit & vegetables on the sidewalk. He wanted $15 for the bag of maybe 4 or 5 of them. I'm assuming what makes it into the stores cost more.

Okie, so this thread is about rambutan instead - for some reason i remember mangosteens

[shootingstar]

I saw a small bag of mangosteen for sale last week at the vietnamese community - not in a store, just someone standing with a small selection of fruit & vegetables on the sidewalk. He wanted $15 for the bag of maybe 4 or 5 of them. I'm assuming what makes it into the stores cost more.

That price sounds like a rip-off. I'm pretty certain that would not be that high in Vancouver. Not sure about Calgary. (Fennel bulbs are consistently half price here compared to Vancouver. I dunno.)

[Cataboo]

Oh it is, it's just indicative of how much these fruits can cost in the US given how hard it is to import them (they have to be irradiated to get rid of any bugs)... Which is somewhat funny given how lax US standards are for the most part for imports.

Every once in a while it's nice as a treat, but it's hard not to feel ripped off.