The best jet lag cure - Mangosteen!

Twenty six hours, three plane rides, and one elbow fight with an annoying neighbor who insisted on sleeping in my lap later, I emerged into the suffocatingly moist Singapore night. Raccoon eyed and smelling like stale airplanes, I was in no condition to partake in the first of the three wedding festivities that had brought me here. Instead, J cranked up the AC and drove me to his home.

I had all but given up on the idea of a midnight snack, my usual ritual in Singapore, when J came out of the kitchen with a plastic bag and a mischievous smile. "It's mangosteen season you know..." Before he could finish the sentence, I had already ripped the bag from his hands.

Adorable little guys they were. Perfectly chubby and round with cute little green caps, these babies were almost too beautiful to eat, almost. A hungry girl can only admire looks for so long, she must first answer to the call of the belly! No peeling or even washing required here. A bit of pressure put to the chubby cheeks was sufficient to force the skin apart to reveal the snowy white flesh within. All that left to do was to slurp/suck out the juicy tenderness with flourish. Mega mega yum!!! The segments burst in my mouth with a gentle coolness followed by an intense sweet/tartness somewhere between a ripe lychee and a white peach. If I didn't know better, I would have swallowed the few seeds in my haste to get to the next one.

Ten minutes and many mangosteens later, I had all but forgotten the horrid trip over and was ready to get some sleep in preparation for a long day of fooding to come.