We went to buy fruits at Ah Tong’s the other day. His shop is discreetly tucked away in the back alley behind the Farrer Road Market. He’s been selling fruit since he took over his father’s stall in Cuppage market. i remember going there with my mother as a small kid, bringing my own shopping basket (no plastic bags back then – we used carton boxes and our own marketing baskets), it was funny because Ah Tong would humour me by putting a total of 4 apples into my little basket which would fill it to the brim. Anyway, Ah Tong was a young man then but now has grown up kids of his own. It remains unclear whether they will stay in their father’s trade.
My dad loves to buy the exotic fruit he imports from certain countries and dealers. Weird shaped passion fruit, a sunshine yellow dragon fruit from Ecuador, expensive overly ripened persimmons from Japan and all sorts of interesting fruits to see, depending on the season.
One day when we were there to buy our usual fruit supplies for the week, Ah Tong said he had some spectacularly good Mau Sang Wang Durians from Malaysia. There is no better way, in my opinion, to ply the food trade then to allow people to sample a taste of great quality fruit. If you’re a fruit fanatic like we are of durian, it is impossible to resist. Ah Tong offered to open a durian on the spot for us to try. Would or could we say no? No way!!
Bright and Buttery Mao San Wangs
Yummy, ate almost half a durian
The durian was delicious and I think each of us ate 3-4 seeds just standing there. We polished off the entire durian. Sale guaranteed. My dad bought all 6 in the basket and asked him to put them all in plastic containers so that we can freeze them at home for later consumption.
These Mau Sang Wangs don’t come cheap, they’re about SGD 15 -20 per kilo, but that’s probably the going rate in Singapore.
Dedicated to Durians 