It’s been three days since we arrived back to Chiang Mai after our summer trip to the US.  I made my way to a small market on the way to one of our favorite cafe’s the other day. But the truth is, life in Chiang Mai will not be complete for me without a visit to Talat Maung Mai at least once a week. So off we went this morning.

With 50b RT ($1.67) song teao aka the red truck ride to the market, less than 10 minutes from our apartment, we were in fruit and produce heaven. Not the same without our fearless geek and motorbike driver though.

What did we buy on our first trip back to one of my favorite markets in Chiang Mai?  Let’s find out.

The Coconut (13b or 26 cents) M wanted some coconut and she was very adamant about it.  I was afraid I won’t be able to crack it open.  Lucky for us we found some already semi-cracked.  I just have to give it a few more taps! 

The Pomelo (30b or $1)  this grapefruit like citrus is great with the plum powder I wrote about a few posts ago.  However, for the chili lovers like me, I would add some chili powder to the plum powder. You can do salt, sugar and chili powder also.

The Passion Fruit (20b or 67cents/ Kilo) – I bought a kilo to make passion fruit lassi with the yogurt I just made last night.  Yum!

Inside the passion fruit, half section!

You can just scoop it out as well

 The Papaya (25b or 83 cents) it’s so ripe, it’s ready to be eaten asap.  I may even make some smoothie for us with it or add to a fruit salad.

The Mangosteen (30b or $1/ Kilo) I didn’t do a very good job of taking the picture above, placing the mangosteen in the shadow of the papaya. This is one kick-arse fruit.  Ya gotta try it. Careful with the purple stains from the peels though.

Anyway, that’s what a mangosteen looks like

The Rambutan – (25b or 83 cents/ Kilo) looks a bit hairy, but tastes yummy! (and yes, that should be an M in the photo, I’m too lazy to go back to change it!)

The Custard Apple  (35b  or $1.16/ Kilo) I bought 1/2 kilo to get started.  Better to only get a few so they don’t go to waste.  Will be just a couple of days before they are ready.   In Burma, we used to use the seeds  in place of pebbles or marbles when I was a kid.

In case you were wondering what it looks like

The Durian (45b for the package or $1.50) as you can see in the picture, the durian got a little mushed a bit while being transported from the market.  No worries.  M and I are still eating it.  Durian smoothies are great too.  Ever tried one?  I know, if you’re a hater, please, really, don’t get into an argument here with your hate for it.  Kindly move on,  shall we? 

And that my friends are the fruits we picked-up from the market today.

Also in season are guavas, pineapples and watermelons but we skipped them this time.  Definitely next time for sure.

Do any of these fruits look familiar to you?  What’s your favorite??

If you’re heading to Asia for the first time and are not familiar with these fruits, now you have an idea when you see them at the market.

Have a fruitful day!  Cheers!