KUALA LUMPUR: The delightfully delicious and juicy Taichung murcott from Taiwan is coming to Malaysia!
This exquisite citrus fruit’s fragrance and juiciness won the approval of Malaysian Celebrity Chef Mohd Johari Edrus (Chef Jo).
Chef Jo fell in love at the very first bite and remarked “This is so delicious (sangat enak)!”
The Taichung Murcott Media Gathering is jointly organised by the Shihgang District Farmers Association and the Dongshi District Farmers Association to introduce the fruit to the Malaysian media, and the event was attended by Director of Economic Division, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia, James Chang, Director of Taiwan Trade Center Kuala Lumpur, Eva Peng and President of KL Standing Committee, Taiwan Chamber of Commerce & Industry in MalaysiaTsai Hsin Tien.
Murcott, also known as honey tangerine or honey murcott, is a sweet citrus fruit known for its thin peel, delightful fragrance, delicate pulps, sweet, juicy, and somehow sour.
With its honeysweet juiciness, it truly lives up to its “honey” moniker and every bite feels like an explosion of the freshest fruit juice.
According to Director of Marketing Department, Shihgang District Farmers’ Association of Taichung City, Fu Yu Chin, Taichung is famous for its high-quality citrus products with ponkans and murcott being two of the district’s key citrus exports.
Murcotts are in season between December to February and the cultivation area of 598 hectares yield an annual output of 11,010 metric tons, making Taichung the largest murcott production area in Taiwan.
The fruits are mainly grown in Dongshi, Shihgang and Xinshe districts.
Currently, 20 metric tons of Taichung murcott are bound for Malaysia and there are plans to export more fruits to Singapore and Malaysia in the future.
A total of 100 metric tons of murcotts are expected to be exported this year.
James, in his opening address that the bilateral trade between Malaysia and Taiwan hit the record high of 37 billion US dollars in 2022, a growth of 36% over 2021.
He urged Malaysian government to support Taiwan’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) to further boost trade performance between Taiwan & Malaysia.
As part of the promotion campaign, the Taichung City Government invited Chef Jo to work his culinary magic to transform the Taiwanese murcott into delectable Malay kuih to add a little citrus flavour of Taiwan during this year’s Iftar feasts.
Chef Jo served as a judge on the popular culinary program “Master Chef” and became the face of the program with fans started calling him Master Chef.
The Master Chef strongly recommends the fruit and praised its juicy sweetness and its distinctive citrusy aroma which lends it perfectly to all occasions.
He created two special pastries, a sweet Malay-styled kuih and a fruit tart, to transform the unique flavours of murcott into delectable delicacies.
The Taichung murcotts will be available from the 25th of March at many quality merchants across Malaysia including Harvest Impact, Jaya Grocer, Aeon, Cold Storage, Star Grocer, and Wholefood Express. There will be free tasting events at Star Grocer & Whole Foods on the 25th and 26th of March, and Aeon on the 1st and 2nd of April. Don’t miss out this chance to get your hands on this delicious fruit!