Durian

Thailand and Malaysia are the world's top growers.  Indonesia comes in third.  After eating lots of durian, it's recommended you drink a coconut to help cool down the body.  Malaysians will eat an iced dessert (cendol) that has a lot of sweet coconut cream and various toppings.  They'll sometimes add a big piece of durian to it.  If you want to try delicious durian, head to Southeast Asia from July - Sept.  You can find it pretty much year-round, but the best is grown then.   Don't ever eat flash-frozen from your Asian market.  Not even close.  Comical really.  Btw, not all durian stinks.  Some durians smell like honey and flowers.  And certain varieties taste better than your favorite creamy egg custard.  Some that are very pungent, once you taste them, you forget about everything else.  😆 "The creme Brûlée of the tree".  King of Fruits.

Just last year, after sharing my durian experiences in Malaysia, a friend had some questions.

Friend: Did you eat all of that in one sitting?  Is it filling?  I was shocked at the cost at the end when you said one of those durian was 35 US.  

Me: I went to that durian place three days.  Each time I ate two whole,

medium-sized durians -  six different varieties.  I would have continued had I had more time.  And I would have eaten more varieties if someone had been with me.  It was all very delicious.  I can't get enough of it.  I can't say it was filling.  If you love it, you can't get enough.  Lol I was very content!  You don’t want to overeat durian for different reasons.  My Grab (uber) drivers were surprised but happy I was enjoying it like I was.  I definitely will go back another year.

That particular durian was the most expensive and considered by Malaysians to be the most-prized.  Other durians ranged from $10-25 each.  That market is higher than other places because of the added comfort (tables, fans, gloves, etc.) and reputation of the business.  Well worth it!  Unfortunately, there can even be scams in the durian business.