My birthday was so spectacular that it is taking me awhile to get through photos and videos to post. So in the meantime, I thought I’d share one of my new food discoveries here in Bali.

While in Costa Rica last year, I discovered my love of a good mango. Mangoes were so plentiful and fresh – I just couldn’t get enough. I purchased a few from my local grocery store in the states, and they’re okay, but just not the same as a fresh, ripe from the vine mango in Costa Rica.

I was hoping I might find similarly fresh and tasty mangoes in Bali, but it is not their season. Instead, I was served an interesting fruit I’ve never tried before – fresh mangosteen.

Pretty purple/red on the outside – white, juicy fleshy sections on the inside. The texture of the fruit is kind of like the soft areas of a honeydew. Or maybe a bit like a peach. But the taste is different than either…. it is reminiscent of many fruits – but hard to describe.

It was very good, different than I would’ve expected. When we stopped by a farmers market the other day, one of the vendors offered me a mangosteen ‘gratis’, in hopes I would purchase more. One bite and I was hooked!

It was even sweeter and fresher than the mangosteen I had eaten for breakfast the day prior. I purchased 5 and paid 5,000 Rupiah. That may sound like a lot, but it’s only .55 cents – basically 11 cents each. I think they often sell for over $3.00 EACH when imported into the states (if you can even find it).

So mangosteen is the new mango. And now I’m going to go to the market and buy more!

Have you ever tried fresh mangosteen?