King of Fruits
My first encounter with Durian, “The King of Fruits”, was during my my first visit to Davao in 2005. This is not an uncommon introduction, I suppose, as Davao is well known for it’s durian. This goes so far as the statues around town, including the one at the Francisco Bangoy International Airport and the reference to Davao as Durian City.
I still don’t believe I’ve tried fresh durian. At least not that I remember, and it’s one of those things that you typically don’t forget, even with my increasingly poor memory. I’ve had durian candy, cookies, in coffee and various other flavored items. The only reason that I haven’t tried it fresh is that no one that I’ve been with wanted anything to do with it. It’s one of those “love it or hate it” type of things. I intend to try it next time and given that it is an acquired taste, I’ll give it several attempts.
The smell it gives off is evidently offensive to some people. So much so that when we were checking into our hotel in Davao last spring, the sign on the wall greeted us with “no durian allowed”. That could have been a personal preference of these owners, but I got the feeling that it isn’t an uncommon rule around Davao.
Durian has it’s share of followers and a number of them have websites dedicated to everything durian. I’ll give you one that you can start with, Above Average blog, and it links to many others.
photo credit: flickr
Hi Randy – Next time you are in town, let’s go have a durian together! I love it, and I bet you will too! Honestly, though, eating things like durian candy, cake and such does not give you a good idea of what eating durian is like!
Happy New Year, Randy!
Hi Bob – that sounds like a plan. I’d love to give it a try.
Happy New Year to you, too. We’ve got a little over 7 hours to go here, but I’ll be in bed when it’s official
nope, my guess is that you haven’t had fresh durian yet or else you would have remembered it. for better or worse.
personally, i love it & even enjoy the smell. but you are right, it is a “love it/hate it” thing. kudos to you for wanting to try it.
looks like you already got your expert durian guide in bob. from what i already know, he’s practically earned his masters degree in durianology
Hi macky – I’m sure you’re right – I probably haven’t actually had the real stuff. I’ll take advantage of Bob’s expertise and give it a go next trip for sure. That should only be a little more than a year. Can’t wait!!
The smell hasn’t put me off yet, so that’s half the battle – I think
Hmmm, would like to be there when you try it – see your reaction
Hey Macky, read that you are a “lost soul” like me – attended UP and ATeneo but never finished any of these universities cuz I moved, so never got any invitations for alumni parties here. A UP classmate emailed me though, in a roundabout way – googled my maiden name. This internet thing is scary.
Hi Ellen – you’re more than welcome to come along wherever it is that we go to try durian, as far as I’m concerned at least. I’m guessing you’re not a fan of it?
I hope I’m not biting off more than I can chew, so to speak
Hi Randy, of course I like durian. I try not to eat too much though in one seating, but hard to stop when you start.
Hi Ellen – you had me wondering.
Is there durian grown on the island? I would guess there would be, but I’ve not heard anything about it. Maybe just for personal consumption?