DURIANS are now in season! You'll find these prickly fruits gracing your panorama almost everywhere you turn in Kuching. Prices vary from one fruit trader to another so it's best that you hunt around for a bit before making up your mind on where to buy. My parents bought four huge ones for only RM20 while scouting around Serian yesterday afternoon.Now, if you have never tried eating a durian before, it's time you gave it a go. It really is not all that bad. Sure it has a really pungent odour, which to the "virgin" nose, sometimes can unfortunately smell quite like fart. "It stinks to high heaven!" said the famous travelling chef Anthony Bourdain upon coming across this King of Fruits in Indonesia. But he did enjoy every last bit of its sweet and creamy custard-like flesh in the end. Mind over matter folks, mind over matter.
I love durian in all its form (durian cakes and tempoyak are to die for, believe me) but I'm no expert in choosing the crème de la crème from the pile. I've seen various people with "selecting techniques" that I found pretty amusing though. One such observation was of an old man who gingerly picked a fruit from the pile and carefully lifted it to his ear as if the durian was whispering something to him. Too bad I didn't have my camera with me then.
Despite the temptation to gorge, the durian is best eaten in moderation. The fruit is very "heaty" and eating too much may cause you to get a sore throat if not a fever and cough. One way to "cool down" your system, according to my mom was to mix some warm salt water in the empty durian shell and sip a little then gargle with the rest. Personally I don't care for involuntary "lip piercings" so I usually have mine in an ordinary glass.
- Photo by: Carol Ujan 2008
