After three days of searching, Loan (Xuan Hoa Ward, Ho Chi Minh City) finally secured one Monstera deliciosa fruit, weighing about 700 grams, for 380,000 VND. Previously, three stores she contacted reported being sold out.

"I saw many videos of people eating it and found it unusual, so I wanted to try. The store mentioned that growers in Da Lat were facing scarce supply and I had to wait", she recounted.

Beyond Loan, in recent days, fruit-related groups and social media platforms have seen numerous posts seeking this fruit. Many are willing to spend over 500,000 VND to buy two fruits, either to taste or to film experience videos.

Mukbang videos, showing the peeling of green scales to reveal ivory-white flesh and describing the flavor as a blend of banana, pineapple, and soursop, have attracted a large number of viewers, transforming this little-known fruit into a culinary curiosity.

Monstera deliciosa fruit at Thanh Nga's garden in Da Lat (Lam Dong), recently harvested for customers, priced at 220,000 VND per fruit. *Thanh Nga*

The craze quickly spread to the market. Many fruit stores in Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Noi, Da Nang, Lam Dong, Dak Lak, which typically sell common fruits, also began sourcing Monstera deliciosa fruit. According to sellers, the fruit sells out as soon as it arrives due to limited supply from growers.

Tran Thi Ngoc Chau, owner of a fruit store in Ho Chi Minh City, stated that Monstera deliciosa fruit only became highly sought after by customers in the past two months, following its frequent appearances in mukbang videos on digital platforms.

"People enjoy unusual items, so they seek them out. Most customers buy it out of curiosity to try it, including many content creators on digital platforms and even foreign visitors who were already familiar with this fruit", she said.

According to Chau, her store imported about 50 fruits from a grower in Da Lat, which quickly sold out. Currently, each fruit costs 250,000-350,000 VND depending on size, equivalent to over 500,000 VND per kilogram.

However, the craze has also drawn mixed reviews. Under mukbang videos and experience-sharing posts, many reported experiencing an itchy sensation on their lips, tongue, or throat after eating the fruit. Others found the taste unusual but not exceptional given the price of several hundred thousand VND per fruit.

Chau explained that most cases of itching stem from consuming the fruit before it is fully ripe. Monstera deliciosa fruit is only edible when naturally ripened and its scales peel off on their own. If eaten too early, calcium oxalate crystals present in the fruit can cause a tingling, itching, or burning sensation in the mouth and throat. Conversely, ripe fruit has sweet, fragrant flesh, often likened to a combination of banana, pineapple, soursop, and sugar apple, offering a distinct flavor compared to common fruits.

Monstera deliciosa fruit is sold by many stores in Ho Chi Minh City for 250,000-380,000 VND per fruit (depending on weight). *Thi Ha*

At the source, Thanh Nga, a grower in Da Lat (Lam Dong), shared that her family has cultivated Monstera deliciosa for over 20 years, primarily as ornamental plants, never considering commercializing the fruit.

"Previously, ripe fruits mostly fell off or were given to acquaintances. My family never imagined we would one day sell them for several hundred thousand VND per fruit", she recounted.

Only after images of the Monstera deliciosa fruit went viral on digital platforms did many people continuously call to inquire about purchasing, prompting her family to start harvesting them for sale.

For the first harvest this year, her garden yielded only about 40 fruits, which sold out quickly. Each fruit, weighing about 500-600 grams, was sold at the garden for approximately 220,000 VND.

According to Nga, her family has no plans to expand cultivation because it is a very slow-growing plant. It takes about six years from planting until the first fruit, and each subsequent batch of fruit requires another one to one and a half years to fully mature and ripen naturally.

"This is still primarily an ornamental plant; the fruit is just a byproduct, not a fruit tree cultivated for commercial purposes. Increasing output cannot be done overnight", she stated.

Monstera deliciosa, native to tropical rainforests, naturally ranges from southern Mexico to Panama. In its native region, ripe fruit has long been used as fresh fruit or processed into ice cream and beverages, thanks to its flavor often likened to a combination of banana, pineapple, and various tropical fruits.

In Vietnam, however, Monstera deliciosa has primarily been cultivated as an ornamental plant for many years due to its distinctive large leaves. Although the plant produces fruit, few knew this fruit was edible when fully ripe, so most of it was left to fall or only given to acquaintances.

Thi Ha