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VISIT TO A LOCAL MALL and SUPERMARKET - UPDATED

Sadly, I wasn’t able to get a picture of the exterior of the mall. When we were far enough away to see anything, we couldn’t stop and I wasn’t able to grab a snap. When we were close, all I could get was big walls. But, it’s a totally enclosed, three-story mall with two main halls connected (only on floors one and two) by cross passages. VERY busy and noisy….
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I was there with Woodrow Whidden and his wife Peggy, and since he does the grocery shopping, I went with him. We quickly toured the three floors, just to get the layout (I was still somewhat confused) and then we were back at the entrance to the large supermarket on the second floor. It was fairly typical…..although a lot more piles of items on the floor than anywhere but Grocery Outlet, I think…...
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I was mostly interested in the produce section, and especially the fruit availability. But first, the vegetable tables….
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It was a busy place and there was a LOT that was familiar, along with a sprinkling of stuff (mainly leafy things) that I didn’t recognize. One of the fun things about shopping in foreign countries is seeing how differently things are packaged….green beans, for instance are not loose - but wrapped up in plastic in 1 kilo bunches.
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There was a wonderful variety of fruit on display. Some was familiar to those of us living in temperate climes—melons, for instance….both red and yellow watermelons, plus cantaloupe.
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And bananas all over the place - many Cavendish (they were labeled), but others the really nice little “ladyfinger” bananas we got used to in S. America. I generally have three or four for breakfast.
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What I really wanted to see was the tropical fruit, though….and pretty quick I saw it—mangos in several varieties and great quantities!
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Do you see those purple fruits about half-way down the counter? Those were what I was looking for, but had been told that they were out of season….fortunately not. These were the MANGOSTEENS, a fruit that Gail and I first tasted, and instantly fell in love with, when we were visiting PENANG ADVENTIST HOSPITAL in Malaysia. Here they are:
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Yum…..Gail’s mouth is watering, and so is Mom’s!! I bought a kilo, and paid about $1.60 a pound….if they had these in Bend, I’d buy them every week!! Imagine my surprise and delight when I looked down to the end of the next table and saw these…..
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DURIAN! I knew that they were grown here - in fact, there are apparently a few trees on the campus, although I haven’t seen them yet - but it was thrilling to have them in the supermarket. Notice that they have even wrapped up individual portions under plastic for people who don’t want a whole one. I bought a durian to go with my mangosteens and a bar of Ivory soap and we headed for the checkout line.

From the supermarket we took our purchases down to the exit, where there are “grocery cages” in which packages wait while their owners do more shopping and then drive by to pick them up….
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Back inside, we wandered around looking in windows for about 20 minutes….one of the first made me wish that Sophia was with us, because I just love to hear her squeak when she sees baby animals like these bunny rabbits….
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We met the Mrs, at the appointed spot, and Woody went for the car and joined us at the grocery cages, where we loaded up and headed back to campus. I was in a hurry, and as soon as I go into the house, I got the durian out…..
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Opening the spiky things is always a challenge - on this one, I forced a plastic spatula blade into the crack you can see there, and it popped right open…..
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I ate one of the seeds - the first taste was really good, but the aftertaste was kind of weird….not like anything I remember. Nowhere near the worst I’ve had, but not one of the special ones, either. Ordinary for durian - but when you go years without durian, you’re not as picky as when you live where they’re produced. I froze the rest of the seeds, and we’ll see if that improves them. If I had a champion juicer, I could make ice cream out of the frozen pulp, but…...

Next, I opened the first mangosteen…..
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....and it was everything I remembered….lovely. This is a WONDERFUL FRUIT. I’m looking forward to the rest of them.

UPDATE: Here’s an illustration of one reason I think that mangosteens aren’t imported much, and when they are they cost an arm and a leg….
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You can see that there is FAR more waste than there is fruit….the husk is thick and large. Plus, the larger white fruit sections you see on the right each have a pretty substantial seed inside. In this fruit, only three sections (out of eight or so) had a seed, but better pollination means even more waste. For all of that, I think it would be worth it!!

Finally, I really should show you the selection that AIIAS left in the house for me - and they replenish the supply periodically…..I’m eating a couple of mangos every morning, along with several bananas, and an orange. The little oranges are roughly like mandarins, but the larger ones are flavored like tangerines - delicious, although somewhat seedy.
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HAVING FUN IN MANILA!!

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 05/15 at 05:38 AM

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