Durian : The King of Fruits in Malaysia

As I have written here, durian, the king of fruits, the nasal wars and the thorny looking thing that I had the love and hate affair of. It is indeed a fruit to be reckon with. Not only does it look suspiciously odd on the outside, with a thick husk of thorns all over, it looks even weirder on the inside, a sort of gooey yellowish pulp that reeks of a certain kind of smell many gave various ugly terms to. There are also indeed many people who would curse various ugly terms when they first had their piece, though there are some who would fall in love instantly, rare for such an ugly thing to love but not impossible, but something you can surely learn to love and get attach to for sure.

What is it exactly?

It’s a fruit. Yes it is. It is just another fruit where we would eat the flesh surrounding the seeds. The outer layer, its husk ranges from green to brown with thorns to keep preys away but so it seems it never did for the humans, even despite trying to hide themselves in a really pungent smell. The edible flesh would normally range from pale yellow to almost orange color, with a thick gooey sort of texture. Although the looks of it already might deter some away from it, but nothing beats the smell itself to make on discern a durian from even a kilometer away.

Try it anyway

Yes regardless the smell, the look and the feel of it, be a sport and try it anyway. You will be amaze by how someone looking and smelling so odd can taste so uniquely delicious. The tastes depend on the type of durian that one consumes, but normally it ranges from sweet to bitter with a slight tone of alcoholic characteristics. Personally I am those who goes for the bitter alcoholic ones, but the rest of sweet and mix are just as good themselves. Try it and then let me know what you think. Be forewarn though that you might get hook like me, and went into a frenzy of durian feasting, and then much later on, you would suddenly have a hankering for it.

Durian in SS2 Petaling Jaya

Just last weekend, all of sudden I have a craving for durian, it just feels like its been a long time since I truly indulge in some and moreover the durian season is about starting now, where you can see various lorries and stall selling the king of fruits in almost every street corners beckoning to you. So I managed to gathered a bunch of friends who is crazy enough to agree with me to eat durian for dinner. We brave the crowd to the famous corner in SS2 PJ, where there are rows and rows of stalls selling various types of durians. Here people normally come for the buffet style eating of eat-all-you-can for RM10 or RM25 (for the deluxe). As for me I would rather choose the durian I want specifically, buy it and have it open there for slow indulgence. Being late, we only manage to have a few but it at least satiate my cravings for the time being. Though I must say the prices at SS2 are a bit steep, what not with it trying to charge the city dwellers, normally you would get it cheaper at villages or at least outskirts of town. In a pinch you may go there else try to hunt for better bargains and even fresher durians out there.

Traditional Ways to Enjoy Durian

Most enthusiasts or purists would say that the best durian are those that has just fallen from the tree. When I was young, I had the luxury of eating freshly fallen durian from my Nanny’s husband’s estate. He would come back with a few and the whole family will go into some sort of an esctatic celebration. Everyone will huddle together at the floor, already lined with newspaper and now laid across with durians half opened, and then dig into each for the pulps. Yes these are ceremoniously eaten with your hands, digging into its soft flesh while slowly licking them off the seeds and your fingers of course. Another way that many people like to do, is to stand by the lorries selling those durians, having the proprietor open it for them to taste one after another while standing right beside the road with cars whizzing by just inches away.

Truly Malaysian

Seeing how people go crazy over durian especially during the seasons, the way they crave for it, and then hunt for it, buy in bulk, the eat together like a little ceremony or eat it under any condition, makes this truly a showcase of what Malaysians can be. Therefore not only durian is the king of fruits, I dare say it is the fruit of Malaysia too.