Dragon fruit prepared in various ways-Star Metro

Friday April 11, 2008 Star metro

Dragon fruit prepared in various ways

By YIP YOKE TENG

CHICKEN soup, kerabu, deep-fried prawns, Mongolian Lamb, pizza and pudding ... all these dishes and many more, go perfectly with one fruit.

And, that versatile fruit is grown in Malaysia.

It is none other than the dragon fruit, of which the red-fleshed variant is known to be the most delicious and nutritious of all.

The fruit pulp is not the only part of the cactus plant that is edible; the fruit skin, shoot, root, flower and stem can all be turned into mouth-watering bites.

The fruit is widely acknowledged for its nutritional benefits. It is known to be a rich source of vitamins, fibre and antioxidant.

Diners can get a taste of several of these fruity delicacies at one sitting at the dragon fruit food promotion that runs until April 14 at Zende Restaurant, Best Western Premier Seri Pacific Kuala Lumpur.

The dragon fruit dishes are available ala carte as well as in the lunch, dinner and high tea buffets. The ala carte menu features 13 dishes while the buffets – all priced at RM68++, feature four rotating menus, each with 36 dishes.

Red appeal: Pasta topped with red dragon fruit sauce.

This unique spread is the brainchild of Malaysia Dragon Fruit Association secretary Al D' Leong, who runs several dragon fruit farms and related businesses in the country.

Leong's recipe book that features dragon fruit dishes was also launched during the food promotion's opening.

“I was born a kampung boy. I love plants and herbs, and the dragon fruit piqued my interest when I first learnt about it three years ago,” said Leong.

“I was hooked on the plant on learning of its many benefits,” he added.

He then ventured into the many possibilities with this plant, coming up with new ways to savour its various parts and products like wine, health drinks and supplements. He has created more than 200 dragon fruit recipes to date.

“The Chinese have been using cacti as medicine for more than 1,000 years,” he noted.

The buffet showcases not only the dragon fruit's versatility, but also Leong's creativity.

The fruit pulp is stir-fried, seared, steamed or stewed with meat or seafood to impart a light sweet note to the gravy. The root and flower are used in soups.

The refreshingly crunchy young fruit is added to salads and various other dishes to enhance the texture, while the crispy young shoot serves the same purpose when added to fried rice.

The fruit skin is pickled to complement stronger-tasting dishes such as hot and sour shark's fin soup and chilli chicken.

The dessert counter attracts with a touch of pink, with dragon fruit added to the tarts, pies, puddings and crepes. Even so, the items taste different as the fruit is cleverly and creatively paired with a variety of other ingredients.

ZENDE RESTAURANT, Best Western Premier Seri Pacific Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Putra, Kuala Lumpur (Tel: 03-4042 5555). Business hours: Daily, 6.30am to 10.30am (breakfast), noon to 2.30pm (lunch), 7pm to 10.30pm (dinner); 1pm to 4.30pm (high tea, weekends only).