The Malaysian Insider :: Food

Posted: 25 Jul 2011 06:06 PM PDT

Doesn't this look inviting?

PETALING JAYA, July 26 — Bite into the dark purple Kyoho grape and the skin falls away, tumbling luscious, smooth sweet flesh into your mouth. The small red plums are also unusually sweet, and the skin does not leave a sour aftertaste. The sweet pears are also juicy and fragrant.

All these three fruits, among others, are showcased in the Taiwan Fair from now till Aug 14 at major supermarket chains in the Klang Valley, Penang, Ipoh and Johor Baru.

Catching the eye too is the jumbo watermelon, weighing from 18kg to 20kg. And last Saturday, two of these were cut to signal the start of the Taiwan Fair at Jaya Grocer in the Empire Shopping Gallery in Subang Jaya.

Lin Min-Li, director, Economic Division of the Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in Kuala Lumpur, assisted by Raymond Lee, general manager of Yuchun Farmland Co. Ltd cut one watermelon, while Jessie Tseng, director of the Taiwan Trade Center Malaysia and Tsai Wen Lin, director of Zhang Hua Er Shui Xiang Nong Hui (District Farmers Association of Taiwan) tackled the other.

The four bright red halves of the watermelons looked very inviting and everyone was offered a slice. It was as juicy and sweet as it looked.

Raymond Lee and Lin Min-Li (right) and Jessie Tseng and Tsai Wen Lin cutting the jumbo watermelons.

Then it was tasting time, from the Kyoho grapes to the Taiwan golden mango with a silky texture and little fibre, to the pears and plums.

The Taiwanese vegetables attracted as much attention as the fruits. There was the striking white bittergourd, the water bamboo shoots and the yellow bamboo shoots.

I had a taste of the white bittergourd juiced and stirred with lemon juice and honey. I brought one home, blended it with lemon juice and honey, drank it pulp and all and loved it! Its bitterness is more subtle than the local green varieties here.

For all those who fear a spike in their blood sugar and heatiness after eating the durian which is in full season now, have a lemon-flavoured white bittergourd drink first before you start eating. You could also blend the white bittergourd with an apple, or pineapple for added flavour.

Bittergourd contains a phyto-nutrient, polypeptide-P, a plant insulin known to lower blood sugar levels. It's an excellent source of folates, Vitamin C, some B vitamins, zinc, potassium, manganese, magnesium, lutein and zeaxanthin (good for the eyes).

White bittergourds... try juicing them.

No wonder the white bittergourd was a best seller at an earlier Taiwan Fair in April.

I can't wait to try cooking the water bamboo shoots. It's the first time I have seen these.

Go and have a sampling of Taiwanese fruits at the fair this Saturday and Sunday at the following places: Carrefour at the Tropicana Mall, Subang and Mid Valley, Jusco in MidValley ,Bandar Utama and Taman Maluri, KL, Ipoh, Queensbay Penang and Tebrau City JB, Mercato Sri Hartamas, Cold Storage in Bangsar and Bandar Utama and Gurney Plaza Penang, and Jaya Grocer in Empire Shopping Gallery and Damansara Perdana in PJ.

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Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Isnin, 25 Julai 2011

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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