Kasai fruits

About five years ago these 'kasai' fruits were hardly seen in the markets of Bintulu.  Nowadays people in Bintulu seem to be accustomed to buying them.  They are juicy and sweet..yummy, yummy, yummy...

Delicious local fruits

The month of June is special for the abundance of the local Malay Apple fruits called " Jambu Bol". I love these fruits for two reasons. First when half-ripe they are best taken with soy sauce or shrimp paste ( the famed Bintulu 'Belacan') as salad. Secondly when sufficiently ripe they are sweet tasting and soft to eat. When eating them do not remove the red skin covering, just like eating normal apples. But remember there is a sizable seed inside that gets removed easily. From the ripe seeds you can propagate the tree easily.

A bowl of Jambu Bol like above fetches for RM 5.

This is my special favourite in Bintulu. Being close to the coast, you can get any amount of fresh coconuts at Bintulu's tamu or jungle produce market which is located somewhere in the center of Bintulu town. After drinking the juice I would normally eat the flesh which is very soft and sweet too. Here you eat it with a 'spoon' made out a wedge from the coconut skin. Hmm... does the job of scooping the flesh splendidly. A piece of coconut like above fetches for Rm1.50 .

Grape Fruits Ripening in Bintulu

Today I was spending a short afternoon rest at the Tanjung Batu shoreline. Much to my delight I noticed this Sea Grape tree ( Coccoloba uvifera) fruiting and on some branches the fruits were ripe in purple colours.



Sea Grapes are a tropical tree that does well along coasts, well drained soil and in full sun. Note the almost circular shape of the leaves ( about 20 - 30 cm long.



The ripe fruits are edible. I have tried to propagate them previously by seeds and I found that the germination rate was about 70 %. Presently I do have a healthy specimen grown at my eco-farm.

Banana from the Wild

This particular banana species is a recent introduction to Bintulu's landscaping scene. Bananas are grouped in our botanical spectrum of plants under the family MUSA. This particular species is called musa velutina. This picture is taken at Laman Kambatik.