Meeting with the King

Last night I met with the King.
Durian, The King of Fruit to be exact (Singapore does not have a king). I was introduced to him by a group of very nice Singaporeans, Chika, Tracey, Nin and Dan (thank you!!). We went to meet the king in Geylang, the only area in Singapore that can be considered somewhat dangerous. It is not recommended for anyone to go there alone or drunk, especially ladies, due to the prostitution and black market sales around. And I have heard rumours that Geylang is the office of the Singapore mafia. If there is such a thing.. Well, anyway, we went as a group and on a Sunday night, so although it was busy in my eyes (our neighbourhood is really quiet) it was not. Just some people about, meeting the King!


After exploring our choice in different durian species at different stalls (and learning a lot about all the other fruit as well), we sat down to taste four different kinds of durians. It was exiting; what if I didn’t like it? What if I could not eat it? What if I had to throw up?

My guides were supportive, helping me every step of the way.. and surprise, surprise, as we sat down, the smell had gone and the durian was not so bad. Not bad at all. (Apart from that XO kind, that one I could not eat beyond two bites.)

The flesh of the durian looks like raw chicken meat, but it is softer and stickier than it looks, and it melts in your mouth. There’s a seed in every bit of flesh, and the seed is not edible.

Besides trying out the different durians, I learned many important facts about the king:
- durians are not picked, they fall of the trees when they are ripe, and they only fall of the trees in the evening and night time. If you were to get a durian that has just fallen from a tree, and opened it up, steam would come out and the flesh would be warm – durian at its best.
- the prices of durian vary from S$1 to 50, according to the quality of the fruit. They come in several flavours from bitter to sweet, and with a hint of cognac taste (the XO I did not like..).
- animals, such as tigers in the wild and dogs, also like durian. Chika’s two dogs beg for durian at home, and tigers are a work safety risk for durian pickers. (Another work safety risk is the durian itself, as the thongs are quite sharp.)
- especially Malaysians love durians (bit Singaporean Chinese do too). There’s a saying that a Malay man would give up his sarong for the last piece of durian. Another saying, Chinese if I remember correctly, is that when a man displeases his wife, the wife will tell him to go into the living room and kneel on durian shells.
- durian and alcohol don’t mix (can be lethal apparently.. ), instead the best drink is coconut juice from a real coconut. It cleans the taste from the mouth, so that the flavours of the durian come forward.

After eating all the durians (no, not me, I only had 4 or 5 pieces, I’m a beginner..) there was just seeds left, and we washed our hands using the empty durian shell as soap – the best way to get rid of the smell in your fingers.


Before heading home we, or I actually, tasted some other exotic fruit (and I think everyone else simply got a kick out of watching me tasting). I got to meet the Queen as well, and she tasted so good and sweet that I took home a kilo of her together with “new potatoes”, small potato-looking fruit whose name I already forgot.. they taste good too!

I took so many pictures that one could think I was doing a documentary ;) But no, I’m just fascinated by this fruit that stinks and looks like chicken and yet people absolutely love it. Thanks Tracey, Chika, Nin and Dan for the experience!