Face-sweating hunt for Durians in Taipei

The worldwide epidemic has forced us to temporarily seek refuge in Taipei where schools are open and life has been relatively normal for the last few months. We are mandated to wear masks by the government but I see that as a very good rule. It forces a person to keep all your nasal and oral bacteria contained to yourself (you pay more attention to your oral hygiene as you can smell your own bad breath) and limits also the dust from the street getting into your lungs. So far, the only reason why I don’t enjoy wearing them is face-sweating. My face skin has never perspired so much on a short walk to the supermarket. It feels just like I’ve had some sort of a steam facial every time I step out of the house.

But does a mask help with filtering out the wafts of ripe durian as you walk through the market?

In the various local fresh food markets, I’ve seen durian for sale at every corner. What kind of durian? I hear you ask. Well… it’s all called “Jin Jen Tou” otherwise known as the Golden pillow or Mon Thong from Thailand. Nothing special. Inferior to most Malaysian durians.  No smell at all. That’s what most Taiwanese know as durian. There clearly is a fascination with it as market vendors stock it amply.

On my twice a week market walk, I noticed that one stall had a few different looking durians. These durians didn’t have the yellow tinge and “bulging muscle” husk morphology. These durians were more lush green, a lot smaller and were less symmetrical. HMMM. Pause. Let’s take a closer look.

I leaned over the makeshift table under the sunbrella.

“What durian are these?” I said, indicating towards the smaller green ones.

“These are Mao Shan Wang” came the stall keeper’s reply.

“Really… where are they from?”

“They are from Thailand” 

“But Thailand does not have Mao shan wang” I continued

“This one is from Thailand” he said confidently,” If you like you can look at the box”.

“Why is there no smell?”

“What do you mean no smell? Is your nose stuck or something? It’s very strong!!”

Sure enough, the box indicated that it was Mao Shan Wang, exported from Thailand. This was really quite an exciting find. I’ve heard before of a lookalike mao shan wang from Thailand and never seen it until now. I pulled down my mask and asked to have a sniff.

Observations:

No distinct smell even though it was ripe and starting to split open (without mask). It had a the triangular thorns but they looked quite wispy towards the tips. The base didn’t look exactly like a mao shan wang at all, but when it came to the relative color of the flesh, it was the closest thing to a mao shan wang.

A little negotiation took place. I reasoned with the stall owner that his durian was looking rather ripe. Would he sell it a little cheaper? How about if I bought two could he give me a special price? We finally agreed on TWD 850 (RM 125) for the two durians, which I think would’ve cost me a fraction of that in KL or Singapore. It would be that price for the real Mao Shan Wang durians in Singapore and KL.

I told the stall owner and his wife I didn’t have my wallet on me but I’d be back to collect them. They cheerfully agreed and started opening the durian and packing it into small individual plastic bags which they then dropped into a box. While they think this is a very hygienic method of packaging, the process by which they get the durian into the bags is far from an aseptic method.

Consuming durian is best done with friends. I called up M & A who had let on in a previous conversation how crazy they are about durian but had never had a Malaysian one before. We planned a durian tasting session that night.

 

The tallest durian tree in the world

I really enjoyed this article about the hunt for more elusive Durians. The red and orange Durians, as this article confirms are dead disappointing in taste and it’s just not worth the hassle apart from the novelty of bring instagrammed with it in your hand. Wild Durians probably are relatively “gamey” and appeal only to a narrow palate or if there’s nothing else around to eat.

What was interesting in the article was the mention of the tallest durian tree at 57.5m. The century old tree is located in the deep interior of Sabah in Kampung Kenang-Kenangan supposedly produces 2000 fruit per season. Wow… that’s a real durian bonanza.

The tallest durian tree is located in Tongod

He’s on the hunt for the tortoise durian .. I’m keen to know what that’s like.

Latest durian prices at CitySuper

As you descend the escalators from Lane Crawford down to CitySuper in Causeway Bay, a welcome whiff or durian greets you. If your nose is fairly sensitive, you’ll be guided between the various displays of Christmas goodies and snacks into the cavernous supermarket. These seasonal displays have taken over the front section and the usual fruit and fresh produce has been shifted inside.

I turned left towards the massive array of cheeses, nope the scent was off. So I turned back right and yep, picked up the scent again. Weaving in and out I finally found the durians round the back of the shelf near the drinks section towards the cashiers.

The aroma was very robust and with good sharp accents yet had a soft sweet touch to it. Musang king yes. But what else?

Ahhh the black thorn is here.

But so is the Musang king.

I was curious which one commanded a higher price. The black thorn became a popular hybrid a few years ago but I remember noting this durian in Penang almost a decade ago.

How much does each set you back?

Well, the black thorn durians are HKD 46 per 100 grams and the Musang Kings are a HKD 40 per 100 grams.

The Black thorn durians are also looking a little larger than the Musang Kings hence the higher price on the ticket per fruit.

Price wise, the Musang Kings at Sogo we’re a little cheaper but not by much.

I guess if you’re a CitySuper good card holder perhaps it works out the same post discount.

Latest durian prices at Sogo

Musang Kings or Mao Shan Wangs are back in season.

At Sogo they have the whole durians on sale but you can also buy them already in packets. Looks good.

You can see from the picture above, a packet with just one segment will set you back HKD 170-200. Worth it?

The whole durian is HKD 42 per 100 grams, that’s 420 per kg. So according to my exchange rate calculator that’s SGD 70 per kg. That’s RM 220 per kg. Aiyo ka gui bui sai jiak (translation from Teochew: ah too expensive cannot eat la).

Unless you’re not flying to Singapore or Malaysia for Christmas break then no choice if you’re desperate for a Musang king and at Sogo.

The massive Malaysian durian feast: Eat durian til you drop- Members only!

I’ve been in HK for more than 3 years and my social life has been limited to the shopkeepers I meet in the market, a few friendly neighbours and other parents whom we get along with as families. Not anymore! I finally bit the bullet this year and joined the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, as a way of getting a bit more of a social life and (real reason) to get invited to events and parties that if otherwise have no access or inclination to attend.

The MOST important party in my annual calendar is not CNY, not Christmas, not mooncake festival. Although these all rank highly. The one absolute party worth every expensive dollar of the annual membership joining fee is the durian party that happens once or twice a year (depending on durian season).

The tickets to the event were sold out on the day of release. I can tell you that all the participants are hardcore durian fanatics.

So on a nice balmy evening in Wan Chai, we showed up at Malaysia building. We could smell the durian from the lobby. We followed it with our noses to the dining room on the top floor.

The durians were ALL Musang kings (no point wasting time on other types) and came packed in polystyrene boxes stacked high. It was all in about 100Kg of durians.

Two guys were there hard at work opening the durians with a tool and divying them out onto cardboard bowls.

Once everyone arrived, the Chairman made a brief speech about do’s and don’ts (e.g. Don’t drink gassy drinks while eating durian) and then it was the “go for it” moment. No one was shy.

My box had a mix of two durians, one milder and meatier, the other more flavourful and soft. It was the same for others at our table. They’d taken care to give everyone a bit of a mix so that no one ends up with a monotonous box. 👍

Everyone at the event had durian in lieu of dinner so you can imagine how much we all ate. I was very controlled and had second servings only whereas SW had thirds and fourth!

What a great party. The menu?

1) Durian

2) Water

I met two friends I hadn’t seen in at least 2 decades. That was a huge surprise and a very happy one. And I made a few new friends that we’ll definitely see at the next durian party.

Which I’m hoping will be at the end of the year.<<<<<<

A Durian guide to the newly renovated Food Hall and Supermarket in Sogo Causeway Bay

Sogo, one of the stalwarts in Hong Kong’s departmental store shopping scene has undertaken a massive stage-by-stage renovation. It’s about time. The layout was beginning to look tired under the old style fluorescent lighting and it was heading towards the style of Wing On rather than Hysan Place. 

The internal renovation started at least a year ago with the children’s floor. Now, it’s reminiscent of Lane Crawford and Harvey Nichols (I bet they took a lot of ideas from there) and is rather upmarket ($$$).

They recently completed the B2 food hall and supermarket, this is what I checked out. 

I checked it out with a specific interest in durians of course. 

I was very surprised that down the escalator, the first thing that caught my eye in the fresh food section was a small shelf of durian. It occupied the top shelf, above the jackfruit (nangka).

Thai durian at Sogo

Granted it was Thai durian but this was promising. Rough spend would be HKD 100+/- per pack.

Hmm. Did they have any Malaysian produce for sale? 

Sogo rarely lets you down.

Malaysian Musang Kings

On the adjacent opposite display shelf, the Musang Kings were in whole and packaged form and is on a shelf at roughly hip/waist level. There’s the already packaged durian going for about twice the price of Thai durian, and there’s the whole durian for those who want it super fresh.

Durians packaged beautifully in sushi boxes at Sogo

Each box contains between 4-5 seeds, all a rich golden yellow. How about the whole durians?

Whole durians

The whole durians were long stemmed and quite fresh looking, still unopened. Each about 2kg in weight and costing about HKD 600+ per fruit. 

Here’s where to look for them in the supermarket.

Where to find durians in sogo supermarket Causeway Bay

Here are directions to Sogo if you’re new in town.

Go by MTR, tram or bus.

It’s on a major thoroughfare through Causeway Bay, you can’t miss it. Especially after they are done renovating in a year or two and will have a massive TV screen up for advertisements.

How not to eat durians

This crazy lady was not permitted to bring her durians on board the train after officials caught a “whiff” of what was happening. So she gobbled it all down before the train left…

Too heaty? Most definitely. Next time, pack it well!

I recommend plastic packaging with a vacuum seal if possible. Otherwise use cling film liberally! 

Durians at City Super, Causeway Bay

I was going up the escalator towards Lane Crawford from Toast box when the fragrance eau durian hit me. Initially I spent the few seconds of escalator time peering around me, wondering if it was second hand fumes from a recent consumer (sounds gross but this happens all the time), or a dessert stall from the food court manufacturing some durian pancake dessert. 

I just had to go down again to see the durians for myself. So back down the escalator it was.

There it was in the front seasonal fruit section. The “Malay Durian mountain cat“as labelled. Aka Musang king, Mao Shan Wang.

  
Nice long stems topped off with cotton to preserve freshness.

  

Are you salivating yet?

  Very evenly round, beautiful spikes.

  
Expensive though.

But it is City Super. Known in Hong Kong as a premium supermarket for all things good and high quality.

These durians were only for sale whole, no packaged fruit in sight. So I have no idea if it looks good on the inside. But that’s the gamble with durian.

Park n Shop Wan Chai has Mao Shan Wang Durian on sale!

Yesterday was my first purchase and taste of durian this winter. 

At the Park n Shop in Hopewell Center, I usually cast a glance over at the shelf where the pomelos and other seasonal fruit sit… always hopeful that durians will appear. And they did. Packets and packets of durian. It must not have been more than 3 or 4 small durians though. Just divided up into plastic cling film trays.

Most of the durian packets were full price but a few packets were on sale half price. I picked the heaviest one with the plumpest looking flesh. It was clearly ripe but relatively untouched. They must have put it out just before I got there. Most of the packets looked quite soft and ripe already so more will go on sale soon… Unless a durian aficionado buys the lot before you get there.

I went home with this packet which I put in the freezer until dinner just to chill it. 

The color wasn’t as rich as the Mao Shan Wangs we usually have but the texture was creamy and the flesh falls easily away from the seed. A few small parts of the fruit tasted a bit sour and these were discarded. The smell was strong but as we only had two segments, wasn’t too overpowering. Generally pretty good.

The size of Malaysian durians vs Japanese watermelons

We went in to Sogo Causeway Bay on the weekend (yeah, crazy idea right), to look for some outdoor gear. Well, that was what I intended anyway. SW led me into the basement.

“Err… Shouldn’t we be heading upstairs?”

“No,” he said “it’s all downstairs”.

Not wanting to argue on the escalator, we proceeded down two floors.

“Surely the sports attire isn’t in the supermarket?” I inquired.

“Oh, oh I thought we were going to look for noodles.”

Different planets? Definitely.

Anyway, a meander around the fruit section yielded some useful information on where Japanese people go for their durian fix.

Here’s one guy getting the assistant to open it for him. I noticed that he bought two. Does it seem a lot?

Not if you consider the size of each fruit. Positively teeny weeny from a Malaysian perspective. It was a kilo or less I reckon. At 150 HKD a fruit that probably yields no more than 5 seeds, it’s pricey but knowing Sogo, they probably select the better quality stuff.

They also sell it pre-packed if you’re risk averse. At least those clear windows let you see what you’re buying but those plastic shells prevent the compulsive “finger-pressing” that afflicts all fruit wrapped in simple pliable “Glad” wrap.

So, the price of the ones in the pack are pretty similar to each whole fruit. I would hesitate a guess that each whole fruit yields one and a half of these boxes.

The stems look good and the fruit looks fresh and fungus free. If you are in Causeway Bay and urgently need to bring a Malaysian/Singaporean durian fanatic friend a fruity gift, this might be the one to get.

Beside the durians, they had this fantastically huge watermelon. It could be a prize winner in fruit competitions. I remember at Ocean Park they sold King Watermelons, perfectly round, they are cut in half and sold as a cooling treat. I didn’t note where they are from.