 |
| Waiting for the fruit at a Durian "bar" |
Durian, the most smelly of all fruit! In fact it has such a strong smell than in many countries, like Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, you cannot take Durian onto public transport, or into hotels. There are signs all over the place where you cannot go in if you have a Durian with you. That is how strong the smell is! Smells almost like smelly feet! Not the best of smells! As the title of this post reads, you either love it or hate it. I must say, the jury is still pretty much out with me. My first taste of Durian a long time ago in Thailand, I really did not like, but on a recent trip to Meden on the Island of Sumatra in Indonesia, I had a few more tastes and it started to grow on me, but only by a very small bit! I will most definately try it again if and when the oppertunity presents itself. When the flavor is used in other foods, like chips, cookies or other things, it is very nice, but the flavor in the fruit itself is very intense and very sweet. The texture of the fruit is also a bit strange. Soft and squishy! Like a seriously over ripe banana and I like my bananas on the green side, so this could be another reason that I am still not sold on this being the king of fruit! It is most definitely an acquired taste.
 |
| Mountains of Durian |
It looks like many people have acquired the taste for Durian. My recent visit to Medan coincided with the peak durian season and the people I was with just loved Durian! There are a few Durian "bars" where you can get this very interesting fruit. We visited one such bar.
There are also different varieties of Durian and people can become quite the connoisseur of different varieties of the fruit.
Sitting at the Durian bar was a great experience. It was a beautiful warm evening and we had just enjoyed a really great dinner and the trip to the Durian bar was the cherry on the top of a great evening. There were literally mountains of Durian. I must say, after seeing all of the signs saying that you cannot bring Drina onto teh bus or into the hotel because of the smell, there was very little in the way of smell at the Durian bar.
The staff were really expert at picking a good durian. I guess that smell is one of the main ways they select the fruit. Then, with a very sharp knife, the open the fruit from the top. Most of the fruit is not edible. What everyone is after is the seed with the soft pulp around it. There is really not much edible fruit from such a large shell.
If the edible seed part of the fruit is removed, it can be packing into airtight plastic containers, wrapped in more plastic and then it can be taken home on the plane. The folk that I was with are based in Jakarta, and they both got a package of Durian to take home with them.
 |
| Preparing the friut to travel |
 |
| Durain, Durian everywhere, but not a thing to eat! |
One of the main things about travel is to experience and taste different foods and fruits when travelling. Durian is definitely one of the fruits that you should try if you every get the chance. Who knows, you may well be among the large group of people who think that Durian is the king of fruits, or you may, like me, not be quite so sure that this is the best fruit that you have eaten. In any case, the experience of being at a Durian bar in Medan in Indonesia was priceless. A most enjoyable experience. This is why I am a passionate traveller. I love the opportunity to see and experience different things. The opportunity that I get travelling for work is really great as I often get to see places which are not really on the tourist map and you get a glimpse of the real life in the country which you are visiting.
 |
| At a durian bar - not really the correct way to eat the fruit! |
Comments
Post a Comment