Sala

The variety of fruits and vegetables here is pretty staggering. Some are old favorites like apples, pineapples and bananas. Then there are the ones that are at least somewhat familiar like guava and mangoes. There are a lot of things here, though, that I have never heard of before, let alone tried. A couple of weeks ago, I ate a 'custard apple,' which looked more like an artichoke on the outside, but was soft and quite sweet inside.

My favorite new taste, though, is a fruit called 'sala.' I happened to mention to Pai that I had tried it and really enjoyed it, so tonight he showed up at Friday Night Live with a big bag full of it for me. WAY more than I can eat.



They look a little like oddly shaped strawberries growing in a clump.

The peeling is very stiff and comes off easily. Inside, the fruit is in two halves, each with a pit. The flesh is quite tart. It is a great thing to have a couple of for dessert, but you would not want to eat a big bagful of them! Still... very cool of Pai to be so thoughtful.