Pretty in pink: dragonfruit ’God’s gift to fruit platters’

Like many exotic Asian fruits, there are tricks to enjoying dragonfruit, and my readers have put me on to them.

‘God’s gift to fruit platters’: dragonfruit in Bali. Picture: Susan Kurosawa

Ah, dragonfruit, as vivid as Christmas ornaments and about as palatable. I posted this snap on Instagram a while ago and the ­comments went wild. I had mentioned my dislike for the fruit’s gritty texture and irritating seeds. Most followers smartly took me to task. Clearly, I had not been trying hard enough to love dragonfruit. The trick, it seems, is to squeeze lime to draw out the ­flavour or grate fresh ginger over the flesh for extra zing. It was suggested I try dicing bits into a salad or blending as a smoothie with honey and coconut milk. Another follower simply said: “God’s gift to fruit platters.”

At Four Seasons resorts in Bali, at Jimbaran and Sayan near Ubud, bowls of tropical fruit placed in guestrooms come with a ­concertina-style explanatory leaflet of pictures and descriptions, revealing the wonders of snakefruit, rambutan, mango and the yellowish, leathery-skinned duku, which has its peak in August and tastes like a sourish grape.

And of course mangosteen, the queen of fruits, and royal consort to durian, the king of fruits, although opinions sharply diverge on the latter. Banned on aircraft and at most ­hotels, the smell of durian has been variously described as overripe cheese, sewage and drains, or a combo of the lot. I first read of it in high-school geography class while studying the expeditions of naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace in the then Malaya. His writings made it sound utterly delicious, an exotic and romantic thing with hints of almonds and brown sherry.

You won’t get a durian at a Four Seasons property in Bali but next stay I might ask for sliced lime, ginger, coconut milk and a cocktail­ shaker, grab a mini-bar miniature or two and see if I can’t turn a dragonfruit into a roaring party.

Follow on Instagram: @susankurosawa