When I see all the fruit in this photo, I want to hop the next plane to Bangkok and indulge.
But the fruit in this photo isn’t actually for human consumption. It was part of the Buddhist offerings to bless the 50th anniversary of Thai International Airways, including the re-enactment of the maiden flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong (see yesterday’s post).
I posted this photo because it shows how traditions can mix with the contemporary business world, something that fascinated me when I lived in Hong Kong. (I still have vivid memories of whole roasted suckling pigs placed on the street in front of Jardine House for the Hungry Ghost Festival.)
I also love fruit. On the left side, the big green football-shaped object is a jackfruit. In Vietnam I subsisted on dried jackfruit I brought from northern Thailand. To me, its delicate flavor is much more appetizing than that of its evil twin brother, the durian (apologies to durian lovers–it’s either something you love or hate).
The lower right corner of this photo shows baby coconuts. Along the bottom of the photo I also see Asian pears and dragon fruit (the reddish-pink spiky spheres to the right of the jackfruit).
In the rows above, I can spot tiny bananas, grapes, pineapples, mangoes, and maybe passionfruit.
What’s your favorite fruit?
Actually, we can eat the fruit that is offered to higher entities – but we have to wait until after 12 noon. Basically, we wait til it has been figuratively eaten, then we ask to remove it, say at 1pm or thereafter.
Thanks! I wasn’t sure what was done with that food in Hong Kong until I read about it recently when I checked into the Chingming Festival. I’m glad the food in this picture was eaten, too. It looked so good!