TikToker tries $120 Japanese crown melon, and viewers have feelings: ‘Save them seeds’

Luis Carlos Zaragoza (@luiscarloszara) is a TikToker and foodie who shares food reviews and recipes, and describes his feed as “a surrealist dinner party.” In a recent video, Zaragoza shared his experience purchasing and taste testing a $120 Japanese melon. Spoiler alert: He claims it’s delicious but perhaps not worth $120! 

The video begins with a shot of the interior of a Japanese supermarket in Los Angeles. Zaragoza films a display of crown melons. On one side of the display, glossy photos show a spoon digging into the interior of a melon, while on the other, the melons sit in green cardboard boxes. A price tag on the display notes that each melon costs $119.99. 

“I was at a Japanese supermarket the other day in LA, and I came across a $120 melon directly from Japan,” Zaragoza says as he picks up a melon and places it in his shopping cart. “I had never seen such an expensive piece of fruit here before, so I thought I would buy it and see if it was worth the price.”

“It came packaged really nicely, and [the booklet inside] explained how it takes 200 days to grow this single piece of fruit,” Zaragoza explains, as he flips through the booklet featuring photos of the melon. 

Then, Zaragoza removes the melon from the box and begins to slice it. “It immediately had a really strong melon smell,” he explains as he removes the seeds from the melon. “It almost smelled like candy, and it was really juicy.”

Using chopsticks, Zaragoza places a piece of melon in his mouth. “That does taste really nice,” he says as he chews. “Is it worth $120? I’m not sure. I think it’s kind of like how some people will buy a bottle of wine. If you know someone that loves melon, I think this would make an amazing birthday gift.”

The video ends as Zaragoza shares his final thoughts. “I don’t know if I would buy it again,” he concludes.

TikTok viewers thought the crown melon was expensive, too

Viewers were shocked by the melon’s price tag!

“$120? Save them seeds,” one viewer suggested. 

“In Japan, there’s limited space, so the gifts you buy need to be consumable. This is a nice gift,” another viewer wrote.

“I am so glad you bought this. It was really interesting to learn about [a] special fruit like that,” another TikToker commented. 

$120 might be expensive for a melon, but can you really put a price tag on good food

In The Know is now available on Apple News — follow us here!

More from In The Know:

Listen to the latest episode of our pop culture podcast, We Should Talk: