A visit to a 'proper' durian stall does make a difference. With honest durian sellers.
I've heard of sneaky sellers who figured out that someone is a noob when it comes to durians so the buyers were conneed into buying a lower grade durian at Mao Shan Wang prices.
Wait... Mao Shan... what???
I guess you'll just go to ieatishootipost's entry to get a lil' bit of 'education' on what 'Mao Shan Wang' durian is all about.... And the stall he mentioned is the one I went to over here...
Katong Durian
It was my colleague, Sri's birthday and my boss brought us out for lunch at the Katong area.
My boss appeared pretty hyper/happy/excited somehow, during lunch and his wife later let on that his favourite durian stall is nearby and he's looking forward to having some.
So we do away without dessert and strode over to the durian stall. It wasn't that impressive, frankly. Small, with a limited number of durians, in fact. Then I learnt that they only bring in the best of the lot and there are days when no durians come in just because they weren't available or good enough.
I was surprised at just how detailed they were. They will first ask what we look for in the durians that we want. What type of taste? Texture? A durian noob like me totally appreciate this gesture.
'Red Prawn' (Ang Hae) durian
pic courtesy of my colleague, Sri
This was the very first durian served to us. This came first because it carries a creamy, yet milder taste and is less pungent. Having the stronger-tasting and smelling Mao Shan Wang before this would have 'killed' the taste.
Boss opening the 'Red Prawn' for us
I was a tad disappointed because it wasn't THAT red. Very yellow, yes. I can't see any reddish tint anywhere.
And no, I'm not silly enough to expect something like the Borneo Red Durians!
And yes, the Red Prawn was awesome! Smooth, creamy taste. Hardly bitter. Almost 'feminine' in taste.
Then again, that was before I had the Mao Shan Wang (MSW)…
Ahh… the Mao Shan Wang!
Some call it the 'Raja Kunyit' (Tumeric King), some call it 'Musang King' (musang being, fox).
what a beauty...!
Deep yellow colour, with thick flesh. Has a rich, sweet and slightly bitter taste (which I totally love!). I just can't stop reaching for more!
Seeds of the MSW are small AND thin, which is why the flesh feels satisfyingly thick.
So many segments!
I was amazed at how much durian we can get from just 1 fruit.
Inside the deeper segment...
Even the central segments are fully packed with durian! I was just so blown away and makes me feel less guilty about reaching for the fruit ever so often because there definitely is more than enough to go around!
The 5 of us shared merely 1 Red Prawn and 1 Mao Shan Wang, but I felt like we had a lot more! Definitely filling and wayyy more than satisfying.
Makes me wonder if it really is worth buying many, many cheap durians with inconsistent qualities and tastes or should I 'invest' in a good durian from a realiable stall? What do you think?
Anyway, this stall actually provides us with wet tissues. My boss gave us a good tip: Wash your hands with Colgate, to better get rid of the smell of our hands.
We went to the back and discovered some cheap toothpaste lying around and tried. Doesn't work, actually. My boss chuckled and remarked that we need the ACTUAL Colgate brand, perhaps... Pfft!
Ok, ok.. Last pic!
The MSW was sooo pungent that I actually start to hate myself for eating all that durians. All that gas and the pungent breath… plus the odour that seeps out of your system as you burp every now and then…
Eugh…!
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