It must have been durian season in the Mentawais, because there were little heaps of them all over, exuding their vomitous odor. Apparently the durian season in the Mentawais is opposite to that of nearby Sumatra, so if you live in Sumatra you get to enjoy them twice as often as most Indonesians. Lucky Sumatrans!
Durian does have a very sweet taste, but I find it outweighed by an accompanying flavor that's like a cross between battery acid and garbage. I should try it again now that I'm here, since I've only ever tried it in the States, and traveling thousands of miles rarely improves a piece of fruit. They are famously banned from hotels and public transportation in Singapore, which actually makes me a little more sympathetic toward the durian.
5 comments:
They look like overloaded, overgrown green pineapples....too bad they smell so awful!!! I went to our famour Victoria Market today after work and bought the most fresh fruit and vegetables I have seen in ages, we enjoyed them for tea tonight :)
i've heard that organized criminals will sometimes sneak durians into people's beds while they're sleeping as a threat of some sort -- a kind of "offer you can't refuse" kind of thing.
no, seriously, for real.
Totally. And the disorganized criminals are like, "Okay, I'm in. Where's the durian? I said where's the durian? Whaddaya mean you forgot? JEEZ! Do I have to do everything myself around here?!"
we had the durian at esan thai along with stickysweet rice and it was magic! my ears became donkey ears, and my pal pinocchio couldn't stop braying.
I remember that the big thing was wild durian. People claimed it was a bit of a drug. I tried it once and I have to say it did create some mildly weird feeling, but that may just have been because of the extremely weird taste. Still you should try them again; they definitely don't taste like battery acid when fresh. As to what they do taste like, I'm not sure I could describe it even if I was eating one right now.
jdh
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