All About Durians!

Location: B12.3A.

Since I've really exposed myself as being a home-grown Malaysian, It's hard to conceal the fact that I LURVE Durians! Though I cannot eat much at one go, I can't accept that there are people out there who doesn't like durians. Chow tau fu I can understand, but durians? Why?!!

Chaer Phoy (Green Skin Durian)

Chaer Phoy is shaped like a small canteloupe. The skin is bright green, giving it the name which means "green skin". Chaer Phoy has creamy white flesh which is a bit dry, not too sweet but tasty.

Coupling

This durian is gets its unusual name because it looks like two durians joined together, one big and one small. When split open, you almost thought the two halves belong to two different durians. Coupling has whitish flesh which is slightly dry but tastes good.

I know that in my hometown, during durian season, the prices for 3 or 4 'unbranded' durians can go as low as RM 10. Due to tight competitions around the town, I wonder if petrol + human effort to avoid being hit by durian while 'harvesting' for 'em cost only RM 3.33/durian. It cost RM 4.70++/hour to hire a part-time barista in Starbucks, I can’t help but wonder what’s their net profit for risking their lives to gather durians from their farms, hire a lorry, cost of petrol, hiring helpers, toll and stuff…

Khun Poh

This durian takes the name of the late Mr Lau Khun Poh, who first budded it. Khun Poh has beautiful orangy flesh with a slightly bitter-sweet taste and a heavy aroma.

Although I’ve been eating durians since before I can even remember when, I feel incomplete to live through a year without eating any durians. Just like langsat and langsat. Before those pasar malam people brought in those high quality lychees from China, people here ate longan and can them to give to others curing Chinese New Year.

Ang Heh (Red Prawn Durian)

Ang Heh originates from Pondok Upeh, Balik Pulau, and has a round-shaped husk. The orange reddish flesh is highly aromatic, very soft with a bitter-sweet taste.

Anyways, back to durians, I have never put much thought about the existence of so many different types of durians. The most common one in my hometown that I’ve seen written on the signs were D24s. But after going through this email my mom forwarded to me, I suddenly realize that people in Malaysia Actually generically modified durians to produce better ones… and those codes like D600, D700 even D24 were all generically modified!

Ang Jin (Red Yoke Durian)

As the name suggests, Ang Jin Durian has deep orange flesh. It is very sweet and tasty.

*shiver*

Bak Eu (Pork Fat Durian)

Bak Eu has a slightly acidic aroma. The flesh is whitish while the taste is quite bitter but nice.

Even the most traditional fruit in Malaysia, a ‘developing’ country, has generically modified (GMed) stuff?! So what is actually preserved at it’s most historical form? It’s like nothing is actually REAL anymore. Everything’s GMed. Think about it, GMed kids during fertilization to prevent disease inheritance from the parents to the baby, to alter the sex and baby’s hair color… Will our great grand children look like our great grand parents anymore?

Xiao Hung (Little Red Durian)

Xiao Hung, whose name means "Little Red One," originates in Sungai Pinang, Balik Pulau. The flesh has a bittersweet taste to it, with a touch of sourness. The one that I tasted for this write-up is a bit hard. There are only one or two seeds per section, but the flesh is thick.

IMO, science rules us. For better or for worse, it’s changing our lives, differing us from our pre-ancestors who had roamed the world years and years ago…

Here are some other different mouth-watery durians of Balik Pulau, Penang , Malaysia.

Yah Kang (Centipede Durian)

Yah Kang is one of my favourite durians. Although its flesh is whitish, the taste is superb, milky, like very sweet, melting chocolate. The name "yah kang" means centipede, and accounts for the number of centipedes found at the foot of the tree, hence giving it the rather unusual name.

D700

The flesh is darker than D600, like chrome yellow. Also slightly hard. Crispy, but the smell is not very strong.

D11

"Number Eleven" is a very popular durian in the 70's. It has creamy yellow flesh with a pleasant taste and a subtle smell.

D17

D17 is dark cream flesh. The taste is slightly dry but sweet. It is a tasty durian.

Ooi Kyau (Tumeric Durian)

The name describes the colour of the bright yellow flesh of this durian. It is very sweet and tasty

Khun Poh

This durian takes the name of the late Mr Lau Khun Poh, who first budded it. Khun Poh has beautiful orangy flesh with a slightly bitter-sweet taste and a heavy aroma.

Lin Fong Jiau

This durian is named after Lin Fong Jiau, aka Mrs Jackie Chan. I wonder whether it is indicative of the relationship of the celebrity couple, for Lin Fong Jiau is a bittersweet

Hor Loh (Water Gourd Durian)

The flesh of the Hor Loh is very soft, dry and quite bitter. It has a sharp smell to it. Hor Loh was first cultivated at the Brown Estate of Sungai Ara. It got its name from its appearance resembling a "Hor Lor" pumpkin. If the durian hits the ground hard when it falls, the flesh tends to be bitter thereafter.

D604

The D604 was first cultivated by the late Mr. Teh Hew Hong of Sungai Pinang, Balik Pulau. The flesh is quite sweet, and has some "body" to it as the seed is small.

D600

This durian originates in Sungai Pinang in Balik Pulau. The flesh has a bittersweet taste to it, with a touch of sourness. The one that I documented is a bit hard.