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Gastro Obscura
Penang Tropical Fruit Farm
A sprawling tropical paradise offers a taste of fruits from around the world.
For the curious, intrepid explorer looking for a brief getaway from bustling George Town, head northwest, where a sprawling fruit paradise awaits you.
Located in northwest Teluk Bahang, the Penang Tropical Fruit Farm is Southeast Asia’s largest collection of fruits. The farm sits at 800 feet above sea level, making it the perfect location for cultivating tropical and sub-tropical fruit trees. It’s a veritable fruit wonderland—with over 25 acres of land, the farm boasts over 200 species of edible fruits that come from all around the world.
Penang Tropical Fruit Farm was first developed back in 1993 with three goals in mind. First, to conserve rare and exotic fruit; second, to educate visitors about the beauty of the land; and third, to encourage ecotourism amid intensive development in Penang. Tourists to the farm are often taken on a tour of the farm, hearing about the various fruits on offer and learning about their origins, with some sampling of fruits included on the tour itself.
Visitors are often taken on a whirlwind tour through the fruits of the world—at the Penang Tropical Fruit Farm, you’ll come face to face with fruits from Central and South America, Central Africa, the Caribbean, and other far-flung places. On one tour, you might get to sample fruits including miracle berries, the fruits from West Africa that temporarily make sour foods taste sweet; nam-nam, a native sour fruit of Malaysia also used for medicinal purposes; Indian Gooseberry, which can be made into ink or jams and jellies; and jaboticaba, a tart purple fruit from Brazil that seemingly grows out of tree branches and trunks.
Know Before You Go
Because of its location, there may be a lot of mosquitos, so bring some repellent or pick up some nutmeg oil, said to keep mosquitoes away. Also, there are two kinds of tours—while both will take you through the farm and also give you an enzyme and honey tasting mini-tour at the end, one of them also gives you the option for a fruit platter and a smoothie, to be picked up at the end of the tour.
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