...so the MOON FESTIVAL is upon us once again... and this means a few of my FAVE THINGS are back in season....
DRAGON EYES
POMELO 
ASSORTED MOONCAKES
...and a new FAVE, Haagen Dazs Moon Ice Cream Cakes
I know it as ATIS (Atemoya) growing up in the Philippines... it was one of the fruits, that I remember loving and craving all the rime - along with LANZONES & MANGO. I remember it being plentiful and very cheap when in season... and my MOM made sure to get them for me all the time....
Then I moved to the US where CHERIMOYA/ATEMOYA are not easily found... and when you do, they are rather costly... so it was always a TREAT to be able to ahve one now and again... Here, in Taiwan, I see them from time to time... also costly -- not as costly as the US but still on the expensive side...
So, if there is one thing really good about traveling back and forth to Manila lately, it is the chance to be able to eat all my fave fruits, to my heart's content!!!
According to cherimoya.com:
Cherimoya ( Annona cheirimola P. Mill. ) is an absolutely wonderful fruit which is becoming better known in the United States . It is now produced in limited amounts in Southern California . It is thought to be native to southern Ecuador and northern Peru , and is related to some fruits in the same genus which grow in more tropical areas. Cherimoya was probably taken to other parts of the world hundreds of years ago, so it is especially well known in Asia as well as throughout South and Central America . It is produced rustically in many parts of the world, but it is produced in commercial plantings only in semi-tropical areas of Spain , Chile , Peru , California , New Zealand , Australia , and Israel .
Some closely related species are produced in more tropical areas. Atemoya is an interspecies hybrid of cherimoya and sugar apple ( Annona squamosa ). The fruit has some qualities of cherimoya, and grows in hotter, more humid areas where cherimoya cannot be grown, in Florida , Hawaii , Australia , and Israel . Guanabana ( Annona muricata ) is grown throughout tropical South and Central America . It is larger than cherimoya, but has more fibrous flesh, and a very tart flavor. It is better suited to processing, especially into drinks, than to eating fresh. Paw paw ( Asimina triloba L.) is the only Annonaceae species native to North America, in valleys in the middle and eastern U.S.
- g
Growing up in California - I had the pleasure of doing weekend treks to the Napa County now and again... am not much of a drinker,well, none at all but still one can savour the views, the fresh air, and seeing all that grapes growing... 
Who would have thought I would end up having the same kind of experience here in Taiwan... while visiting one of my roomates' home in the Nantou County -- we were treated to a whole different kind of living... away from the hustle and bustle of city life... and into the relaxing calmness of country life... with lots of FRESH AIR to boot...
Saturday morning, while most are still asleep, we decided to take advantage of the fresh air and walkabout the neighborhood.... first we come across papaya trees, then lycee trees - lot so of them - too bad the season is over so none to try... we lucked out though as we came across some LONGYUEN (Dragon Eye Fruit) - the season is almost over but still some lingers on unharvested.... and they were just so easy to reach, practically growing on the sides of the roads... so needless to say, we picked them off the trees and ate - A LOT!!! Sweet, Juicy & Delicious!!!!
Then it was lot, after lot, after lot of grapes.... unripe green grapes, just beautiful to look at and feel.... good thing they were not ripe yet or else we would have been in biiiig trouble... we learned later on that grapes grown in this area are very much sought after Island wide... David talked to a couple of the farmers... interrogated them actually about growing grapes and when is harvest season... so we learned that is is around December when they start ripening and farmers get ready to harvest... YOU CAN BET WE WILL BE BACK THEN!!!
Pineapples are big in Taiwan -- somewhere north of Taipei is a place where Pineapple growing is their biggest business, both domestic and for international exporting... so needless to say - pineapple has found it's way in just about anything and everything....
Pineapple Flavored Moon Cakes, once a novelty in Taiwan is fast becoming a tradition..
Long been considered a Lucky fruit... giving pineapple flavored moon cakes during the Mid Autumn Festival is considered giving/sharing lucks with your family, friends, employees as well....
Recently we have received a box full of it... it is the best tasting one i have ever tried.... over the years we keep getting these but I find them too sweet and one can hardly make out the pineapple, much more the taste of it... so normally I do not even bother with them... (we just end up, in turn, giving them away too...) But this particular brand is nothing like I have ever tried before... you can actually feel in your mouth the pineapple pulp and each bite definitely has the taste/flavor of the pineapple... So this year, I actually found a new appreciation for Pineapple Flavored Moon Cakes... LUCKY ME!!!
This one actually came with a postcard of the place north of Taiwan where the pineapples are grown...
Got to try these delicious fruit just yesterday... am blown away by it... NO WONDER they cost soooo much.... now I would not have bought them myself as I think they are just on the expensive side -- but LUCKILY, one of the roomies got a box as a present for Chinese Moon Festival, instead of the traditional MOON CAKES -- and we all got to TASTE them....
Korean Pears has got to be the sweetest type of Pear I have ever had so far in this lifetime... i just could not believe how sweet it is -- crunchy, juicy and sweet.
Extreme care is supposedly taken while growing these pears, the outcome is the cleanest, most blemish-free fruit available. And unlike the ones I used to have in San Francisco, and even here in Taiwan, Korea's Asian Pears are round and much larger in size. The skin of the pear has a light brownish-yellow tint while the inner flesh is white, as white as they come. This variety is bred to have an extremely thin skin. This is one of the reasons, i read, why they must be wrapped when growing. So, when you bite into it, you right away taste the sweet juicy juicy flesh and not bitter skin like other pears do. They are so refreshingly good and sweet in taste.
According to WIKIPEDIA: "In Korea, , Korean Pears are grown and consumed in great quantity. Many are exported to the U.S. and sold as gifts, touting the superior quality of pears grown on the peninsula versus those grown in Southern California. Imported pears tend to be quite large and very fragrant, and are carefully wrapped, allowing them to last several weeks or more in a cold, dry place, such as a storage.[citation needed] In the South Korean city of Naju, there is a museum called The Naju Pear Museum and Pear Orchard for Tourists (나주배박물관 및 배밭 관광체험).[1]
Because of their relatively high price and the large size of the fruit of cultivars, the pears tend to be served to guests or given as gifts, or eaten together in a family context.
In cooking, ground pears are used in vinegar or soy sauce-based sauces as a sweetener, instead of sugar. They are also used when marinating meat, especially beef."
