My Durian Adventure

[Key]

One evening, while randomly switching TV channels, I stumbled upon the end of a documentary about durian.

 

The 5 minutes I managed to see were enough to catch my attention, since the durian was described as ‘the king of fruits’ with an unique flavor, an unique odor (very unique, I’d say), warming and aphrodisiac properties.

 

 

Durian is a well-known fruit in southeast Asia, native to Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. The following day I went to an Asian market in the town, looking for the miraculous fruit. After around 20 minutes wandering around the market, I noticed a durian pile.

 

As I was getting closer to the pile, a strong odor hit me. I didn’t know where the smell was coming from and I kinda wanted to refuse the idea that it was coming from the durian, so I started to look around in search of another possible source. Noticing some public toilets not very far away, I assumed the odor was coming from there (yeah, that bad it was smelling XD).

 

As I was staring at the durian pile, the seller noticed my disgusted expression, cracked a fruit and told me to taste it with an almost sadistic smirk on his face. I said to myself that I will definitely taste it, even if I won’t be able to eat anything else for the rest of the day, just not to give the seller the satisfaction that I couldn’t.

 

Inside of the thorn-covered husk, there is a creamy yellow flesh gathered around a stone.

 

 

Its consistency is similar to a vanilla pudding and to me it tasted something like bananas in an advanced stage of ripeness, mixed with garlic and alcohol. It’s a pretty interesting flavor and kinda hard to describe; it also gives a feeling of warmth in all your body, but I couldn’t see any aphrodisiac effect, to be honest. XD

 

After tasting it, I bought 1 dorian (it costed $7/kg and 1 fruit typically weighs 1 to 3 kgs) and I have to admit I was really pleased to see the disappointment in the seller’s eyes, who couldn’t enjoy the ‘show’ he was hoping for.

 

Later I found out that there are different species of dorian, with different smells, different tastes. The one I had was a Malaysian dorian, which is well-known for being really smelly – call it bad luck? XD

[yaoifictionlove]

I love this fruit! When you're "meeting" it for the first time the smell might shock you.

[eri kun]

Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links.

omg, you went to Malaysia? Durian is my family's favourite. . All durian has strong smell. It depends on type of durians how it taste. I watched a show that they imported local durians to foreign country. Somehow I laughed when the foreigner couldn't taste the durians because its smell..

 

P/s : If you eat too much, durian can make your body temperature higher. You will feel hot and sweat for a while. lol

[ForbiddenOath]

Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links.

, I think Key meant just that the one Key tried was imported from Malay.

I love it! I love the smell, the taste, and its sweetness. They have them frozen too! They're great for smoothie as well. =) Glad you tried and like it!

[eri kun]

Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links.

pffff, I misunderstood.. Is it Key whom I saw on TV. XD.. Sorry

Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links.

IKR? OMG, Now I want to eat durian but it's watermelon season, not durian yet

[Key]

@

Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links.

As @

Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links.

said, the one I tried was imported from Malaysia. I'm not sure how the other types smell, I've just heard the Malay one has the strongest odor. I think the way each perceives its smell and taste differs from person to person. A friend of mine said that she bought a durian to try it, but to her it smelled and tasted as vomit. XD She had to leave the fridge's door open and wash it several times as she felt vomit smell in all the fridge after she had stored the fruit there XD

[ForbiddenOath]

Oh your poor friend. It's really no wonder that they don't allow you to carry the fruit on the airplane anymore. Any surprise there? NOPE! It can be intense for people who are sensitive to smell I think, but definitely worth a try. To be honest, growing up eating so I think they all smell the same and a bloody pain to kneel on it..yea, my sister has a very not nice sense of humor and made me kneel on it when I misbehaved, that is one experience I think I could have live without.

[Dayu]

I haven't tried eating durian purely just candies made out of durian.

Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links.

[Miss RED]

The durians season have just begun here! XD

[Dayu]

Where you from

Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links.

?

[gin]

I could only eat durian in one condition: it has to be made a candy.

 

Durian candy's delicious.

[lukaXGAMErs]

Durian is so sweet and I like it! But I hate the smell, filipinos likes Durian too. ^^

[milo001]

I don't like the real fruit but I like durian flavour ice cream.

[Panda01]

haha My favourite fruit, durian. I suggest you try musang king durian from Malaysia. The smell is not that strong and the flesh texture is very creamy :_red_fox 13

[23 degrees Celsius]

Musang King is expensive, too!

 

 

Musang King is also called 猫山王 (mao shan wang) which means "King of the Cat Mountain" literally. The one on the top left is your MK. Bear in mind to be very careful when you're purchasing. There are unscrupulous little toots that con the oblivious. Throw in a lookalike breed (which will taste sub-par in the face of a real MK) and charge you for the real thing.

 

Best to being a connoisseur along. Otherwise, do you homework and skim through that nice ol' list there.

 

If you want to give durian a try, but fear its unique bitterness and pungent smell, I would start off introducing this prickly guy into your palette in the form of ...

 

 

[ M O U N T A I N . D U R I A N ]

 

W H Y ?

 

It has the sweetness of durian, and similar texture. All in fun sizes! Often cutely round too. Like a green, prickly Kirby, ha. You'll barely smell anything if the cover is intact. Yes, they're ugly little urchins on ths outside, but when you split it open ... gush at its orange glory.

 

The only issue I have with is that their flesh is thin compared to the big guys. Oh well. In a way it's good if durian is a stranger to your tongue and nose - wouldn't want to be smothered and scared off upon your maiden attempt, would we?

 

They're great for beginners. They're like ... the cutesy little onigiri to the comprehensive sushi world. Try it, and if you think you can handle something with a bit more power, you're ready to begin your quest to find your favourite durian. If you like the Mountain Durian as it is, and would like to stick to that, all the power to you!

 

---

I had durian and now my breath is awful!

 

Burp it out.

 

If it's difficult for you, drink something fizzy that goes well with salt. I personally recommend Coca-Cola or Sarsi by Fraser & Neave.

 

 

"Salt?!"

 

Yes. Only by half a teaspoon for a whole bottle, really. Makes it fizzier. Gulp it down. And burp. Burp it aaall out. Burp your satisfaction out through alphe-burps (alphabet burps), if you want.

 

I do not suggest adding salt into something sweet and stagnant by default though, like Fanta. Drinking fruit pops on their own don't really get the gas going for me, but maybe every body is different.

[Justme]

Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links.

There are so many types of Durian? The part with drinking fizzy drinks after it and burping made me laugh. Orbit doesn't do the trick?

[23 degrees Celsius]

Oh geez, yes. I gave up trying to remember their breeds. Mostly, I just avoid durians that look too perfect (premature harvest) or too dark with a black tint (rotten somewhere inside). One of my many parents (long story) sells durians and other fruits like rambutan and mangosteen when the season rolls by so I never picked up the skills to distinguish them; someone does the work for me and ensures I get the best always. //shrugs

 

Do you mean Orbitz, the translucent drink with little bits? If so, they're not carbonated and thus not gassy enough to trigger a burping reflex upon swallow. If anything, it'll make you feel bloated because of all the durian you had mixed inside your stomach. (ó﹏ò｡)

[Justme]

@

Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links.

You are lucky to be able to eat such goodies for free!

 

No, no, I mean the mint chewing gum. It would not help get rid of the Durian smell?

[23 degrees Celsius]

It could, but I always expel the smell from inside my stomach in case I burped in front of someone and become a walking stinkbomb. :Laughing:

[phantom6man]

Durian in the Philippines during season time is so cheap, you can basically have one open and taste it before you decide to buy it. I'm not really a fan of the fruit though, it gives me high blood pressure every time I eat that exceptions when I was diagnosed with dengue. Also, isn't it weird that I'm fine with the smell but not with the taste?

[Yakun]

.. i haven't tried eating durian fruit, i can't take the smell, , though i tried the candy and it's really nice ..

[Rumpleteaser]

I tried durian in Australia and didn't like it but when I went to Malaysia I gorged on it. It's one of those things I don't know whether I like or not so I have to keep trying it.

 

The funny thing was the hotels we went to had signs saying no durians on premises.

[littlespiral]

i never liked this fruit, despite being an asian >///

[Kujaku]

Ohh, almost forgot about this.

 

I recently (well, like three months ago) discovered an asian store close to where I live and they had these durian cakes. I looked at it for a while wondering if to buy it or not and I would have wondered for way longer than needed if the cashier wouldn't have been kind enough to tell me it's really good and I should definitely try it. Well, say no more, mister. Bought it and on my merry way I went.

 

I don't know what kind it was, or maybe because it was baked, it didn't smell that bad. I mean, it was bad, but not throw it away immediately bad. There were like four cakes (pastry type) in the pack and I was more than curious to try it.

 

It was bad. It tasted like a bunch of fruits and vegetables were mixed together a bit after the due date. What I thought it was more weird is the petroleum after taste. (I don't actually know how petroleum tastes, but that's the closest I can get).

 

So yea, never again. I threw them all away, but not before having a laugh at one of my housemate's reaction when tasting it.

[3ruri]

I love durian but I hate it when it gets turn into something else (like cake, ice cream, jam, etc). The more expensive the durian is, the better it tastes. I think some of the famous hybrids in malaysia right now is XO, black thorn and ofc, mousang king. The last time I bought them I spent about 72usd (doesn't seem much, but that's 300myr). I think those that are imported have lost the original taste, which is why some people who bought it outside of the country of origin will end up with something that don't taste that good. 

This is just my two cents tho, but if you can eat blue cheese or exotic delicacies such as rotten fish, black pudding, etc, why not try durian. The texture may make you gag a bit, but its something like bitter-sweet buttery fruit.