BITES
It’s Durian
Season!
Ah, the king of fruits is DIFFERENT TYPES
in season, heralding the OF DURIAN
not, there are more than
perfect time for family Believe it or durians! Durian is almost
400 types of
bonding while feasting on like a religion here, especially during
the delicious durian flesh. durian season in June to August.
Here’s a guide to picking
out the best durians for We take durian so seriously, we even
have a grading system for the king of
you and your family to fruits! It was first proposed in 1987
enjoy with help from our by durian lovers Chattavongsin and
favourite grocery store, Siriphanich and was refined in the
YES Supermarket. later years until what you see today.
MAO SHAN WANG: The undisputed
king among the different kings vying
for the durian throne, Mao Shan Wang,
which translates to “mountain cat
king”, has gained almost legendary
status for its rich, creamy taste. The
Mao Shan Wang can be recognised
from its thick and short spines, the
light green husk, and the distinct, star
shape pattern at the bottom of the
fruit.
HONG XIA / D101: The Red Prawn
durian has a distinct reddish skin
and tends to curve towards one side,
just like a, you guessed it, prawn!
Relatively sweet, the Hong Xia is also a
great entry-level durian for people.
XO: The reason why it’s called the
XO durian is because of the alcoholic
aftertaste, which comes about thanks
to an extended period of fermentation
within the shell. One thing to look out for
when you’re hunting for a good XO durian
is watery flesh! While watery flesh is not
ideal for the other durians, for the XO, it’s
a sign of great tastes to come!
CHOOSING A DURIAN
When you’re at the durian stall, there are a couple of things you should
request to make sure that you’re not getting cheated and that you’re
getting your money’s worth!
• Shake the durian (we recommend using a towel because those
spikes can be an annoyance!) near your ear. You should be able to
hear the seeds and fruits rattling inside. If you don’t hear anything,
the flesh has most likely not properly separated from the skin,
which means it has not fully ripened. The exception is the XO durian,
which tends to have wetter flesh than other varieties.
• Smell the durian! You should be able to smell the fragrance even
before the fruit is cut.
• If you want the seller to pack the durian for you, make sure to ask
him to take out the seeds and flesh in front of you to pack! There
have been cases of durian sellers exchanging your chosen fruit with
one that is not as fresh. (Of course you won’t have this problem with
YES Supermarket.)
GOLDEN PHOENIX: If Mao Shan Wang
is the King of Kings, then the Golden
Phoenix can be called the Queen!
While the durian [