My first experience of it was as a very sweet canned fruit, but now I am very enthusiastic about it as a raw snack. In Street stalls the fruit is usually sold on the twig, which looks good and probably allows the fruit to remain fresh a little longer. You need to consume the fruit within 24 hours of purchase
You need to be a little careful about where you eat lychee, as a five minute snack will leave you with sticky lychee juice dripping from your elbows.