Dur-insanity!

Durian!! Possibly no other fruit has ever caused so many extreme reactions from people.

The Durian is an oblong, spine covered fruit native to Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia. It has a very distinct, very strong (some say very offensive) odor.

Inside, the fruit is a cream-colored pulp with a seed in it.

People in Asia are passionate about durian. It is revered as the King of Fruit. But for visitors, you’ll probably smell the durian before you see or eat it. Some people say it smells like sewage. I think it smells like rotting fruit.

Many places – including our rental car – ban durian.

The season for Durian ranges from June to August. Mr. Happy and I are going on a trip to London and Norway soon and were worried that durian season would end before we returned. We really wanted to try this fruit and determine if we were lovers or haters.

Luckily, we recently met two experts in the field of durian – Duri-Ann and Duri-Andy! They invited us and Round the World out for an evening of durian tasting.

This couple actually has the phone numbers of durian vendors on speed dial! We called their favorite guy looking for the Tawa variety, but he was sold out!

Our first stop was in Petaling Jaya. Duri-Ann and Duri-Andy described this place as a “scene” and they were right. There were dozens of durian lovers crowding the stalls.

We first sampled the XO variety.

I really enjoyed it!



The fruit has a custardy texture to it and tastes a bit like scotch. I was surprised at how mild the fruit tastes compared to how strong it smells. Also, once we were surrounded by so many durian, we got accustom to the odor and it wasn’t at all offensive.

We also tried a variety called Red Prawn. The flavor of this was a little stronger.



We definitely indulged!




We cleansed our palates with some cold water between tastings.

Before we left I noticed some jars in the corner.

Apparently, this durian seller augments his income by selling fighting fish. Fruit & fish, an odd combination. I wonder how much business he does?

Next we went to see a dealer called Long Tail at his stand King Cat (Raja Kucing).

He was just about sold out for the night, but he was very helpful and knowledgeable.

At this stand we sampled the D-24 variety. Each one we ordered had a pretty distinct taste to it.

Ever the expert, Duri-Ann came prepared for the tasting!

We all really enjoyed our night durian tasting and Mr. Happy, RTW, and I all enjoyed eating the fruit.

I’m not sure that I loved it and I don’t think I will start craving it just yet, but I’m definitely craving a few more tasting evenings!