The mangosteen is my favorite fruit in the world—squat, with a deep purplish-red rind, topped with four thick leaves and tiny stems that look like clover-shaped hats. When you break into the thick rind, you're hit with a heady, sweet fragrance and eight or so fleshy white pods of fruit that resemble cloves of garlic. Mangosteens are soft and creamy, lemony and tart, with a meaty earthiness—at least that's how I remember them. My first encounter with my beloved mangosteen was at a night market in Hong Kong in 2000; I've had them only once since then, in Vancouver. (They've been banned for import into the U.S. because of fruit-fly fears).

My memories of mangosteens are inextricable from those of the wondrous Hong Kong night market, where the sounds of people bargaining in Chinese, the smell of deep-fried fish balls, and the sight of twinkling lights, knockoff Sanrio products, and jade bracelets commingled to fight off darkness. Every city should have a night market. Though it hasn't taken place yet, I am already deeply in love with Seattle's Chinatown—International District Night Market, which takes place Saturday, August 4, in Hing Hay Park, the park with the lovely red-pillared pavilion. It may be a naive fantasy, but I'm going to go in search of mangosteens. I believe I will find them.

Chinatown—ID Night Market is Sat Aug 4 at Hing Hay Park, 423 Maynard Ave S, 382-1197, www.cidbia.org, 6—11 pm.