Comments on: Durian – The King of Fruits

By: annz0r

annz0r — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:43:47 +0000

I was staying with a friend in NY and we bought a durian in one of the Chinatown markets one evening. We couldn’t bear to eat it straight after experiencing the smell (and just think, the ones in NY are frozen, which mutes the smell a bit). We ended up making durian smoothies with nutmeg and vanilla, and they were rather tasty. I didn’t even know what it was at the time, I just figured it was spiky and smelled funky, so we should try it!

I’ve also had durian chocolate pudding at a raw vegan restaurant. My friend told me it smelled like a chocolate covered onion.

Hopefully someday soon I’ll be able to enjoy it fresh! Always love reading about others’ durian experiences.

By: Barbara at Hole in the Donut Travels

Barbara at Hole in the Donut Travels — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:04:42 +0000

OK, OK, I have to try it now. Great post!!

By: Emily

Emily — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:33:06 +0000

My first week in China I pointed to what I thought was a peach colored ice cream flavor and boy was I surprised…

By: Jo

Jo — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:59:03 +0000

You can also get Durian ‘chips’ (kinda like banana chips) at Asian grocers so maybe that can be a less intimidating introduction to this scary looking/smelling fruit for some people?

Although I had heard of the stench of Durian, when I finally did come across it on a trip to SE Asia I actually liked it! So there was no hesitation for me to taste it and I LOVE it. Luckily in Australia it’s easy enough to get durian in fresh(ish) form and as an ice-cream flavour. YUM!!!

By: Fruits of Southern Vietnam | Ottsworld

Fruits of Southern Vietnam | Ottsworld — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:22:34 +0000

[...] the king of fruit. You can read about my experience trying durian here. You can find it everywhere in the markets now – or should I say – you can smell it everywhere in [...]

By: Heather

Heather — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:34:01 +0000

I LOVE durian .. infact when I get a wiff of it wafting thru the air I’m like the bisto kid and follow the smell to track the source . so I am one of the 14% of westeners who do like it – yum yum yum!

By: Wanderluster

Wanderluster — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:09:43 +0000

I was only able to get past the smell once. But then biting into it made me gag.

By: jinky

jinky — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 06:06:20 +0000

durian here in Philippines comes in a lot of variety and all taste very very good…i recommend the native durian…the mother of all the varieties…eating durian here don’t need a spoon and a plate…just your hands (of course clean hands)and to take away the stinging smell from your hands just rub your hands on the durian pulp with a running water…i can eat one whole durian…yummy!!!!

By: Butchers in the Market featured in the Vietnam Photo of the Week | Ottsworld

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:32:26 +0000

[...] recently made a trip to a local market to purchase and eat durian for the first time. While I was there, I was able to capture some photos of butchers of the market. A big teddy [...]

By: Adventure Eating in Saigon | Ottsworld

Adventure Eating in Saigon | Ottsworld — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:19:54 +0000

[...] by taking me to a local market and showing me how to cook up a Vietnamese seafood feast. They also introduced me to durian – the king of [...]

By: admin

admin — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:31:35 +0000

@hstryk – so glad you found the sites! Glad they are motivating for you. Sometimes all it takes is knowing that other people have done it and then it doens’t seem as impossible! Let me know if I can be of any help!

By: hstryk

hstryk — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:01:37 +0000

Just started reading your blog and I love it! I’m actually looking into applying to jobs in Vietnam. There’s one job in particular in HCMC and through my Googling found your site. This and the “Briefcase to Backpack” site are SO motivating me to pursue the desire I’ve had to work/live abroad for years.
Thanks!

By: Ba

Ba — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:44:04 +0000

@Sherry – The vendor can peel the durian for you on site if you ask them. They even put the flesh in a styrofoam box for you. Durian shell is structured in wedges. If you know where the grooves/hinges are, it won’t be too difficult to open/peel the durian. Next time when you’re at the market and are in the mood for durian, just ask the vendor to peel it for you. You will see.

By: admin

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:38:40 +0000

@Mark – how cool – I want to see how they open it so quickly. It took me a long time to try to figure out where to hold it without impaling myself! I wonder what they charge?! I’ll look for the durian ’strippers’ here in the Vietnamese markets now too!

By: Mark H

Mark H — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:34:50 +0000

I also struggle badly with the smell but I think the taste is divine. In Thailand, people will peel the fruit for you (in the markets) for a fee. They have the thing stripped apart in only a second or two.

By: Ba

Ba — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:41:37 +0000

I was a little disappointed when Andrew surrendered to the durian given the fact that he ate a lot of food that were worse than durian.

By: admin

admin — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:26:30 +0000

@Chris – think they’ll give me his job?! I’d be happy to take it!

By: admin

admin — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:25:55 +0000

@Anil – you’re right – people wonder why we eat moldy cheese! I love blue cheese!!

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:49:28 +0000

That is awesome! You did something Andrew Zimmern couldn’t do on Bizarre Foods! Great description too!

By: Ba

Ba — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:47:49 +0000

Mmm…I love durian. To me, if you like durian, the smell is considered the good smell. It can be expressed in Vietnamese as: “Trời ơi, thơm quá!” In the other hand, if you’re not a big fan of it, you’ll find the smell to be unpleasant. There are locals that hate this fruit, too, not just the westerners.

By: Anil

Anil — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:05:38 +0000

I remember watching an ‘extreme food’ guy on some US TV show trying durian and him having a hard time getting over the smell, which makes me curious. It’s good to try new foods, someone somewhere is eating something we all think is disgusting. It’s just a matter of taste < bad pun, sorry!

By: admin

admin — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:31:12 +0000

Eileen – glad you found me! Stop by again! Yes, the unappealing look and texture of it really took me by surprise and reminded me how powerful our brain can be. If I had eaten it blindfolded, I probably would have been fine. But once you associate something with it – like a human liver…then it’s a lot more to overcome!
I’m really glad I did it though – my reward was the brilliant feast we had afterwards!

By: eileen

eileen — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:45:49 +0000

I hadn’t considered that it might look unappealing as well! Glad you braved it, and your meal prep sounds lovely. What a great stroke of luck to have made such great friends! I just stumbled here via @everythingtrip and I’m pretty glad I did!

By: Lynn

Lynn — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:04:42 +0000

Congrats on your Durian eating experience! Lee has tried it, but not I…I draw the line at some things…no bugs, no durian, thank you very much! Lee agrees with your evaluation of the dreaded fruit – its not the smell ultimately its the texture. I have no desire to get past that smell…there are plenty of things to eat in this world that smell WAY better than Durian!

By: admin

admin — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:11:01 +0000

I’m surprised they didn’t do an emergency landing of the plane right then! If it were Singapore Airlines I bet they would have!

By: Daniel

Daniel — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:31:35 +0000

What a cool video. “Sure, it’s not lilacs” — might be the understatement of the year. It is pretty stinky! I much prefer the aformentioned jackfruit. I recall on a flight in Malaysia a few years ago somebody started eating durian or durian sweets at one point. Stank up most of the plane.

By: Lilliy

Lilliy — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 14:48:04 +0000

I love trying new food. I give it a go at least once. But I would have probably had a very hard time trying something stinky.
The fish looks yummy.
Glad to hear that you had a nice 4th of July. 50 years of marriage wow! Congrats to your parents.
I think food all over the world is sign of celebration. You want to go to the movies lets buy pop corn. You want to get together lets have dinner. Its summer lets go have picnic and grill. Let’s have a romantic dinner. And all over the world there are always so many places to eat. I think people always celebrate with food. It’s never a full celebration unless there is food involved.

By: Lornadahl

Lornadahl — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 14:15:10 +0000

Congrats! I didn’t find it THAT smelly.

What variation did you try? When I first tried that, I learned there’s the native durian, Indonesian kob, puyat, smiling, basketball, etc.

By: Dave and Deb

Dave and Deb — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:50:02 +0000

Excellent post. As I watched the video, I was hoping that the fish had been quite dead as she cut away with her scissors. If it was still alive, that would have been the most awful painful way to go. It sure looked beautiful on the plate though.

I agree, a morning in the market is far better than sitting inside watching tv. I forgot how loud the market is, horns, people. Vietnam is a loud place.
Congrats on trying your first Durian, you are now truly a seasoned expat living in Vietnam now.

By: admin

admin — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:47:13 +0000

Yes – I’ve tried Jack fruit and didn’t like it too much. But that was part of the problem – I was expecting durian to be like jackfruit but smelly – but that wasn’t at all the case!

By: Scribetrotter

Scribetrotter — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:14:59 +0000

What a great description of easing into durian! I have tried to get past the smell but failed, and two years of living in Thailand didn’t help. Don’t know if you’ve tasted jackfruit – a vastly milder version!