Strange Tropical Fruit #1 -Rambutan

First off let me make clear that these are fruit that are strange to me. These are fruit that I had never seen before moving to Indonesia. I mean no disrespect to anyone who finds these fruit normal and thinks strawberries are weird and exotic. (I had one lovely Indonesian woman ask me how to prepare and eat strawberries after she saw me put some in my shopping cart--should have asked her about bitter melon, I'm still clueless)

Rambutan is a hairy fruit about the size of a key lime. Rambut means hair, but the rambutan isn't hairy like a kiwi. Maybe tentacles would be a better description since they alway remind me of a sea anemone. It is usually red or reddish. The skin splits open easily to reveal a white interior with a texture something like a grape with a single large seed.

How does it taste? Well, it tastes like rambutan. What else is it going to taste like? It is sweet and kinda juicy. It has a rather pleasant, mild flavor. I like them, Colin and Grayson love them. They have been picking them up off the ground at the American Club and eating the fruit without washing it first. Eeeew!

I tried buying some at the store, but they weren't ripe. Peaches, melons, strawberries, even figs these I can tell if they are ripe. Rambutan's... not so much. Mom just didn't teach me how to tell if a rabutan is ripe. Haryono bought some at a kaki lima a while back and they were fabulous. Today we stopped on the way to the club and bought some. Again they are so much better than the ones from the store.

The stop at the kaki lima turned out to be the thing that made the whole outing worth while. The gentleman operating the kaki lima turned out to be a hoot once he realized his picture was being taken. Check it out!

David checks out the rambutan. They look nice.


Time to bargain! Whenever you buy something at a kaki lima bargaining is expected. We know we will pay more than if we had Dwi or Haryono buy it for us, but then we would have missed what came next. (Dave doesn't have mumps, he is eating a rambutan.)


Oh are you taking pictures? Go ahead we will keep bargaining.


My friend! Come here and smile for the camera.


Wait, one more before you go! Look tai chi!