do the durian [Food/Vendor]

2009 Jun 18
Just got back from the Board Room at work where we had a send-off for a sales guy going to Asia on a 2 or 3 month long sales trip.

We served durian fruit!


2009 Jun 18
Ah, Durian. So rank-smelling, but so delicious.

2009 Jun 18
Durian milkshake! Yum!

2009 Jun 18
i like jackfruit. they kind of look alike. does it have a similar taste?

love this quote from the Durian wikipedia entry (i think i've posted this before)

"its odor is best described as pig-shit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock."

2009 Jun 18
I guess in some ways it tastes like jackfruit, like musty/musky... uhm, other than that it tasted like a weird cheese, sweet, raw onion, (?) it literally blew my mind (not sure if it was in a good way).

Try one at Pho Van Van, I think they have it on the menu in Ottawa along with some other Viet & Thai places.

2009 Jun 18
Oh, I LOVE durian! I love it, love it, love it! Sure the smell may be off putting at first, but if you can get a good one (or two, or three, or four or...) then it is just the most heavenly taste. Better than mango - the flavour is more complex, and the creamy texture just divine.

I lived in Malaysia for a year when I was in my teens, and that's where I learned to appreciate durian. My family and I all became addicts.

I've had some candies n' cakes with durian and it's not nearly the same experience.

Monty, jackfruit has its own aroma - but nothing like durian.

Zymurgist, where did you get the durian and what criteria did you use for buying it? Did you manage to get a good one?

2009 Jun 18
I think I've seen durian at a few Asian grocers in Ottawa, they are typically in a mesh bag.

2009 Jun 19
I think jackfruit ends up being a lot larger than durian. I have seen frozen durian available in some of the places on Somerset.

A fried told me that they "ban" durian from hostels/hotels in Asia because of the stench.

I'd still like to try it though.

2009 Jun 19
It was bought at Kowloon, but not by me. Our sales guy is going to Malaysia actually, that's why we got it.

2009 Jun 19
nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
rather be tied to a grease trap than smell durian

2009 Jun 19
Lol, Obi ... i'd have pegged you for a Durian aficionado all the way. On top of sticky rice, a bit of coconut milk ... yum!

So, i'm a card-carrying member the same fan club Ms. Foodie belongs to. In fact, i can tie this thread together w/ the Foodie callings one, having gone out of my way (by train) in Thailand just to eat in-season Durian.

Not certain it travels that well, unfortunately ... at least, its much more fun (and tastier) eating it @ a street stall vs. frozen / flown in.

2009 Jun 19
IF, I have a really sensitived sense of smell
I can tell you what doneness a steak is just by smell
I can walk into any kitchen and tell what is in the oven or recently been cooked

durian overwelms me
jackfruit I grew up with and adore

2009 Jun 22
The only time I've had durian was in a shake at a Vietnamese restaurant in London, Ontario. A lovely little place by the name of Thuan Kieu (you're welcome?)

Anyway, it was frigging delicious. Sweet diesel cheesy goodness.

2009 Jun 22
Yeah, that was the funny thing about it Momo. It stank the high heaven and I was the first one in the room to try it, and almost right away I started exclaiming how astonishingly-and-unexpectedly-delicious it was. Though that did run out on the 2nd piece as I began to find it too rich. One of my immediate thoughts was how well the meat would can up though, and in fact we still have a 2nd durian in the Board Room that I may take home to do just that with and give the jars back to the boss :-)