Lindsay is back in Malaysia! Well, at least she was yesterday, she’s since flown off to Bangkok for more durian adventures. I picked her up for some durian late afternoon and we headed down to Sri Hartamas to check out a stall that has been around for over a decade. We saw some durians for sale at another stall before this but they weren’t really good so we moved on.
This one only had two types of durians – Durian Kembong and Udang Merah (Red Prawn/Ang Heh).
Lindsay chose the durians – she’s way better in these things, having volunteered in durian farms and such.
The durians they sell as Durian Kembong (I’ve never heard of the name) is actually D123 Chanee according to Lindsay. I’m not sure if “kembong” (which means inflated) is local slang or some kind of identifier but it’s not in the list of durian clones.
Durian Kembong
This is a 1.7 kg beauty that Lindsay picked out. It costs RM 25/kg. The durian comes from Gerik in Perak.
The Durian Kembong flesh is a pleasing saffron color and the seed can be seen “peeking” out, much like a Chanee or Musang King. I thought it tasted quite nice – there was little to no fiber and there is a sheen of slippery flesh on top of the main bulk, which makes eating it a pleasure.
The durian was mostly sweet, with hints of bitterness and overall a decent, if not exceptional, durian.
Udang Merah
This Udang Merah comes from Gerik, Ipoh instead of Penang. It’s a small 900 gram fruit that was going for RM 28/kg.
This small durian only has a couple of seeds but it was awesome! The vivid golden bronze flesh looked beautiful and the intense flavor was spot on. I was very pleased with the taste – it was rich, flavorful and strong, everything I look for in a durian. Creamy and succulent, no complains about this one.
It’s a good thing that we opened this as our second durian and not the first, or the Durian Kembong would have fared poorly in comparison. Haha. The total came up to RM 65. This stall also sells tempoyak (fermented durian paste) made from lower quality durians they couldn’t sell.
It was good to meet up again Lindsay! I really had fun talking to you. Sorry I had to run off so quickly after the durians. Catch up soon when you’re back! BTW, if you guys are interested in durians, Lindsay is running a durian tour in Bangkok from 25th May to 3rd June. You can surf over to her blog to register – she responds promptly (better than I do with my emails anyway) and the tours are open to all. It’ll be fun if you want to learn more about durians.
See ya when you’re back and have fun in Thailand! 🙂
Hi,
I have heard a couple of friends telling me that there are durian buffets thorughout the year where you just have to pay rm10 for unlimited serving of durian. Do you have any idea where they could be?
Hi Fabian! There’s usually a few offering 10 RM all you can eat in the peak season, like Donald’s Durians. But for 10 RM usually it is just Kampung, and the quality to me is not worth it. I’d rather pay more for yummier durian!
I can’t take too many durian, heatiness will set in giving me sore throat though drinking salt water from the skin shell all the time..great to know that Lindsay appreciate the king of fruits so much.
Wowwwww!!!! Durian feast! They all look so good, love the yellow flesh. Would be great for the Thai durian pulut dessert.
Durian is in season again. In time for the berbuka pausa buffet.
I remember you had this one guest who loved durians. You are such a great host to bring guests around. Can I also tell HB that I want to makan durian sedap too?? LOLOL
Just in case you are not aware that there is this famous stall inside Taman Tun’s Market who operates at night inside the car park area. His durians are very-very special ones and his regulars are all the Tan Sris, Datuks and even Pak Lah who frequents. I had never patronized but often saw the seller’s FB photos. If you are interested to know this seller, I can search his contacts.
Hi Twilight man! Thanks for the seriously excellent tip! I am very interested 🙂
You are right that Huai Bin is an amazing host and fun co-durian conspirator 🙂
i’ve never heard of durian kembong before either … the only kembong i know is ikan kembong, heh 😀 gosh, you ate more durian in one evening than i’ve eaten in the past entire year! 🙂
Hi..i was fascinated by your durian hunt which i’ve been doing over the years. I was just wondering about ang heh variety..i had come across many places ie malacca, kl, bentong etc that sell this variety during off season..what surprise me was that the off season ang heh seems very sweet and lack the punch from a typical ang heh..even the thorn look very green and shape like chanee ..but all these sellers seems to insist it is red prawn..do you come across such experience?
Hi Daniel,
I have this experience a lot. Red Prawn can have more green rind when it grows in Malacca and Johor, but it shouldn’t have a shape like Chanee. I think its common for things to get mislabeled.
So much knowledge about durian from you! Thanks for sharing!
Looking forward to try Udang Merah. I heard so much about it 🙂
But I can’t eat too much, my body is heaty type T_T
Wow. The durian looks very yummy. Your friend like durian? Usually I see foreign visitors don’t like.
Hi Yuni, if you want to be surprised check out this video of Westerners going crazy over durian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OsXafLVN_g 😉
I can never tell a type of durian from another. Just like others see Chinese, Japanese, Koreans the same, I see these durians the same too 😀
But I do know that D24 has small seed and Musang King has deep yellow flesh. Heh.
ok good, u make me really crave for durian now and feel like wanna lick my monitor >_<