It is Durian season in Thailand (around April – June). I have seen a lot of Durian everywhere at the markets and street vendors now. Durian is widely known in southeast Asia as the “king of fruits” (ราชาผลไม้). It is a fruit like no other. We usually think of fruit as light and fresh, but durian is very rich. I think if you never had it before, you might not believe it is a fruit. It is distinctive for its large size, unique odour, and formidable thorn-covered husk.
It stinks, you say? Of course not for me. To durian lovers, its aroma is heavenly and cannot be separated from its divine taste; durian haters think it is has the stench of garlic and onions, and worse yet, of sewer or rotten meat.
The fruit itself looks like small golden pillows, and it has the sweet custardy taste to them. I think perhaps the smell and taste of durian is an “Asian thing” saturated in our genes from generations of exposure to the fruit. My mom is the biggest fan of Durian, I always had to stop her from having too much of it.