June and July are a perfect time to buy lychees! They are in season and at their most sweet and juicy! They usually start being sold in late spring and they are very hard to find in the autumn and winter. As you walk around Chinatown you will undoubtedly see these golf- ball sized, red, spikyish grape-like fruits being sold in bundles on the streets and in the vegetable markets. Once you peel off the red skin, be ready to put this extremely juicy fruit in your mouth.
Most vendors sell them by the pound. It ranges from $3.00/lb – $10.oo/lb. Based on my experience, the more expensive they are, the more ripe and sweet they are. When you buy the cheaper ones, they tend to be less ripe- which means a less tender fruit that may not come off the pit as easily. Sometimes they may not be as translucent. They also tend to be less sweet, but usually still pretty juicy.
I like my lychees cold and I’ll put them in the fridge before eating them. Some of the shops in Chinatown sell lychee icees. Now that it’s in season, some places offer fresh lychees in their icees. The icees are basically lychees topped with shaved ice and syrup and sometimes evaporated milk. The New Pho Tu Do- (this Vietnamese place – review to come) on Bowery St (cross st Grand St) offers it fresh. At all other times of the year, they used canned lychees.
a Chinatown Local 