Durian Desserts from the Goodwood Hotel, Singapore

TW and WW were in Singapore for a visit at the start of March and when they came by to visit mum, they brought some durian desserts from the Goodwood Hotel where they had tea the week before. They had ordered the durian pancake during a high tea and thought that the durian was authentic and addictive. So, it was time to try the rest of the durian selections.

First up, durian puffs and durian crepe. Unfortunately it was cold (bought frozen) so the flavor was quite muted.

Durian Puffs and Durian Crepe

Then the durian mousse cake. Quite soft, cold and muted flavors too.

Durian Mousse Cake

The third thing:

Durian Mousse Cake (side profile)

Fresh Shipment of Durians from Johor and Pahang

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.

 

 

Durian update on pricing at Paragon Singapore

At Paragon Shopping Centre in Singapore along Orchard Road, the basement is a hive of activity. The supermarket is crowded and many of the eateries had queues. Spotted 2 durian items which I thought you might like to know are available in the heart of the shopping district of Singapore.

Mountain King Cat durian in Cold Storage Supermarket

Malaysian Durians are still available in this Cold Storage (not every one stocks them), there is no smell ( I guess they are well chilled) and it’s on special offer now. It’s not peak durian season at the moment, so maybe these aren’t the absolute best, but if you have to have it, then it’s a great bargain.

Durian Fudge from Subway Niche

How about Durian Fudge? I was thinking about trying it but the consideration of the calories I’ve just piled on kind of got in the way. It also looked kind of gelatinous and I think if you can afford to buy fresh durians, that would win hands down anytime. Having said that, Subway Niche does do reliable cookies and cakes. The pandan chiffon,  traditional butter cakes and malay kuehs are not too sweet and very tasty.

Durian Frostbites available beside the Singapore Merlion

SW and I had about 90 minutes and decided to use it to walk around the Marina Bay. We started off by meandering from the Esplanade (the Big Durian roof) round to the DNA bridge and down onto the board walk by MBS. It was a cloudy day and after a quick purchase of soda water at the 7-eleven, proceeded with our onward stroll towards Collyer Quay and round to the Fullerton waterside restaurants.

As we negotiated the very designer and tricky staircase downwards toward the pavement leading to the connector back to the Esplanade (sorry if this sounds convoluted but if you’ve been there, you’ll know exactly what I mean), I turned and a very bright and cheerful signboard caught my eye.

Cool ice cream stand facing the Merlion

Aha blinking lights which remind me of a fairground and a very colorfully designed logo which I guess appeals to women and children alike. I had to take a closer look to see what sort of product range they were offering.

Durians are on top of the menu

Well lo and behold, fancy seeing the special flavor featured on top of the menu – DURIAN!!

At more than twice the price of the standard fruity sorbets, the Mao Shan Wang gets premium position. Even the D24 standard variety of durian costs 20% less but still twice that of the sorbets.

Above the display counter there was this promo leaflet. Looking at it, you can tell their intended tourist target (it’s not in Dutch, French of German).

Claim to fame for Durian ice lolly

Durian Ice Lollies, kept separately

Looking at the freezer display, I asked where the durian flavored lollies were located (none in sight). The attendant told me: ” Oh, we keep the durian lollies separately in the freezer back here because the smell is so strong!”

I said “show me” just to test that they really had it in stock. He pulled out a box containing the durian lollies and I didn’t want them to defrost so I indicated that I believed him and he could return them to their freezing chamber. But I forgot to ask him if it was the MSW or the D24. Well, benefit of the doubt, I suppose they should have both.

 

Roaring Trade at Dempsey Car Park

Dempsey Car Park Durian Stall

Attention: All Durian Lovers from Malaysia who are vacationing in Singapore and wondering where to go have some durian while seeing the sights…

The other night while driving down from dinner at Dempsey, I noticed that the durian stall at Dempsey doing great business. When we drove in to Dempsey, the durians lined the shelves and the stall had many baskets of fruit for sale. Then after dinner, when I took this photo, the durians were almost all sold out.

Unfortunately I didn’t have time to stop and peruse their shipment and durian but I’ve eaten there before and can assure you that it’s a premium (due to location and convenience) but you also pay for what you get. The durians are reliably good.

So if you want to have a romantic dinner and durian, then consider one of the nice places in Dempsey and take a short stroll down towards the stalls which is past the Samy’s curry and Beets Restaurant towards Holland Road.

Here’s a map!

Arguments over Durian Trees in Singapore

Singapore flat residents involved in a thorny issue

Thursday June 21, 2012

SINGAPORE: A durian tree in Moulmein Road, Singapore, became a thorn in relations among residents of a HDB block of flats nearby when fights ensued over who could claim the fruits.

The Straits Times reported that the dispute began three years ago when a resident, known only as Chua, said he was just looking at the tree when another resident, R. Lim, shouted at him to stay away from “his tree”.

He claimed his father planted the tree 20 years ago.

Last week, resident Lily Wee called police after Lim, a businessman in his 50s, shouted expletives at her when she wanted to take a durian.

Root of a problem: A resident looking at the durian tree that has become a bone of contention among neighbours in Moulmein Road, Singapore.

“There are three kinds of people in this world – the good, the bad and the ugly. He belongs to the last group,” said Wee, calling Lim a “durian bully”.

Residents would wait under the tree each fruiting season, sometimes for hours, to take the ripened fruits.

“We can always get fruit from Geylang, but we choose to wait here to kio liu lian,” said a resident known as Patrick, referring to a Hokkien phrase expressing the thrill of getting free durians.

About 100 durians could be harvested each year from the single tree, which first bore fruit seven years ago.

Frustrated over the fiasco, some residents had asked for the tree to be chopped down, but the Moulmein-Kallang municipal council had let the tree be.

It will, however, put up two notices stating that the neighbourhood trees belong to the Housing Board and are maintained by the town council.

Resident Peter Yang approved of not chopping the tree, and said neighbours had begun to bond as they queued and chatted while waiting for the fruits to fall.

“Despite a little bit of nonsense, you still get some good out of it,” he said.

From the Singapore Straits Times

Thai Food Fair at Isetan, Singapore in June

If you are in Singapore and walking past Isetan at Shaw Center along Orchard Road, you’ll catch a whiff like I did of the durians for sale in the basement.

Thai Durian Stall at Isetan

It looks like Thailand is ramping out their distribution of fresh durian in Asia, competing with the Malaysian initiative to do so.

The durian buffet is on until 14th June, so another week to go if you want an all you can eat for twenty bucks in Singapore (cheap!). You get one hour to eat as much as you can and I think you sit at the tables just by the stall. Apart from durians, there’s also lots of other thai delicacies, fruit and foods that you can buy and try. Beware that lunch queues are extremely long and a 5$ som tum will have you waiting for about 15 minutes…

Thai Durian Buffet at Isetan

Durian Agar Jelly?!

Imagine:

Lychee jelly- yum
Mango jelly – yum
Apple jelly – yum
Durian jelly – err… yum or yuck?

For the purists, this would be a big turn off. Pure essence, nothing of the real stuff or the textures or fresh aromas that come with using fresh or frozen durian. Not even dried or dehydated durian. This stuff is the artificial to the extreme.

At only RM3.99 per pack, it does cost more that the usual agar packs, but I’m not sure if people would buy this as a joke or if they really think it would be popular… Would be interesting to see the sales metrics. I guess all these companies are trying to create the market for durian lovers to consume it in all forms.

I think I require convincing.

If you want to try it, this pack is available at the Cold Storage at KLCC. Walk towards the back of the supermarket, it is near the drinks section.

Durian Durian at KLCC

If you’re in the KLCC area and craving for some durian flavored pastries, then Durian Durian is probably the shop to hit. Selling a range of pastries like puffs, mochis, ice cream (see previous post) and swiss rolls, you might find something that takes your fancy.
To find it, go down to the basement using the main concourse escalator (by the Park) and do a u-turn on yourself, walking past Sephora and Guardian pharmacy. Take a left and you’ll see it, not more than ten or fifteen paces from the escalator. It’s a new corridor passage which also leads to Isetan.

The Durian Durian stall in Pavilion is no longer there, it’s been replaced by a shop called “Crumbs” which sells yoghurt and nutty toppings.

Anyone tried the Durian Stall Behind Jalan Loke Yew?

I drove past it, didn’t stop and don’t know anything about it. Yet.

Looks like there’s no place to sit and it is strictly take-away.

Durian Stall Behind Loke Yew