D is for Durian

D is for Durian... that thorny fruit that tastes like heaven but smells like hell (to some).

If you visit Malaysia at the 'right' time when local fruits are ripe for the picking, second to third quarter of the year, you just might catch a whiff of some strange aroma in the air. Yep, that's our 'King of Fruits', the durian.

This is one fruit you either love it or hate it, even for locals.

Malaysian durians have grown in popularity in the last few years so much so durian fruit tourism is gaining traction. People travel on guided tours from as far as China, Taiwan and even the U.S. (I kid you not!) to savour the Malaysian durian when it is in season.

Prices of this fruit (which is sold by weight) has soared significantly as a result of its popularity. Malaysia now exports a bulk of the produce overseas mainly to China. A good amount of the fruit also ends up down south in Singapore where the fruit is just as popular.

The better species like the popular Musang King could go as high as between RM85 to RM100 (approx between USD21 to USD25) per kg. Each fruit can weigh from between 800gm to one-and-a-half kg. Durian-lovers look forward to a bountiful harvest each year which would result in a glut bringing prices down. We experienced that the last season.

Our durians come in different species ranging from the ordinary Kampung Durian to Red Prawn, D24, Musang King just to name a few. Durians in Malaysia are not plucked from the tree but are allowed to fall on their own when they ripen.

If you are wondering how a durian tree look like here are some images.. courtesy of Bing.

The durian fruit.. courtesy of Bing.

Come on! Give it a try when you are here. It's not that bad afterall. Richard Quest confirms it..

Orange - quickest way to peel an orange

O is for Oranges.

Here in Malaysia we get oranges all year round unlike our local fruits that are seasonal. (I can't wait when durians will be back in season next month.)

We are not complaining though that we can get oranges and apples any time of the year. It's helpful. You see. some of us make fruit offerings at prayer altars so having fruits all year round helps. Apples and oranges too are fruits one brings along when visiting a sick/ill person. Very traditional this one, this part of the world.

Now back to oranges... we all have our own set way(s) of peeling or cutting an orange. Of course, there's no right or wrong way, it's just a matter of choice.

The other day, I stumbled upon this interesting (and fun) video on three easy ways to peel and cut oranges. Enjoy!

Rare longan at the Penang Tropical Fruit Farm

The next time you visit Penang, here is one more food item to add to your food-hunt list of Penang char kway teow, asam laksa and Balik Pulau durians. It's a new rare species of longan cultivated at the Penang Tropical Fruit Farm. It's projected to be in the market outside of the fruit farm in three to five years time. In the meantime, you can only buy them at the fruit farm.

This rare longan may look like a longan but has the aroma of a durian (yum!, or may not go down too well for non-durian lovers though). The skin is green when unripe and turns black when ripe. At a glance, the ripe fruits even look like grapes on a tree.

According to farm owner, Mr Quah Ewe Kheng (pictured above), this rare species of longan is known as Fijian Longan (pometia pinnata).

“The seasonal longan, which tastes like rambutan with a tinge of durian, is native to the Asia-Pacific region and found mainly in the lowland subtropical and tropical areas from Sri Lanka to the Andaman Islands."

The fruit matures in three to four months after flowering and its size ranges from 1cm to 4.5cm in diameter.

According to Mr Quah, the masticated bark of the plant can be used to treat burns while the leaf and bark extracts can be used to treat a wide range of ailments such as diarrhea, dysentery, muscle and joint pains, colds and flu.

If you are interested in planting Fijian longans, head on over to the Botanic Gardens hawker stalls in Penang this Sunday. Mr Quah will have them on sale from 9am onwards. As quantity is limited, Mr Quah advised that you contact Alison to reserve your sapling(s) to avoid disappointment.

Alison can be reached at (012-4108 328).

Check out the video below.

Source: The Star..Fijian longan bears fruit in Penang

Hot weather today and Durian Kura-kura

It is a hot day today, temperature hitting 95deg F. Thank goodness for the aircond in the office. On days like this, the malls and shopping complexes would be popular places.

Blue skies and all things nice(?)..

The durian would be one happy fruit. Durians thrive best under hot and dry weather, just like what we are experiencing today although in some parts of the country - primarily the east coast - there is still some flooding.

Back to the funky fruit, durians are once again in season. If I were to own just one of these Tortoise durian trees, I would be one happysurfing durian fan!

I believe this is a new durian species, locally called Durian Kura-kura or translated as Tortoise durian - beats me why it's called such. See the big cluster of fruits? What's amazing too is how low these fruits are located though I see a drawback here. As the fruits are easily plucked, there is a chance they will be harvested long before they are ripe enough, which is how durians are harvested the current way. Malaysian durians are nice and sweet because they are not plucked from the tree but are allowed to fall off from the tree when they ripen naturally.

(Image source unknown. Taken from a forwarded email. If you know the source, please leave source in a comment.)

You may also be interested in these related articles. Some useful tips there:
- Durian - that Funky-smelling fruit
- Durian, that heavenly fruit
- That thorny fruit - Penang's famous Balik Pulau durians

Durian, that heavenly fruit

One of the spaces I make it a point to check out when I read The Star online is Thumbnails. Thumbnails is a little column that features daily a few reader-submitted captioned pictures with the best shot for the day winning a RM50 prize. I thought today's picture warrants a posting even though it did not win the prize. Titled A thorny challenge by Ch’ng Huck Leong, it features three durians on a tree - and a squirrel having a durian feast.

If you haven't seen durians, this is a great shot. I like it for its clarity and close-upness (you get the drift). Not many of us have seen durians on trees. This is what they look like. Notice one ripe fruit has dropped off as seen by the fruitless stem at the middle fruit. One of the reasons my preference for Malaysian durians as opposed to Thai durians is that Malaysian durians are harvested when they are ripe and when they do ripen, they fall to the ground. That's when they are picked up and go on sale.

The price of durians can range from a cheap RM1 for a (small) fruit during a glut to a high of RM30 a kilogram for a high-end fruit (species-wise). A regular price is likely to be RM5 a kilogram to RM10 for the D24 species. It is usual to pay around RM10 for a reasonably-sized (common species) durian in Kuala Lumpur. D24 remains my favorite because the flesh is smooth (neither too dry nor soggy) and sweet, and most importantly guaranteed wormless according to the durian-vendor.

Here's something to remember.. best not to leave durians on the floor for too long especially overnight as the flesh will turn soggy from all that dampness from the floor. If you have unfinished durian, transfer the flesh from the husk to a (preferably snug-cover) container (Tipu-ware will do too) and store it in the fridge. Durians taste even sweeter when chilled - my personal take.

As to how to get rid of durian smell in the fridge, leave some orange or lemon peels or another other citrus peels in the fridge. If you can find Charcoal, it works better. A few pieces would do wonders. Charcoal pills can be used too.

According to a Chinese belief, durians do have eyes which accounts for why there has not been anyone being hit by a falling durian. This is an assumption, of course. The actual reason may be because durians normally fall at night when no one wanders out at the orchard during that time of the day/night. Durians are collected in the morning and distributed to the various marketing spots, mostly outstation as the orchards are normally located in rural places and away from towns.

During durian season, like now, if you go interstate, you will come across durian stalls along trunk roads. It is not uncommon to see people sitting or standing around at roadside durian stalls sampling the taste-like-heaven but smell-like-hell king of fruits.

If durians are not for you, sample our mangosteens and rambutans. They are in season now too. In the context of Yin and Yang, mangosteens are a cooling fruit while rambutans are considered heaty, thus best to take everything in moderation.

A word of caution here though: Durian is a heaty fruit (- hot dry weather bears best yield). Take heed that durian and cognac DON'T go together. Take one or the other but never both together! Result can be rather unpleasant (understatement here probably). I believe people with hypertension should also take the fruit in moderation.

Like cheese, durian is an acquired taste. You either hate it or love it - no grey, just black or white! Anthony Bourdain went looking around for the fruit in Cambodia and found it nice, while the bizarre food-eater, Andrew Zimmern found it not so agreeable. What about you? Do you love it or hate it? LOL!

That thorny fruit - Penang's famous Balik Pulau durians

Tis the season for durians..

If you are in Penang and love durians, you are at a sweet spot! Everyone knows Balik Pulau is famous for its durians but going there to the orchards could be quite an effort. The great news is the durians are now coming to you in the form of a durian promotion which will be held at the New World Park on Burmah Road from noon to 8pm daily from today until the July 31.

Durian varieties available include the famed Mao Shan Wang (King of Civet Cats) as well as Ang Sim (red heart), Khun Poh, Ang Heh (Red Prawn) and D24. Mangosteens and rambutans will also be sold alongside the durians.

Tip from a durian farmer: “Good durians can be smelt from a distance instead of having to sniff up close, and are lighter compared to durians yet to fully ripen.

“You also find the thorns less hard when you brush it against the palm of your hand.”

Know more about durians, that heavenly fruit.


Source: The Star..Easier now to savour Balik Pulau durians

Durian - that Funky Smelling Fruit

A friend from Thailand recently brought me a packet of preserved cuttlefish. This is a popular snack in this part of the world and you know how this food messes up the air quality of a confined space. So, the following day, I had to seriously work to get rid of the fishy odour in my car. No regrets though because the cuttlefish is worth it.

The other foodstuff that requires special attention is the durian fruit. How do you get rid of odors? There are three ways that work for me.

Lighting a match-stick is one way. If one doesn't work, strike a few more. The sulphur will be sure to rid the smell. The second method is to use charcoal. I have them in my fridge. Leave a few chunks (charcoal pills work too) in the car and the odor will be removed. The third method, however, needs a little bit more expenditure. Install an ionizer in your car. I used to have one in the car and the air quality was excellent. Everyone that I gave a lift to commented about the fresh and odorless air in my car. I'm not an air-freshener person so the ionizer worked perfectly. But after it broke down, I was not able to get a replacement so charcoal is the next best.

Our King of Fruits, the durian, is so famous that even Nat Geo think it necessary to do up a video of it and they even share a hotel's way of getting rid of the durian odor. Check it out.

Gas and Durians

The "no free lunch" has finally caught up some - in the area of gasoline. The government's subsidy on gas has also benefitted our neighbours. At RM1.97/liter, some Singaporeans have been taking advantage of this cheaper gas and coming over to Johore Bahru to fill up their tanks while grocery-shopping over the weekend. With a currency exchange rate of about 2.25 to their advantage, the Singapore dollar covers a lot more mileage over here.

Today, the government announced that starting Friday, there would be no more petrol sale to foreign cars. Petrol stations located in border states like Johor and Perlis will be barred from selling petrol and diesel to foreign-registered cars starting Friday. This applies to petrol stations located as far as 50km from the border. The government is also studying if the ban should include petrol stations in Pontian.


Not only do our neighbours enjoy cheaper gas, Singaporeans also come to Malaysia for the food. One popular item is the durians. Each year, tons of durians are exported to Singapore.

For durian-lovers, you might have to pay more for the fruits this season as the rains during the supposedly dry season disrupted durian trees from flowering, thus bearing less fruits.

Durian orchard owners in Penang are lamenting about the poor harvest this season. In good times: The average durian tree can yield 50 to 70 fruits after flowering. This season, the yield is a lot less.

More... The Star..Bad weather a thorny issue for orchard owners