Stinky Fruit

I couldn’t have a Food & Drink section in a book about Singapore without including the infamous Durian. People definitely have a ‘love it/hate it’ relationship with this stinky fruit, and I have always been firmly in the latter camp, even avoiding the fruit and veg section in my local Giant supermarket due to the stench seeping out from the durian corner. So it was with some trepidation that I made my way to Geylang to check out the durian stalls.



There are several different types of durian, with names ranging from the evocatively descriptive, such as Mao Shan Wang (Cat Mountain King), Hong Xia (Red Prawn) or Mon Thong (Golden Pillow), to the boringly simple, such as D24, D1 and D100. They all vary in colour, texture and flavour, and as with lovers of wine, tea or cheese, all connoisseurs have their own personal favourites.

Local friends had pointed me in the direction of Sims Avenue, where the roadside stalls (mainly between Geylang Lorongs 11 and 19) are piled high with the prickly pungent fruit, and I had also read online reviews of the Four Seasons Durians Café, where you can take an indoor seat to sample their range of fruit on offer.



We kicked off with a D24, often lauded as people’s favourites, although to me I just couldn’t get away from the oniony/garlicky taste. Now I know that durian-lovers don’t understand what I mean by that, but then everyone has their own opinion as to what durian tastes like, and I think the oft-quoted description by British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace sums up the complicated nature of durian tasting: “A rich custard highly flavoured with almonds gives the best general idea of it, but there are occasional wafts of flavour that call to mind cream-cheese, onion-sauce, sherry-wine, and other incongruous dishes.”



Hmmm… my thoughts exactly… Moving on, we next tried out a Hong Xia or Red Prawn. Now this wasn’t cheap – I think around $30 for one fruit – but then, as with wine, you supposedly get what you pay for. I have to say I probably agree as this was by far a superior fruit – there were no hints of onion or garlic here, but instead a creamy sweetness that actually wasn’t at all unpleasant!



Could I be converted? Well not quite yet, and I certainly wasn’t taking the left-overs home with me to stink out my apartment, instead ‘generously’ donating them to my friend. No I was off home to brush my teeth, because as Anthony Bordain warned in his No Reservations programme during a visit to Indonesia, after eating durian “Your breath will smell as if you've been French-kissing your dead grandmother”.

Durian stalls - Sims Avenue, between Geylang Lorongs 11 and 19

Four Seasons Durians Café - www.fourseasonsdurians.com
43 Joo Chiat Place (corner of Tembeling Road) – opposite Kim’s Place Seafood.