Finding new fruit in Seminyak Bali

Bali has a tropical climate and a rich volcanic soil. This combined with unlimited sunlight and plenty of water means you can grow almost anything here.

In the lowland areas indigenous fruits like bananas and mango abound and in the higher elevations a whole new industry has developed growing western style vegetables for larger hotels.

I have tried many local fruits since living here but am not an expert. Ika and I went to the fruit market in Kerobokan at the traffic lights on Jl. Petitenget and bought an assortment of fruits to check out back at the house. We picked up 3 bags of assorted fruit for 30,000rp and spread some of them out on the floor to photograph. I will be doing a Guide To Tropical Fruits soon and enjoyed having Ika help by telling me about the fruit.

One that I had never seen before looked like an over-sized mango, my favourite fruit. Ika said it was not a mango though and proceeded to cut it open revealing a milky white interior that dripped a juice that looked similar to soy milk. The flesh was ripe and the texture was similar to a really ripe mango. The taste was unbelievable! Sweet, tangy with a hint of fermentation. I know that with some tropical vegetables (taro, casava) you have to be careful as they are poisonous if not cooked and wondered if I was getting into hot water stuffing chunks into my mouth. It tasted so good though that I did not stop till the whole thing was gone.

A friend of Ika named Uchi, from Kupang in Timor said they do not have that fruit over there and Ika told me it is called a Wani and is not common in Java. Wow, maybe this fruit only grows in Bali!

If you want to sample something delicious, besides all the other funky local fruits try one of these. Just stop at a local street-side fruit market.

The only downside to discovering this new fruit was that Ika poked her eye out with the knife.