Orange & Durians - What a Sight!

Who says orange and durians don't go? Check this out.

The Orange Grand Cru watch by Blancier with our favorite fruit - the durian! And in this case, the Mao Shan Wang. I had earlier posted about the Blancier.

The Mao Shan Wang is probably the most sought after variety of durians which incidentally is called the King of Fruits. The flesh is creamy and tastes bitter and sweet at the same time. I learnt something new today - the word durian is partly derived from the Malay word "duri" which means thorn (Source - Sunday Times).

Take a look at the amount of flesh on this one. This one happens to have a very small seed - what we call jiu jee.

The durians are of very good grade.

Every fruit was good… and I mean GOOD! Ah Meng is an honest seller - bad ones he does not bring in from Johor. You only get good ones from him.

I had earlier posted another durian session. Also from Ah Meng my regular supplier. Check this out.

Bangkok Fruit Market, Or Tor Kor - Part 1/3

Or Tor Kor Market in Bangkok - well known to the tourists for their extensive choice of fruits, vegetables and foodstuff. One of my favorite "Must Go" places in Bangkok before I leave for home.

Or Tor Kor is probably one of the cleanest wet markets in Bangkok. Be prepared to pay slightly higher prices here compared to other markets. But the quality is definitely worth it. Following the haze situation when I can imagine Singaporeans buying boxes of N95 masks instead of boxes of fresh fruits, I told myself I had to make it to Or Tor Kor Market this time to grab some fruits in season. The market is as usual buzzing with crowd and plenty of stalls to choose from.

Nearer to the entrance are where most of the cooked food stalls are. Thai tidbits, grilled seafood and dried foodstuff all displayed neatly under bright lights.

The seafood is as fresh as one would expect and the fresh water prawns are huge! Each easily 200 grammes. When grilled, they are sweet but a little chewy. Also available are freshly peeled crab meat.

And the start attraction for me is always the fruit stalls. Durian stalls selling everything durian from the fruit to durian paste, durian chips… You name it, they probably have it.

But Thai durians are not as pungent as we like. The Thais prefer it less ripe and a little hard. What we consider as soft durian flesh is unwanted by the Thais. Too soft they say… The texture of the Thai durians are like that of cheese. Slightly harder on the outside but creamy on the inside.

Most of the stalls sell Thai fruits while some sell imported fruits like this one. Spotted were white Rainer cherries from the US, small champagne grapes also from the US and the "seedless" lychees from China. "Seedless" because the seeds are so small it is 98% lychee flesh! More on that on my next post.

And in season are mangosteens too. Grown locally, they are much smaller than those we find in Singapore. But sweet they are! And a great counter-balance to the "heatiness" of durians and mangoes.

When you buy more than your fair share, they pack them into boxes for you as check in luggage. This is service for you. Remember to ask the airline check in counter staff to apply a "Fragile" sticker on the box.

Part 2 coming up when I cover the Mangoes, Lychees and more on the Mangosteens.

Its Durian Season Again!

Its that time of the year where Singaporeans go crazy over the thorny King of Fruits - Durians! Mine started today with supply from my regular who drives in when I order. Thanks to Peter for the recommendation.

Instead of the Mao Shan Wang varietal that we all know about, he came in with a different varietal called Wang Zhong Wang - or loosely translated King of Kings. And this we love - for the bitterness as opposed to the sweeter style. First a look at the fruit.

You can tell the fresh durian from the not so fresh from several indicators - the stem, the colour of the fruit etc. Typically, the fruits are picked in the early morning and brought in to Singapore by the afternoon. Mine arrived round about 1pm today.

You can see the green shell - evidence of freshness.

Then the stem - looks moist like it has just dropped from the tree - another tell tale sign of the freshness of the fruit. Now on to the fruit and flesh itself...

Yummy creamy stuff! Delightfully bitter with a hint of sweetness. Small seeds, plenty of flesh.

Somehow, one look at the crumpled skin of the durian flesh can tell the quality - this is one bitter fruit. It is a good thing when the whole family likes durians and I am lucky my sons are durian eaters. If it were just us two, I guess it would have been more difficult to buy durians. And by the way, we prefer if it came in the fruit and not in styrofoam boxes. Rest for two weeks before we order our next batch. Bon appetit!