The king of fruits! Durian is known as the king of fruits. Hailing from Southeast Asia, it is claimed to originally be from Borneo Island and it is also believed that the best versions of it can be found in Malaysia. If it’s famous for one thing, it is its smell. Banned on public transport and hotels in some cities, the stench of the notorious fruit is truly something else. However, those that love it, LOVE it! The taste that is almost like a custard like dessert in the form of a fruit. This clash of an overwhelming stench and delicous taste causes much divide…
Here are a few quotes trying to describe this unique fragrance:
“Comparisons have been made with the civet cat, sewage, stale vomit, onions, and cheese.” —The Oxford Companion to Food
“Vomit-flavoured custard.” —The Rough Guide to Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei
“The smell of rotten eggs is so overwhelming. I suppress a gag reaction as I take a bite.” —Robb Walsh, food writer
“Like pungent, runny French cheese … Your breath will smell as if you’d been French kissing your dead grandmother.” —Anthony Bourdain, Chef and Host of Parts Unknown
Reference (and more quotes): click here
At the same time, you’ll find many including some of the above state how delicious it is and how it’s the best thing they’ve ever had! If there’s one thing in the foodie world that divides opinion, it is THIS! Even more so than marmite!
Our experience:
We tried it in a place called SS2 in Kuala Lumpur, home to supposedly the best durian in the world. Here they have the many types and they say Musan King is the best type so we got that. The wife took a couple nibbles and she absolutely abhorred it. I liked it, wouldn’t say love, but it’s pretty good. For me it tasted like creamy thick yet slightly pungent custard. For her it tasted like “what vomit smells like with a mix of onions and custard” (her words). One thing we both agreed on was the smell – once you’ve smelt it, that’s all you’ll be smelling for a while!
As we were trying to hail a taxi to take us there, we were strangely rejected and laughed at by the first taxi driver. He claimed why would you want to go there!?
Durian is everywhere in this part of the world. It’s hard to miss. We saw durian cafes, durian chocolate, durian cakes, durian ice cream. I bought durian chocolate to bring home one time and left it in the hotel wardrobe. The next morning when I opened the wardrobe I got a mighty powerful rotten whiff. Had to dash the chocolate right away.
What our followers on Instagram said:
@thehalal_life: Really enjoyed it when I tried it. This posts actually made me want to find some again.
I have friends who love it tho!need to give it another try tbf.! I feel like people can work past the smell they will think it’s ok 
Also SS2 is such a good spot for food. I would say Durian to me is rich and creamy almost like avacado! I can’t really pinpoint the exact taste, but it’s custardy and almost like a garlicky aftertaste. Have you tried the king of fruits? What did you think?
Getting There:
Google Location Link: click here
[…] One of the best things of traveling to exotic countries is trying exotic and unique fruits that you wouldn’t usually have even seen. Malaysia is no different and probably one of the best places to try exotic fruits due to its climate. On one of our night adventures we picked up some exotic fruits to try out back at the hotel. We got rambutan, dragonfruit and mangosteen. This post is going to detail a little bit about them and what we thought of them too. On a different occasion we did also try the infamous exotic fruit, that is the durian (read about our experience here). […]