Back to my shiny new series What Do People Eat in China? And since I took some neat pictures I’m also submitting this post to Travel Photo Thursday 
Weeeee! Head over there to check out some travel pictures from bloggers around the world. For even more pics from around the world, check out Friday Daydreamin’.
Last week, I told you about one of the most unhealthy dishes you can possibly eat when you travel to China, braised pork belly. It’s also one of the most delicious, but to counteract all that delicious fattyness of the pork, maybe you can follow it up with this week’s Chinese treat of choice, a fruit.
What Do People Eat in China? Dragon Fruit
On our recent trip to Guangzhou, Marco’s brother and I took a break at Starbucks one afternoon. It was there that I had my first encounter with dragon fruit. It was part of a mixed fruit cup and it was so delicious. Not very intensly sweet like some other fruits can be sometimes, but very pleasant and refreshing. And I loved, loved, loved the look and texture of it. So fun! Kind of like a white kiwi I liked it so much that one evening I asked Marco’s mom to stop at a fruit stand on the way home so we could buy some more dragon fruit. And, go figure, it looks even cooler on the outside than on the inside: very dark, intense pink with a little bit of green. If I could only find some dragon fruit here in West Texas, I’d have a new favorite fruit. For now it will stay the exotic rare treat.
What’s your favorite fruit?
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What a fun topic. . .not to mention interesting food.
Jackie Smith recently posted..TP Thursday: The Train in Spain
Thanks
I find dragon fruit a bit bland but it may have just been the ones that I have tried. Have you seen the dragon fruit that are red on the inside as well? I saw it in Hong Kong but did not try it to see if it taste any different.
I really enjoyed trying the different fruits in Asia that I had never seen before. The first thing I was brave enough to try was Pomelo and got more brave as I traveled.
Is the small brown fruit in your picture Longan and have you tried them?
Keith recently posted..Frozen Amstel
No, I didn’t even know there was dragon fruit with red insides. How cool! But you’re right, the one that I had wasn’t really string either. Kind of nice though, and refreshing. Pomelo? Longan? I haven’t had either. I think I need to try more fruit when I go back next time
Are they good?
Longan taste a lot like lychees or rambutans. I tried all 3 of these for the first time in Southeast Asia. I recommend giving them all a try.
Pomelo or Honey Pomelo I tried for the first time in Shanghai and it is more like a grapefruit but not as sour.
I have heard the names Lychees and Passion fruit but never tried either until in Asia. I find it strange that I had to travel to discovery something that may have be around all the time.
Keith recently posted..Frozen Amstel
I love lychees! They’re so good. Makes me want to try the other two now
Ah, so pomelo is a citrus fruit? I like grapefruit, so that sounds really good too. I think all these kinds of fruit are just more prevalent in Asia and Southern Europe. But I agree… I wonder if some of them were hiding in our supermarkets all along and we just didn’t see them. Some of them do look kind of odd.
If you are interested in seeing what rambutans and pomelo look like I have some pictures at this link.
http://www.keith.geezas.net/trip/china/fruit/
You have all kinds of comments and no one has talked about Durian. Hard to believe.
Keith recently posted..Frozen Amstel
Thanks for posting the link. Lots of very cool fruit pics! And I’m glad you had the pomelo on a washer. Otherwise I would have never known how h-u-g-e a pomelo is. It’s incredible! I would have looked for somthing the size of a lime
I also found the custard apple. Looks kind of like an artichocke. I had to look up Durian… is that the “stinky” fruit? Or am I confusing things.
On a completetly unrelated side not… is that an Aqualand Citizen I noticed on your arm? Are you a fellow sciba diver?
The Pomelo was on a microwave so maybe not as huge as you thought. Yea the Durian is the sticky fruit and I have read more blog post about Durian than all other types of fruit combined.
Nope not a Aqualand Citizen just some cheap watch.
Keith recently posted..Frozen Amstel
Hahahaha! Oh, well, I’m glad it’s Friday and I can go home now. I guess a fruit almost as big as a washer would be a little large… Time to go home
Is the durian sticky or stinky?
Those are so pretty!
Jessica recently posted..Rules are What you Make Them: Paving Your Own Way Through Family Travel
Aren’t they? Inside and out
I had my first taste of dragon fruit in Vietnam and quite liked it. I like the fact you show how to properly cut it. And as for my favourite fruit – toss up between a blueberry and a raspberry.
Leigh recently posted..A Room With a View at Tonto National Monument
Marco’s mom cut it up for us and came up with the super pretty way of presenting it on the plates. She madeit look beautiful! Not sure if I could cut it so elegantly
I love both blueberries and raspberries too. I always add blueberries to my granola if I have any at home. Have you tried rasperry heated up with just a little sugar and then poured over vanilla ice cream? So good!
I’ve seen dragon fruit on food shows but have never seen one in real life. I can’t wait to try one someday. They’re so pretty!
Michael Figueiredo recently posted..Photo Essay: Colorful Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal
They really are! Love the strong color on the outside and the kiwi-look inside
The dragon fruit looks delicious – what a tasty-looking fruit. I really should eat more fruit — I do like to have a fresh orange every morning.
Cathy Sweeney recently posted..Travel Photo Thursday: Inside Passages
I’m trying to eat lots of fruit too. The fact that I really like most of them makes it much easier. I like oranges too, but these days I seem to be bad at picking good ones in the supermarket. I’ve ended with some that were really kind of dry, for lack of a better word.
oh so THAT’s what this crazy fruit in Hanoi looks like inside!
Haha
I guess 
Even though I just learned through the other comments that the one on Hanoi might have had red insides. Pretty cool though either way!
What an unnatural color of rose pink, Sabrina!
If it’s anything like lychee, then it should be quite delicious.
InsideJourneys recently posted..Travel Photo Thursday: Negril
I know, right? I was fascinated by the inside first…. then I found the outside looks so cool too. I didn’t think it was like lychee. Milder taste and less sour.
Nice! I have to admit that dragon fruit isn’t my favorite, but it sure is beautiful!
Jenna recently posted..The Carmel Mission in Photos
I can understand that. The flavor really isn’t very strong. I liked it because it was so different… and the looks are just intriguing.
I have seen these in the Asian supermarkets I frequent but never got around to picking them up. I’ve always wanted to get them because they look so colorful. How interesting and now I know what to expect. With a name like dragon fruit, my kids will probably want to try it just because of its cool name. Favorite fruits? Mango, guava and jackfruit – tropical ones that remind me of home.
Mary @ The World Is A Book recently posted..A Stop in El Morro, Puerto Rico
I love mangos too, especially the little ones when they are really fresh. So good! Not a big fan of guave somehow. There’s just something about it that doesn’t appeal to me. I’ve never heard of jackfruit. What is it?
Yes, I’m sure your kids would love the fruit just for the name
And as I said, the flavor isn’t really strong, so I think it would be an easy sell.
Sabrina, the best way I can show you the jackfruit is through this awesome post with lots of pictures I found a few days ago: http://travellingartist.wordpress.com/2011/08/12/tropical-fruit-facts-legends-jackfruit-the-worlds-largest-fruit/
Mary @ The World Is A Book recently posted..A Stop in El Morro, Puerto Rico
Thanks for sharing! The second picture in that post in beautiful. Looks like a fun fruit.
Pretty sure the dragonfruits in Okinawa are red inside but, I’m an apple a day kinda guy.
Somebody else mentioned that they come in different colors as well. Really want to find those next time I’m in Asia! Apples are my go-to fruit. They’re cheap, good, easy to get everywhere.
Oh my god, I JUST tried dragon fruit in Chiang Mai! Can I be honest, though? I thought the flavor slightly hinted at dirt…
Christy @ Technosyncratic recently posted..Photo of the Week: Novice Monk Painting a Dragon
Oh, really? Hmmm, I wonder if it was a bad one or if I just got lucky with the few that we tried. I didn’t find it particularly sweet or strong, but liked that it was so different.
Dragon fruit is delicious, isn’t it? Looks cool, too!
Sophie recently posted..Where in the World: a travel quiz
I really liked it too! Maybe I should go to an Asian supermarket here and try to find them. I wonder if they’d be prohibitively expensive though…
Cool. I’d love to try one of those, but alas, they don’t seem to appear in Missouri.
Cheers.
R. Sherman recently posted..IF . . .
Some people have mentioned Asian supermarkets, so maybe that’s where you could find one. I’m just speculating here though as I’ve never seen one in Texas either
They sound delicious!!!! ANd your pics make them look so beautiful.
I would love it if you wouldn’t mind linking up to my weekly meme about travel photos called “Friday Daydreamin’” – same concept – link a post with your favorite travel photos. No gimmicks – just more exposure to your post.
Thanks!
~Becca
Thank you! It was Marco’s mom who made it look so nice
I just took the picture. I’d be happy to link to your “Friday Daydreamin’”. Sounds like a great series. I’ll hop over to your blog now…
Have seen them in grocery stores in Canada- but had no idea how to eat them- your photos showed me how, so I will try. No doubt they will have lost some flavour as they travel around the world- that’s another whole issue
I’m glad Marco’s mom knew how to prepare them, because I had no idea either
She made it look easy. I’m sure you’re right on the flavor. They always taste so much better where they are in season.
Interesting photos here. I’ve never come across dragon fruit. My favourite fruit are mangoes (but not some very strong varieties of come across), golden kiwi (used to get them in Australia) and custard apple.
Andrew Graeme Gould recently posted..Santiago, Chile: Valentine’s Day / Día del Amor
Thanks! I’ve never seen golden kiwi. Must be delicious! I only the green kind. Love mangos!
I had never heard of dragon fruit and I’m pretty sure that if I had seen one that I wouldn’t have known how to get into it! I love fruit so I’d definitely try this.
Lisa recently posted..Trolls
Me too! Fruit are my candy
Well, that and all the actual candy, but you know what I mean. Try it when you get a chance, it’s really good.
LOL. I’ve seen those before, but I thought they were some kind of mutant onion. I probably should pay more attention to these things. I tend to see the word “fruit” and skip the section though, unless it’s followed by the word “pie”. If they make a Dragon fruit pie, I’ll give it a shot.
Great pictures by the way.
Steve recently posted..Hockey Night in Phoenix
Thanks! Glad you like the pics. Mutant onion?
That’s awesome! Dragon fruit is much sweeter than onion 
And I hear you on the pie… I discovered them when I moved to Texas. My favorite would be a simple apple pie with vanilla ice cream. Yumm!
That looks so weird! I have tasted it. It is good. And very pretty!
Yeah for the dragon fruit. Fun name, great looks, tasty, what more can you ask for?
I love dragon fruit, used to eat it all the time when I lived in Thailand, but haven’t seen it in Germany.
Laurel recently posted..Masks of Carnival: A Photojourney
I haven’t seen it here in the US either. Maybe the both of us will have to keep it as a treat for our Asian adventures
Those are so tasty – and pretty!
Andrea recently posted..Greek, Turkish and What Knowing the Language Can Do For Your Travel Experience
I agree. What a fun fruit!
I quite liked dragon fruit. Reminds me of kiwi, once you deconstruct it enough to eat it. Its showing up as a garnish at some of the fancy cocktail lounges in New York, though I prefer it for breakfast.
Kris Koeller recently posted..A Smoggy Day Stuck at the Beijing Airport
I have had it as dessert after dinner or as a snack, but could totally see how it would work for breakfast since it isn’t as intensly sweet as other fruits sometimes can be.