Malaysia — Johor Bahru — Durian — The King of Fruits
I finally tried a Durian — what did I think?
I had lived in Malaysia for over two years, and while I had smelt Durian Fruits on many occasions, I had never tried one.
The fruits are on sale in shops, in markets and by the side of the road. You can’t miss them. Sometimes, you know you are coming up on a roadside stall selling Durian several hundred meters before you see it — the smell is that strong.
The Durian Fruit is smelly. Very smelly. And I had avoided tasting the fruit as many people told me it was disgusting, yet strangely, numerous people had said it was delicious. Judging by the smell, it was going to be revolting.
The fruit I bought was in my car for no more than 10 minutes, and I could still smell it when I got back into the car 3 hours later. And there was still a faint hint of the smell the following day.
Durian Fruits are banned in taxis, many buildings, and hotels because of their smell; however, it is revered as a delicacy and often depicted in odd places.
The fruit is difficult to open.
The outer skin is tough and covered in spikes, so you should get the seller to open it if you don’t have a large, sharp knife.
Once you cut a cross in the top of the fruit, it can be pulled apart. This takes effort, as the skin of the fruit is very tough.
Not only does the fruit smell awful, but it also looks unappetising once you have opened it.
What surprised me was that despite the smell, I liked it. I went back for seconds and thirds.
It is hard to describe the taste; it is possibly unique. It was sort of sweet, but then again, it was not. It was dry but also slimy (if that makes sense). It was a real mix. One handy piece of advice, watch out for the large stone in the middle.
My Malaysian friends said I had managed to buy a good one as they can be variable in taste and texture, and also, the degree of ripeness can impact both the taste and the texture. How I managed to buy a good one is beyond me.
Interestingly, Durian is classed as a ‘hot’ food, which will heat the body and as I was tucking into my third portion and having a swig of beer, I was told that Durian should never be eaten with alcohol as that will lead to death (obviously not, as I wrote this some hours later).
I was told that to avoid the heating of my body caused by the fruit; I should drink water from the fruit’s skin, that is, the indentation in the fruit from where the fruit was removed. Having already risked my life by drinking alcohol and eating Durian, I decided to play it safe and drink water from the skin.
Maybe that is what saved me?
