Sky Facing Fruit / 向天果 (Xiang Tian Guo) - Said to be a Miracle Fruit that Can Cure Many Ailments!

It was my maternal grandfather's anniversary and i was tasked by my mom to visit my small uncle's place to pay my respects. With my stomach grumbling from a lack of food, i instinctively look around and noticed a canister of chips alike on the table.

From far, i thought they could have been freeze dried or deep fried banana chips although on a closer look, they seemed to be more like flower petals. 

Whatever the case, the tummy cannot wait and i was about to sink my teeth into a piece (biggest one i can find) when my cousin suddenly exclaimed: Wait!!!!

Oh, i was supposed to break it open and ingest only the "meat" inside; somewhat like eating melon seeds! Damn did i feel stupid even though most people would attempt to do the same as i did. 

The very much smaller "meat" - extracted from the sky facing fruit (or known simply as sky fruit), it's not your usual nut! Initially, it had a taste similar to ginseng but once you start to chew, be ready to have the bitterness imploding in your mouth! Never had the taste buds at the back of my throat been so energised!!! 

You may check out the expressions by my sister when she tried it. Note, it's recommended to have them after meals. If need be, prepare a glass of honey water to douse the bitterness once it hits you. 

Unless you have a penchant for the bitter taste, i would not have imagined anyone who is willing to have them. However, it was said to be a miracle fruit with numerous health claims; including the ability to counter high cholesterol, high blood pressure, impotency, bad breath, health disease, dementia and increase immunity. 

Are the claims reliable / proven? I am unsure but most people would not hesitate to give the fruit a try so long it isn't poisonous and isn't banned by the health authority. For more information (in English), check out the link here. 

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Where To Get Them

You can buy them from Chinese medicinal halls. Alternatively, the trees (Mahogany) can be found in Singapore and you may pick the fruits from the ground (once ripen, they would drop from the trees). One location is at the open air carpark in between block 424B and 423, Yishun! 

Note

Remember, you have the remove the "meat" from its inedible shell.