Markisa (Passion Fruit)

Local Fruits

Wrinkled purple shells holding intensely aromatic, tangy pulp and crunchy edible seeds. Far too sharp for some to eat neat, so Malaysians turn it into cordials, sorbets and cakes. Grown in the cooler Cameron Highlands, where you can buy it fresh by the bagful at the farm markets.

Local Fruits

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  Asam Gelugor

  A ribbed, intensely sour Garcinia fruit sliced and sun-dried into asam keping — the tangy dried discs used across Malaysian cooking to sour curries and gravies instead of tamarind.

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  Asam Kelubi

  A spiny swamp palm fruit with scaly red skin and a seriously sour bite — pickled or used like tamarind in sour relishes, native to Malaysia's peat and freshwater swamp forests.

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  Bacang (Horse Mango)

  A strongly-scented wild mango cousin found across Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo — sour to sweet-sour with a resinous aroma that's unmistakably different from a regular mango.

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  Bambangan

  A large wild mango relative from Sabah and Sarawak, with a strong fibrous tang — usually pickled, made into sambal, or preserved rather than eaten fresh off the tree.

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  Belimbing (Starfruit)

  Slice it crossways and every piece is a perfect star! Crisp, juicy and lightly sweet-tart, with edible waxy skin. Widely juiced across Malaysia and served ice-cold. The smaller, intensely…

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  Belimbing Hutan (Uchung)

  A striking angular red forest fruit from Borneo, unrelated to the common starfruit despite the shared name — tart, juicy arils inside a ridged red shell.