That tour of Thai Town

[rachelmanija]

The mangosteen is my holy grail of untasted tropical fruit. They don't grow in the US. When I've traveled, I've missed the season. I have been looking for mangosteens for something like 20 years, with no luck.

Today, in honor of Anthony Bourdain, I had the morning glory stems and ground pork with olives at Ruen Pair, then walked across the way to my favorite Thai sweet shop, Bhan Kanom Thai. It was their 20th anniversary, and I got a free tote bag. And there, for the first time in my life, I found mangosteens.

Thanks, Tony.

Comments

[recessional]

I think I am very ok with the idea of adopting Carrie Fisher and Anthony Bourdain as venerated ancestors. *ponders*

[ironed_orchid]

Very timely. I hope you liked them, I haven't had mangosteen in ages.

[asakiyume]

I had a mangosteen for the first time in Colombia! I'm going to post about it. High fives, mangosteen success!

spork of vicarious fooding

[yhlee]

I've always wanted to try a mangosteen--go you! Will you tell us about the taste?

[monanotlisa]

Oh! I had them in Australia. <3

[starlady]

Cheers, Tony.

[eglantiere]

<3

[emperorzombie]

Yay mangosteens! I am thoroughly enjoying mangosteen season. Were they imported, or have they managed to grow them in the US?

[via_ostiense]

Mangosteens are fucking delicious. I hope you enjoyed it!

[gwyn]

Oh my god, you found fresh actual mangosteens??? I am filled with envy. When my friend went to live in Thailand years ago, he would send me rapturous letters about them, and all I was ever able to find here were mangosteens in a can with heavy syrup, or as flavoring in sweets. I've longed to try them, but I doubt I will ever be where they grow (I mean, I can hope, but that kind of travel is hard for someone with increasing disability).

I'm so happy for you!

[pameladean]

That is so narratively satisfying that it's almost scary.

P.

Exotic fruit

[carbonel]

I'm very fond of rambutan, mangosteens, and lychee. I'm not sure they're all that closely related, but they all have that exotic/tangy/inedible peel commonality for me.

I also love loquats, which I first encountered in Israel. The Hebrew term is "shesek," and it took a while to find the English name. I've only seen them once in the US, in a street market in New York. They seem to be much more common in the UK.

[thomasyan]

I'm glad you finally found them! I just reread your Narnia crossover fic. It was excellent.

Did you have any trouble opening up the mangosteen? I think the first set we ever bought had partially dried out, so the shell was rock hard. My wife said gently pressing should suffice to crack it. Hah! That was true for later, fresher purchases. But this set, maybe I wedged between two wooden cutting boards and applied more and more of my weight. Picking mangosteen shells out of mangosteen pizza turns out to not be one of my favourite activities.

Also, there was this yellowish stuff that some had and freaked me out. Multiple purchases later I finally googled or something and reassessed that that is the color of the sap, and probably okay to just pick out or rinse off, rather than some exotic mold to cower from.