Uwajimaya

Uwajimaya is a HUGE market in the International District (The "ID") - enormous asian grocery, housewares, gifts, books, a food court, and an entire department full of Hello Kitty. I love Hello Kitty!



I ate at the food court on Saturday - Korean BBQ from Shilla. Tasty traditional beef BBQ over rice, mildly spicy, thin sliced, and super tender. It came with totally fabulous kimchi and some lightly pickled sprouts. Very yummy, and a total bargain.

I love browsing at Uwajimaya. They have a gigantic produce section with every exotic fruit, veg, and alien plant life one can imagine. Including durian fruit.

I almost bought one, but chickened out. Durian is a spiny, slightly football size/shape fruit with a creamy interior. Apparently it tastes vaguely like a custard, with a hint of banana. But the terrifying part is the smell. It has a horrible odor so strong and vile that there are many places in Southeast Asia that prohibit it. Signs on public transport in Singapore show that durian, along with flammable liquids and smoking, are strictly prohibited.

I read somewhere that eating a durian is like having a custard garnished with onions in a filthy public bathroom. Maybe someday I'll have the guts to do it. But not today.