americantakeout
tasty bytes from China
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04/15/11
Craving Home
Filed under: General
Posted by: @ 5:35 pm

Lately, my taste buds have been a bit homesick. Last week, I was fantasizing about a Rueben from Manny’s.  Homemade tamales from Little Village. Anything from the candy aisle at the Walgreen’s.  This week, I’ve been craving Froot Loop milk, that orangish-pink part of your breakfast slurped from the bottom of your cereal bowl.

You can’t get froot loops in China, and if you did, they wouldn’t be the same thing. There are fruits here that don’t look and taste like fruits anywhere else.

DragonWhite

Take for instance, dragon fruit. It looks like something right out of a STAR WARS movie. Dragon fruit is bright pink and spiky on the outside, like a egg from an alien species. The inside is white melon-like flesh speckled with tiny black seeds. The taste? Albino Kiwi with a crunch.

DragonInsideH

Poppers

Their real name is Longon. These shelled fruits hang in clusters, their outer skin being leathery and tough. But squeeze one, and out will pop out a piece of fruit with the texture of a skinned grape and taste of a melon. Inside that, is a black shiny pit about the pea.

Poppers

Durian

Durian

I haven’t tried it yet, scared by episodes and reviews on Bizarre Foods, starring the mutant looking bald guy who chews too loudly in his microphone.

This monster of a fruit has a stinky reputation. It’s large, about the size of a big cantaloupe and covered with spikes. Slit it open and the flesh is gooey, almost dough like. The smell is strong like sniffing salts, but a different sniff. You either love it or hate it.

Many of my students are big fans and want me to try it. They recommend eating it frozen to make it easier on their nose. Even Toucan Sam would agree to that.

As for Jeff? Thanks to all of your care packages, his sweet tooth seems to be coping quite well. Just check out the evidence between the sofa cushions.

Tootsie2

 

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