My First Alphonso Mangoes from India

On my first visit to Rajasthan, I was told by my colleagues to get a box of local mangoes to bring home, as they were in season and considered to be some of the best in the world. I failed in that attempt. But tonight, as we were passing through Mustafa in Singapore, we noticed boxes and boxes of Alphonsos available, so we picked out a couple of individual ones to see what the big deal was.

They didn't look like much from the outside: they were stubby and frankly kinda ugly, unlike the slender perky ones from Thailand. But after cutting into the deep orange inside, it was a lot more encouraging. Indeed, the taste of the flesh was rich...so rich that it was almost milky in nature, and of course being extra sweet and juicy too. I now understand what all of the fuss is about, and I like them much more than the Thai version.

Now, I'm not exactly any mango expert, but this has instantly become one of my favorite kinds of fruit. Indeed, I liked it enough to consider going back to Mustafa tomorrow to buy an entire box. It's not cheap, but thus stuff is apparently only in season from April to May, so time is running out.