Durian season started quite a while back (in late April) but earlier on in the season, the fruits were not so good and the price also not so cheap. So, I usually waited till near the end of the season before buying durians and stuffing myself silly till I scare everyone away with my Durian Breath!
But this season, I couldn’t wait. So I went searching for really good durians early in the season and got these:
This is Number D11 and I bought it from one of my favourite Durian stalls along Mount Erskine.
I was sorely disappointed with Number D11 this time around. The man at the stall had warned me that the fruits aren’t so good this early in the season (this was in late April) but I was craving durian and wasn’t listening.
Number D11 – it is supposed to have slightly thick and not so creamy and sweet flesh with a slight pungent aroma. Something TH likes. However, when we bought it, it looks good, smells good but tasted bland. What we durian connoisseurs would call ‘huan chu’ (potatoes).
Rating (for durian, not the stall): 3/10
Price: $$$
Luckily, the stall does not charge expensive sky high prices for its durians. The durian costs me RM15 each. Since it was early in the season when durians tend to be more expensive, I would say it was okay, not cheap but not that expensive either.
So, I was put off durian for a few weeks and recently gave it a try again. This time, we went to another stall…the famous, branded durian stall along Anson Road. This stall is famous for its ‘branded’ durian and when we talk about branded, the prices also ‘branded’ lar.
It was a rainy evening but I was struck with durian craving again so, we stood in the drizzle and waited to order. This time we bought Number 14 and Tang Kai.
This is Number 14.
It has a slight orangey tinge and also slight pungent aroma. Its flesh is firm, not like the huan chu, but it doesn’t leave a sticky mess like the Tang Kai. Although soft and sweet, it is not creamy. However, it does not have any remarkable taste to it. Much like the normal plainer durian except that its flesh is thicker. It doesn’t give me any satisfying ‘Oompphh’.
Rating: 7/10
This is Tang Kai.
It has a more pale yellowish colour as compared to the Number 14. Now, this one is extremely thick, creamy and very pungent. Its seeds are also quite small, thus quite a lot of flesh to bite into. Due to its thick and creamy nature, this is one durian I could not consume a lot of. It was like eating thick sweet cream. My son absolutely loved this too. Even the aftertaste leaves a thick creamy sensation on your tongue and throat.
Rating: 8/10
Price: $$$$ – The prices for these two medium sized durians costs me RM40! This is why I say it is ‘branded’ durian!
There are actually quite a variety of durians being cultivated right here in the hills of Penang, Balik Pulau to be exact. From what I know, here are a list of some of the names of durians available during durian season other than those mentioned above:
D17 – has a slightly orange tinge with a slightly bitter aftertaste to it.
D604 – pale yellow, it is sweet and thick with small seeds
D600 – dark yellow, this is sweet with a bit of bitterness and sour.
D700 – darker shade of yellow, it is not that pungent and has very firm flesh
cheh poay (green skin) – it has a green tinge and does not look appetising but it is creamy and sweet.
ang jin (red yoke) – has a reddish tinge, very sweet and not very creamy.
ooi keow (turmeric) – colour is like turmeric, is sweet and pungent.
ang sim (red heart) – also reddish, very sweet and sticky with a sweet aroma.
Then we come to the three most expensive and ‘branded’ durians:
Hor Loh (water gourd) – orange reddish flesh, its flesh is soft, slightly creamy and bitter. I would say it is like bittersweet chocolate, rich and sweet to a point of bitterness. And the aroma, it is something you could never forget and simply indescribable!
Ang Heh (red prawn) – this very famous durian is orange reddish much like a prawn’s and also has a very strong aroma. Its flesh is bittersweet but sweeter than Hor Loh and very soft, like butter melting in your mouth.
Bak Eu (pork fat) – this is a very pale yellow colour with mushy flesh (thus the name!). It is bittersweet with cheu bee (alcohol flavour). Also quite difficult to find.
There are quite a lot of other different types of durians and I do not know all of them so it is up to you to discover. For reasonably priced durians, I’d recommend the stall along Mount Erskine road. The man is honest too and he has quite a wide selection of durians although not as much of the branded ones like the Anson Road one. There is also another one at the junction of Lorong Susu and Macalister Road. This stall sells mostly Ang Heh durians and I heard the pricing is quite reasonable, RM12 for small sized durian but I don’t know if he had increased the price yet since I have not tried the durians at this stall before.
Unfortunately, due to the erratic weather conditions, the durian supply this season is pretty low so prices will probably remain quite high. Also, the durian quality won’t be that good either. But it is a good time to get durian kuih, my favourite durian by-product!
I know most commercial durian kuih are mostly sugar and some even add flour to thicken it but I couldn’t help but try buying at least one to taste. I grew up eating homemade durian kuih by my grandmother so I would know when I taste a really good one!
I bought this one from the stall along Lorong Susu / Macalister Road. It is RM8 each.
Rating: 6/10
Sadly, till today, nothing could compare to the homemade durian kuih. The recipe is quite simple, just durian flesh and sugar. It is the amount of work that makes it difficult as it involved manually peeling the flesh from the seeds and then stirring the durian flesh and sugar in a huge pot for hours over low fire till the mixture thickened. Towards the end, it gets really difficult to stir because it would become really sticky and thick. I remember helping my grandmother with it a few times years ago and it wasn’t easy!
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How can a fruit that is so stinky taste so good?
Well, remember Admiral Ching Ho? Legend had it that he was a semi-god. Whatever he said will come true.
One day he decided to play a trick on the Pewasara, the ruler of Melaka. He told the Pewasara’s servants to put some cat shit on that funny looking fruit with thorns on the skin and it will taste heavenly and their master will give them a big reward.
The servants did that and since whatever Ching Ho said will come true we have the now famous king of fruits, the durian. It smells like cat shit, stinks like hell but taste like a piece of heaven !!!
And don’t forget when you visit Melaka go and drop a coin in the wishing well in the Ching Ho temple. It’s waters are said to have to be able to ward off sickness. And perhaps buy some joss sticks from the caretakers and give thanks for that wonderful king of fruit – the durian.
engineer: I didn’t know about this story…we learn something new everyday…
Does anybody know where I can buy a durian fruit around houston texas. My wife and I watch bizzar foods with andrew zimmer and after watching him try to eat one we are dying to try it.
I really enjoyed your piece about the durian. I was in China (Rui’An – Tang Xia) a few months ago and had the most amazing dish ever with durian. It was a herbal chicken soup with durian. Have you ever heard of it and if so, do you have the recipe? Thanks a lot!