iShop FOSE market

Exotic fruits and greens

FOSE stands for Federation of Self Employees. All traders here are small time businesspeople trying to make a living. That alone should be a sufficient reason for you to venture to the end of Keyser Street and show them your support. But if it isn’t, FOSE is quickly becoming a strong rival to Manning Market as the best place to get the freshest fruits and vegetables in Pettah. Under the hangar style open-air structure, you will find all manner of people selling all types of fruits and vegetables. The traders themselves are a fascinating lot and very chatty to boot. Great place to sample some fruit and strike up a conversation. Pamu a local vendor says: “Nothing is off-season here, if it exists at any-point during the year, you can find it all-year-round at FOSE”.

What to buy or try?

Why not sample some exotic fruits while you’re here? The best mangoes come from up-North, rambutans (a kind of lychee with red spiky skin wrapped around a wonderfully soft flesh) from Malwane or a succulent mangosteen from Kalutara. Or try wood apples, a Sri Lankan love affair. They smell like blue cheese, but taste like sour tamarind pulp. Made into a wood apple fruit shake, they are lovely! If you’re lucky to be there when the Durian is being harvested, you’ll no doubt be greeted by its sickly-sweet smell. The fruit is notoriously aromatic, either you love it or you hate it. FOSE is not only known for its greens, a select number of traders sell a range of spices, dried foods, fish and other condiments that will definitely take your culinary skills up by several notches.