King of the King's Durian

There are hundreds of durian cultivars, but most never reach U.S. shores.

The "mon thong," the Thai "golden pillow," is the variety most often commercially exported to the United States, and only after being frozen before shipment. Thawed and husked, it has a custardy texture and (despite the awkward pungency of a junior high gym) is very sweet.

Compare the fresh durian below, a cultivar nicknamed "sultan" and "Bukit Merah" but best-known simply as D24 (sold by weight; S$15, about US$11.25 at the time). That large pale yellow lobe was relatively firm, gently sweet but with nutty and even faintly bitter notes, and lushly perfumed. My durian dining partner and I polished it off expeditiously, then — after the proprietor split the husk a second time, freeing three smaller lobes — continued at a languorous pace.

King of the King's Durian
Chinatown Complex Food Centre (ground floor, outside), Singapore
(From a summer 2010 visit)

Comments

[Mara G.]

Does this one taste like custardy, sweet rotten onions, too? I cannot get past that rotten onions taste, no matter how many times I've tried.

[Dave Cook]

From my brief writeup you'd gather, I hope, that the texture, flavor, and aroma of this fresh durian — we paid extra for a premium-grade specimen — were superior to that of the frozen durians found in the States. Like many foodstuffs I've covered on Eating In Translation, durians are best enjoyed on their own ground.

[Iggy Pop]

I have had durian and it is very good and doesn't smell as bad as I thought it would. Definitely worth trying if you enjoy food.