September 14, 2009

Eating Wong Dan bought in Labi Brunei

On Sunday when we were passing by Sg. Liang I chanced upon a Haji selling this buah Kandis or Wong Dan (in Foochow) and bought a packet at Brunei $ l only!

Coming home I showed my prize to my friends who came by for the monthly pot luck . Jean screamed that she had not seen the fruit since young! And she had forgotten how the fruit tasted like. Well the yellow fleshed old fashioned fruit was really really sweet and almost seedless. My grandfather would have been very proud of me.

His spirit must have sent the wong dan to me as I have been thinking and talking about this fruit.

My friends and I spent the whole evening admiring and eating the fruit. Even the Hokkiens amongst us were impressed. Some even wanted to make a trip to Labi to meet up with the Haji and see the fruit tree!



The succulent fruit beckoning at you!

The inside of the fruit after removing the fleshy rind or skin.

I shall be drying the skins for my asam fish. Heard so often that it is good for slimming.

Lovely lovely fruit

Different colours of red.

A lovely arrangement of the fruit - initially as a conversation piece...but later the fruits were quickly eaten!

Drying the skin on layers of newspapers on a chapan (home made rattan drying tray).

Drying the skins on a tray on top of my MyVi...the safest place ...no ants!

I hope I can get some more next weekend. This fruit which is part of the family called Garcinia has very wonderful properties. If it is anything like the Mangosteen its cousin so to speak it has great properties to help weight loss. One can buy a commercial product called Garcinia in the market. Also I understand that there has been a lot of studies made on its antioxidant properties. The fruits are usually harvested in September every year.

But the indigenous people of Sarawak have always used it to cook fish soup and they have related good digestion to this fruit.

(This post is dedicated to all my Tiong aunts and uncles and cousins who remember eating Wong Dang in grandfather's house in Sg. Merah. Cheers)

13 comments:

Ah Ngao said...

hi Sarawakiana,it looks a bit like buah tampoi.how's the taste?

Ensurai said...

Hi Ah Ngao
Very sweet this batch. Buash tampoi is a bit sour most of the time and the seed is big. This wong dan flesh is all edible. No seed. The yellow flesh is better quality. There is the white type.
This is Garcinia family.
\May be Greenspot will respond to this and we will see what he says.
Thanks for visiting.

Ah Ngao said...

wow...how come those enterprising fruit growers haven't try planting this in large scale - i think i like to give it a try when i got hold of one of this,one of these days.no seed,that's the best thing about it and surely can squashed a lot of juice out of it in the blender - nice

Superman said...

Never see or try that before. Can get it in Sarawak? It looks like manggis.

Ensurai said...

Dear Ah Ngao
According to my friends this fruit has been growing for a long time but largely in Third Divisions and Fifth Divisions. Brunei has a lot fo them because according to her the locals (namely Dusuns) like the fruit and its skin and there are certain properties good for the new mothers. And of course it is important in their cuisine. Perhaps that is why some of the best buah kandis are from Labi area. It is a small fruit like the mangis which is much bigger with big seeds.
I personally like this wong dang.
Check with older people.

Ensurai said...

Yes Superman this fruit is found in Sarawak! But you need to source from different older kampongs and older Chinese farm houses.
It is the same family as mangosteen. Garcinia.
Thanks for visiting.
I understand that the Bintulu and Mukah Melanaus also have it but call it by a different name.

Greenspot said...

Hi Sarawakiana,

This is an interesting posting.

Sarawak is the centre of diversity for many fruits, Garcinia included. There are many form sand varieties found in Borneo and Sarawak.



Greenspot

Ensurai said...

Hi Greenspot
Thanks for dropping by. I hope I can some more of this wong dan and dry some more skins. Cooking it with asam fish is really nice.
I appreciate your info at all times. Do you know where I can get a seedling of wong dan?
A friend of mine is now germinating the santol.
God bless.

Greenspot said...

Sarawakiana,

I do not know of anyone having the seedling. You might want to try the Agriculture Reseaerch Centre but I am not sure if they have it.

Greenspot

Greenspot said...

Hi Sarawakiana,

If I come across anyone with the seedling, I will let you know.

Greenspot

Ensurai said...

Dear Greenspot
I got another batch of the wong dan but the seeds are extremely small....The weather is too dry for germinating....also I hope to meet up with the Haji again in Labi and see if he has some seedlings...but most of the older folks I asked all said that many of the kampong trees are too old and some are dying. Some had been cut for better fruits!! Tak ada orang mahu makan dia....people's tastes have changed...The kundong is only important for its skins for the older peoplel.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

You posted this before I found your site. This fruit I think we used to call it wax fruit, and if you eat too much, you get dizzy.

The thing was when we had local fruit, we ate so much, so later my parents stopped buying them because we were getting dizzy., I think my sis E still dries them to cook her fish the same way as using assam ko.

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