The staples in my refrigerator are packets of apples and lemons.

For my parents and grandparents these imported fruits were a luxury together with oranges and grapes. They loved it so by default we did too.

But over the last few years I’ve developed a craving for local fruits (or exotic fruit if one is trying to sound posh) and am discovering a treasure trove of taste, textures and varieties.

This fruit below I found at the night market in Gua Musang in Kelantan and was pleasantly surprised at the crunchy texture and mildly sweet and crunchy flesh.

Known as ‘Buah Bidara‘ by the locals is latin name is Ziziphus Mautritiana. It is also known as Chinese Apple, Indian Jujube or Indian Plum among others.

The size of a plum, it tastes like a cross between an apple and green guava.

It is apparently popular with the locals in Thailand and northern Malaysian states (that used to be a part of Kelantan at one time). It is usually enjoyed with a dash of soy sauce or fish sauce and a sprinkling of birds eye chili.

This fruit costs about RM6 (USD1.47) a kg.