Mangosteen season is upon us, and for those of you who aren't familiar with mangosteens, your deprivation of one of the world's greatest eats ends here. A tangerine-sized reddish-purple fruit resembling a small eggplant, the mangosteen grows on an evergreen tree native to Indonesia and Malaysia but can be found throughout Southeast Asia. more ›

The already testy South China Sea waters just got a little choppier. The US has proposed expanding its military presence in Southeast Asia with the pretty apparent (though undisclosed) goal of contesting China's clampdown in the region. The protocol calls for strengthening US alliances with Southeast Asian nations, and increasing its military operations in the area without establishing permanent bases in the region so as to avoid another Okinawa debacle. more ›

Looks like our earlier warning to not eat or drink anything with dairy content for the time being bears repeating. Singapore has now found traces of melamine in White Rabbit candies, wildly popular throughout Asia. The Straits Times reports:

Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said samples of White Rabbit-brand Creamy Candy imported from China were contaminated with melamine, an industrial chemical that can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure. more ›

From nocas via our Contribute page:

today we went to the restaurant downstairs and finally took a picture of this gem in the menu (which i dont think neither of us would have the courage to taste). and just now i found out that this same virus is actually lethal and killing children in anhui province. not nice.