Penang is famous of the exotic durian and its popularity is expanded till China but are you aware that Perlis is well known of producing one of the best mangoes in the region? Yes, the smallest state in the northern tip of Malaysia has something that people are really yearning about - the Harumanis mangoes, or loosely translated to scented & sweet in English because its aroma and sweet taste.
The small state usually produces the distinctive mangoes in the month of April - May. During that period, you may see stalls setup almost every corner in Perlis selling Harumanis at exorbitant price, though the are some stalls which sell "counterfeit" Harumanis as well.
According to locals who shared the inside news to me, majority of the Harumanis are exported to the oversea countries due to its popular demand. At the same time, there are many visitors travelling here to purchase the famous mangoes and some unscrupulous merchant leverage on this opportunity to make a fortune by selling counterfeit version. Thus, it is an opportunity for them to exploit to make money. However, this circumstances do not apply to all merchants and there are still honest ones trying to make a living around.Â
The locals furthered tipped me that to get the authentic or Grade A Harumanis, you have to go to the government farm (Jabatan Pertanian Perlis) at Sungai Batu Pahat. Those selling at the roadside are likely to be Grade B or Grade C Harumanis, or the counterfeit version will be Taiwan or Thailand mangoes.Â
If you look at above picture in detail, you may observe the authentic Harumanis possess a diferent shape, which has a curvy tail/head and smaller in size. The colour is different too, as the Harumanis flesh gives an bright yellow with slight orange colour. The professionals know how to smell the Harumanis species from just its skin but I failed to do that, thus I entrusted the locals to get some for me.
The price ain't cheap for 1kg of Harumanis mangoes in 2017 as it was about RM 35 per kilogram. I purchased 2 kg and it comes with about 5 mangoes. The mangoes tasted great with a slight creamy or milky taste, and the aroma is really wonderful. Personally, I think it will make a great dish with sticky rice.
Overall, I think the mangoes are delicious and worthy trying but RM 35 per kg is exorbitant for me to bear. For try purposes it was alright but to consume in large amount, I am doubtful about that.Â
Perhaps the price will reduce in 2018 or later, considering the technology nowadays might be able to make the mangoes get produced constantly throughout the year.
Hello, I wanna ask for you permission. Can I use the harumanis photo in you blog?
ReplyDeleteHi may I know what purpose it is being used for?
Delete