July 17, 2004
The Atis
At the Richmond New May market, my new favourite food market, I stand waiting in line for a cash register, which forms in between the giant coolers in the middle of the produce section of the store. Impulse buys, therefore, are more likely to be things from these great bins rather than the traditional magazines, candy, gum and batteries that line the checkout aisles at a Western-style grocery store. I peer into the bins and see -- ice cream -- the purple ube, different kinds of green tea variations, durian, papaya, lychee... I see, on top of the bins, bags of chicharron: fried pork rinds; boxes of cookies, packets of dried cuttlefish. And then it catches my eye -- a red container which is labled, "Frozen Custard Apple," and I get excited since it is one of my favourite fruits from my time in the Philippines: the atis. It's got rough scaly, leathery green skin in a diamond pattern, and a white creamy flesh dotted with plump black seeds triple the size and girth of your average watermelon seed. It's also known as a sweetsop, a custard apple, a sugar apple, and apparantly there's a South American equivalent called the cherimoya.
I immediately picked up the box and made my impulse purchase, bringing it home and prying off the lid. Inside, six small, individually wrapped atis, smaller than I had remembered, small enough to fit in my palm's hollow. In the Philippines, they were the size of a good-sized apple, and they were delicious. These, unfortunately, were a bit of a disappointment. I broke one open to see almost transluscent grey flesh rather than the straight creamy white flesh I was expecting. They only tasted faintly of the atis I remembered from my childhood -- the consistency seemed about right, soft, slightly grainy, with only a ghost of the remembered atis flavour, like a hidden note that only emerges in the back of one's palate when a mouthful of flesh is nearly consumed.
Unfortunately, these frozen atis are not something I'd buy again. I think I'll try for a cherimoya next time, if I can find it.
Posted by claudine at July 17, 2004 12:34 PM
Love that store. I get all my Asian food stuffs from there. The spices they have there are awesome. They moved into this "new" store a few months back. They used to be down the street. Their old store is now opening up as what seems large mega-Kamei, a store that sells kitchen gadgets etc. Have you ever tried Durian the stinky fruit? It's actually pretty good and has banana like texture/consistency if I recall correctly. If you can overcome the smell it's tasty and exotic.
Here's just a few other recomendations if you're on Clement (you probably know them already):
Green Apple Books of course.
Bargain Bank - closeout store that surprises me sometimes at what they carry.
Burma Super Star, an Indonesian restaurant.
A small Thai restaurant on 8th Ave. called Thai Time. We order in from there about once or twice a month and have also eaten there. It's our favorite Thai.
Another great place which seems out of place on that street is the Clement Street Bar & Grill. You walk into that place and you feel like you traveled back a few decades (I love old diners, restaurants & bars each with their own distinct personalities).
The new Bistro Clement across the street from Clementine (same owners but more affordable).
Boy I'm rambling...ok I'll stop :)
Posted by: John at July 18, 2004 09:08 PMHi John!
I have, after years of living in SF and not really paying all that much attention, been finally "discovering" Clement St. I love it! I love Richmond New May, I love Kamei, and Green Apple Books. I once had really fantastic hot-sour-soup from Burma Star while standing in line at the Coronet for the midnight viewing of the 2nd Lord of the Rings (The Two Towers).
Prior to this "discovery," however, I had been introduced to the Clement St. Bar & Grill several times -- and yes, I do agree that it seems a bit out of place there, but what does it matter, since there are Russian, Mediterranean and Italian establishments to keep it company... I haven't been to Clementine but have made it to Chapeau ...
I will make sure to check out the other places you mention -- Thai Time, and Bargain Bank.
Thanks, as always, for collectively gushing about our neighborhoods (yours in this case) with me. :)
Posted by: claudine at July 18, 2004 11:32 PM