写真

the philippine eggplant (talong) is the long and slender type, royal purple or purple-brown in color. it is tasty compared to the large aubergine which tastes like cotton. it is really a fruit but it is eaten as a vegetable. it is native to the philippines and southeast asian region as the original name for it in chinese translates as the malayan purple melon.
it is used as an ingredient to many philippine vegetable dishes, notably in the pinakbet from the north and also in the kare-kare (beef peanut stew). a talong omelet is very ingeneous dish actually- the talong is boiled or broiled, then peeled, then mashed while still on the stem, to effect that the mashed fleshy portion fans out. the fanned portion is then dipped into beaten eggs and then fried- delicious!
of course the best talong dish is the inihaw na talong, broiled eggplant, dip[ped in vinegar and garlic, and garnished with chopped onions, tomatoes and green mangoes.
eggplant is considered a fruit, but botanically it is actually a berry. it is a member of the enigmatic nightshade family has a slightly bitter flavor, a glossy skin, and a soft, cream-colored somewhat spongy texture.

kingdom : plantae
division : tracheobionta
class : magnoliopsida
subclass : asteridae
order : solanales
family : solanaceae
genus : solanum
species : solanum melongena

info source : wikipedia and
www.tribo.org/vegetable/talong.html