I was trawling the SS2 durian spots the other day, asking around for something a little different. I wanted to sample something other than the usual Musang King/D24/XO/D101 etc. The usual suspects, in other words.
One seller told me about durian jantung. I asked around a few shops in the area – some of them carry it, some doesn’t. It would seem that “durian jantung” literally means “heart shaped durian”. Not heart as in <3 – heart as in the organ in your body that’s prone to cardiac arrests.
What no one could tell me is whether this is a genuine species (it doesn’t have a D-X classification, but neither does multiple other good durians) or just a type (e.g. shape) of durian.
Durian jantung is a really interesting durian – I was quoted RM 12 / kg which is a little on the high side of things. I bargained down to RM 10 / kg and that was the minimum price they’ll let it go…and with good reason.
It doesn’t look like much. I bought a 1.6 kg heart shaped durian that when opened produced only two (2) seeds!
I was surprised. That works out to RM 8 per seed!
I was told that durian jantung usually only has 2 seeds due to the unusual shape, but those are huge seeds and I wasn’t disappointed.
Imagine a piece of durian the size of:
- A hand grenade
- A large lemon
- A mouse (the large old office ones with exactly the same size and mass)
- An adult human fist
…and now imagine it FULL OF DURIAN FLESH!
There’s only a tiny seed inside.
Start eating…
…and after a whole lotta durian, ends with small seed
It’s maybe 1/30 the size of the flesh. It’s absolute value for money, RM 8 buys you a gigantic fist sized hunk of light fibrous, sweet to slightly bitter-sweet, semi-alcoholic, and slightly wet durian flesh.
It’s perfection.
Durian jantung is my new favorite durian.
I paid RM 16 for the entire 1.6 kg durian which produced just 2 seeds but the flesh is equal to many other popular strains and it tastes fabulous!
Wow! So fleshy! Is it bitter or sweet?
Yeah, it’s a whole lotta flesh! 🙂
It’s sweet to bittersweet – some might call it a tad bitter. I love the taste.
Cheers mate!
Pricey but what maters most, it tastes great. Does it? Hehehehehe…I can see your teeth marks on the seeds. LOL!!!
Haha! Yeah I wanted to show the process of eating it since it’s such a huge chunk with just a tiny seed, so I started eating the flesh all the way down to the seed, which is just a fraction of the durian’s size!
Yeah, it’s better than a lot of the other durians out there – just one would give you lots of flesh, and quality flesh to boot.
Merry Christmas to you and your family buddy! 🙂
Fascinating. I’ve had a few Musang Kings here in Singapore which have similar traits to the Durian Jantung. Only a few seeds in the fruit but very fleshy.
Anyway, wish you and your family a blessed Christmas (:
Yup, we have Musang King over here too! 🙂
The good ones are all sent to Singapore though – fetches a much better price over there.
Musang King is a different strain – very fleshy but quite expensive at RM 20+ / kg over here. I seldom eat it as it’s a bit too commercialized but one time the price dropped to about RM 8 / kg due to a glut!
Merry Christmas to you and your family Vincent! 🙂
I won’t be that willing to spend that much on durian. Like suituapui, what matters the most is that it tastes great. So tasty until the dog’s below me, waiting patiently and begging for his share. *winks*
I think it’s merely the description for the durian.
It’s a nice chunk of durian flesh though! 🙂
I’ve bought D24 at RM 6 / kg and for the same price (RM 16 worth) it comes out to *less quality durian flesh* than durian jantung, so actually durian jantung would be considered “cheaper” in a way since it’s quite a lot of quality flesh.
Haha! Yeah I’m starting to think it’s the description too but it’s amazing how that every single one has only 2 seeds inside – consistency like that should qualify for a “branding”.
Happy holidays Ciana! 🙂
Which stall is this? Am keen to check it out!
There are a lot of stalls selling this but I bought this particular one from SS2 durian (the rightmost one in the SS2 durian places).
I’ve also bought it from one of the other stalls – also similar, 2 seeds per durian averaging about 1.5 kg or more each durian – however the one with the most quality stock is the rightmost stall with yellow banners called SS2 durian.
Hope you like it and happy holidays! 🙂
Bad bad…so early tempted me with such a sinful post. I want to bite the monitor jor.
Heh! It’s good eh? 🙂
I just went back for more durians just now and the person adviced me not to get the durian jantungs. He said the ones there are a bit old and told me when the delivery times are so I’ll get it when it’s fresh and not after it’s been sitting around for a while!
I thought that was nice of him, some of the older guys in the SS2 durian places are helpful while the younger ones generally don’t bother.
I ended up buying over 3 kgs of late season XO durians (one of my default eats) – it’s goood!
…but it can’t compare to durian jantung so I’m going to get some when it’s fresh from the orchards.
Go eat some durians Yee Ling, some are going out of season dy! 😀
My gosh!!! This durian is really really really good!!! I’ve never seen durian that fleshy.
Hey there Nick! 🙂
Yup, me neither, I’ve *never* seen such a durian before, except for a chance encounter back when I was a kid – a rather heavy (1.5 kg average, sometimes 2+ kg) durian with only two seeds!
It’s due to the unusual twisted shape of the durian, which only allows two seeds to fully develop but due to the space inside, those two seeds becomes really, really large and with the cultivars giving it a small-seed characteristic, results in a really fleshy durian!
It’s my favorite durian right now, but as I went to buy some just now, the guy told me the ones there aren’t fresh (very honest of him, I might say) and told me to come back tomorrow during the delivery time. I got some late-season XO durians instead. Look for Kelvin in SS2 if you want some durian jantung. 🙂
Cheers mate!
those durians are really getting very expensive..
I still prefer those durian kampung.. but once a while eating those expensive durian is OK for me
Bro merry Christmas to you and have great 2013 ahead..
Likewise buddy! 🙂
Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Season’s greetings!
Hey there buddy! 🙂
Yup, the DX classified ones and the in-demand branded ones are expensive…but it depends on the season also. A while ago, Musang King was selling at RM 8 / kg!
That’s really, really cheap!
I was told it’s coz of several factors – a glut from 3 orchards and no exports to other countries except Singapore and minimal at that…so they were getting rid of it at RM 8 / kg…for Musang King! 🙂
I guess it’s best to eat whatever’s in season, that would be cheapest AND best of all freshest.
Cheers mate! 😀
Gasp! I don’t think I’ll pay that much for 2 biji durians no matter how good they are! When I was in Japan I saw durians selling at RM100++ and I almost fainted!
Yeah, I imagine it’ll be very expensive in Japan where they have to import it in. 🙂
I actually bought a frozen one in Australia while I was studying in Melbourne coz I missed it so much. I paid AUD 50 for it (this was in 2001).
It’s worth it though if you’ve got a craving.
Wow! So expensive!! But if the seeds are small and the flesh is a lot and it tastes good, then I don’t really mind! : )
Yeah, the seed is really small and the durian is HUGE! 🙂
…so it’s worth it, the flesh to seed ratio. It has character too, quite tasty and complex compared to a lot of single dimension durians.
Cheers mate!
ooooh. that is one huge durian piece. *lust*!
It’s amazing! 🙂
It’s really good, the flesh to seed ratio is amazing, something like 90%.
Just got to taste this durian tonight at SS2 – wow! What flavor. We got lucky and ours had three locules – two with 2 piece each and one part with three. Didn’t get to see it before they opened it to see the shape.
We also had a Horlor with looked and tasted nothing like Hor Lor in Penang. It had pale flesh. they said it grows in Pahang and that’s why it tastes different. Do you agree?
Hi Lindsay! 🙂
I had it at SS2 too, probably at the same place as you did. There are a couple of shops there and a lot of them sell Pahang and Johor durians. Some do have the occasional stock from Penang but these are usually sub-par in terms of quality (IMHO) as Penang consumes a lot of their durian locally (to my understanding) and hardly exports any unless it’s to a more financially viable country e.g. Singapore, Hong Kong.
I had a lot of trouble getting Hor Lor and Red Prawn/Ang Heh in Penang too as it was the end of season.
Yup, I agree, the cultivars from Pahang tastes nothing like the ones from Penang. They don’t look the same too, but it’s supposedly the same cultivar/type. What I hear is they took the originals from Penang and cultivated it in Pahang, which is closer to the Klang Valley but it doesn’t taste the same to me either.
It’s like how you have Gan Yao in Malaysia and it’s pretty good but I bet it’s nothing like the amazing USD 300 Gan Yao you had in Nonthaburi!
Amazing blog you have there! I’m quite impressed you took several years off to travel Australiasia and eat durians.
Very nice blog article!
Durian Jantung is also my favourite Durian after having lived 2 years in Kuala Lumpur and having sampled various types.
Sure, Musang King is awesome, but you never get it in the “normal” Durian Buffet, while you will be able to get the Heart Durian there (and in my opinion it certainly does give the Musang King a run for its money!).
I had fallen in love with the taste the first time I tasted it, and have made it the high point of my Durian experience (likely in the same place in SS2) ever since.
I think it’s a D24 from an old tree.