Custard Apple – Mang Cau

You’d ever guess it from the name, but these actually taste a bit like a custardy apple. Wow. Very sweet, creamy and delicious. Even the big black seeds that fill the inside don’t detract from this tasty treat. Well worth a go.

We had no idea what to do with it when we bought it, so we chopped it in half, here’s the inside:

You can then easily pick off the green skin and eat the fleshy inside, spitting out pips as you go. Yum.

The Coconut – Dua

I’m sure most people have seen and eaten coconuts when they are at their older brown stage, but I’d not seen these green ones before. It’s the same fruit, only younger, which means that apart from the obvious colour difference they have not yet developed the coconut “meat” and instead are mostly harvested for their drink, coconut water. It does contain a small amount of jelly like substance that is the beginning of the formation of the nutty stuff. This jelly can be scraped from inside and eaten along with the drink.

The amount of juice inside is quite incredible. Andy and I both got one and I’d say there was around two pints in each. I’d suggest just having one to share, it’s more than enough.

Coconut water is a great healthy drink. Amazing to be able to drink coconut juice directly from a coconut knowing there’s no nasties been added in a factory somewhere. One of the best things though is the fact that you can see the trees they’re from just a few meters from where they are being sold.