Seasonal Fruits - Rambutan ( Nephelium lappaceum)

Today is a day within the rambutan fruiting season.  When I went to Bintulu town, there were red and yellow rambutans by the baskets and van loads.  From November to February every year, the rambutans without fail show themselves on trees. 'Rambut ' in Malay means hairs and the name rambutan refers to the mass of hairs ( .5-2cm) stuck on the skin of the rambutan fruit.  The rambutans are oval in shape and in some varieties the oval shaped could be slightly enlongated.  The unripe fruit is green and sour.   When ripe the rambutans' flesh or pulp are very sweet especially the hybrid ones.  To eat the ripe rambutan, remove the skin by a slight twisting movement of hand,  then bite into the flesh or pulp and soon the fleshy pulp is peeled off from the seed.
In Borneo there are at least 25 species of the rambutans. The trees flower up to 300 ft above sea level. Thus on higher altitudes rambutan don't bear fruit.  Rambutans , like the 'mata kuching', 'lici' and 'pulasan' belongs to the genus nephelium.  In Greek 'nephelion' means 'little cloud' refering to the delicious pulp surrounding the seeds of these fruits. The peeled flesh are now canned and in some cases are mixed with pineapples for added appeal and taste. By the way in one sitting you can eat as many rambutans as you can.

Fresh tuna at Bintulu's market

One one my favourites routine when in Bintulu  town is to drop by at the fish market situated at Kampung Baru ,tugged by the lazy the Sebiew River.  At this market you can get fresh tuna very easily because Bintulu is rich in deepwater fishing grounds.  Trawlers and small fishing boats are plenty in Bintulu, a town once known only as a fishing town but now a showpiece of industrial progress. 

The fish monger today has sliced the tuna into slim pieces and a plate of the above costs me RM 8,  weighing slightly more than a kilo . Today the going rate is RM 6/kilo.  I like to fry tuna though it can be barbequed, grilled or prepared in curry or soya sauce.

By the way the local Bintulu Melanaus are great fish eaters and as they say fish is good for the heart.  They live longer here. They even eat fish raw in the form of 'umai' .  If you happen to be in Bintulu and never tried 'umai', you would have miss the real Bintulu.

Bintulu town fountain

This town fountain in Bintulu takes the shape of the 'terendak' , a Malay traditional hat or 'saong' in local Melanau dialect. However it is built entirely of stainless steel. The same shape is also used for the town's market roof structure in the background. It is increasingly becoming an icon for Bintulu especially amongst out-of-towners and tourists.

Wild banana ( M. hirta) lilac spikes

As an ornamental plant favourite this wild banana plant called 'pisang lengki' ( M. hirta) by the Ibans is an ideal plant for landscaping because they are relatively short, grow in small clump and produces brilliant lilac bracts and light orange inflorescence.

The leaves of this plant as well as its soft stem ( inner core) can be cooked as vegetables. The terminal spike which contain male flowers and are closed towards the remaining end ( called the 'jantung' in Malay) can be cooked with coconut milk or grilled and eaten as salad, preferably with the famous Bintulu shrimp paste, the belacan.

At the very early stage of flowering, the wild banana flower spike squeezes itself out from the tip of the banana stem showing its beautiful bracts. I hope in later postings I can show more pictures of this plant as it produces more flowers and finally fruits.

Seasonal fruits - Ong Balem ( Mangifera pajang)

'Ong Balem' are what the local Melanaus here name the seasonal fruit which look like canon balls in the picture above. They have a thick skin but are easily removed from the flesh as in the next picture below. The Ibans refer to them as 'bambangan'. They are found wild though many are nowadays cultivated in rural orchards. These fruits can weigh between 1-2 kilos and can reach 10 - 15 cm long or 10 - 15 cm wide. Most of them are spherical. Because of this unique shape and quality ( i.e. without hairs) the Melanaus would jokingly refer to a bald headed person's head as 'ong balem'.

The thick yellow flesh are fibrous and can be fine or rough in texture. The skin can be chopped into vegetables , eaten as salad with 'sambal belacan' or shrimp paste and pickled.

Above, the slices are ready to be eaten raw. Depending on the variety the flesh can taste extremely sweet or sour sweet. Because the skin is thick, the fruits once harvested can have a long shelf life averaging about two weeks. After peeling all the yellow flesh away, what is left is a big seed which tastes bitter and seldom eaten.

Seasonal fruits - Dabai (canarium odontophyllum)

It is the moment of seasonal fruits in Bintulu. Towards the end of every year, all kinds of seasonal fruits will be seen in the market place.  Two kinds of fruits shown above are the rambutans ( red and yellow varieties) and the black fruit is called the dabai.

The dabai is sometimes called the tropical olive or Sibu olive.  Sibu being a town in Sarawak where they are found in abundance .

Dabai fruits in baskets

Going to town today, I dropped by at the Tamu ( jungle produce market) to buy a kilo of these rare fruits.  A kilo of dabai, depending on their varieties, tastes and sizes fetch around RM 6 - 15 a kilo in peak season.
How do you eat the dabai? First dip them inside a bowl of warm water for 15-20 minutes.  Then add salt or soya bean sauce for flavour.  The fruit tastes buttery and has a yellowish soft texture. Size is about 3-4 cm long, 2 cm wide. The trees can reach about 20 m high and initially the unripe fruits appear white in colour and changes to red and finally black in its successive ripening stages.  The black skin is eaten together with the flesh but not the seed which is very hard.  Here people eat the dabai with their rice.

A dabai tree by the roadside at Kampung Jepak, Bintulu.  Note the unripe white fruits at the tip of the branches.

Chinese Temple in Bintulu town

The Chinese temple in Bintulu town is undergoing renovation works.  What started as a tiny wooden building ( 50 years ago) has grown into a full fledged concrete structure today. I took a side angle of its partly finished roof and wall with  its extra bright red colours and intricate designs. The grey panels and round columns have not been painted yet.