Durian from the Heart and Soul
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| The best durians in the milkyway are from Penang, from the region of Balik Pulau Some places in Balik Pulau to check out |
Glancing at my childhood memories, I remembered my dad would buy large number of durians, all of us in the family loved the fruit from my dad to our grandmother. Dad would buy different varieties. Back then we didn’t have that D coding like nowadays. It was simple, white, yellow, pinkish etc.Mum would lay out our plates on the table, for every type of fruit she will lay each seed on each plate. I and my siblings Christina and Angelina would be very excited to start feasting. After feasting on the durians, I will be asked to pack the durian skins and seeds to be put at the garbage bin outside the house. It will be a challenging affair as I try to put the skin without ripping the garbage bag. Somehow the thorns would stick out from the bag, it made me look like a guy carrying a strange thorny dinosaur I caught in my garbage back.
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| My buddies feasting |
Next day in class I would be happily sharing with my classmates that I had durian last night.It’s then I found I have friends who don’t like the fruit, which of course is fine to me just like, I don’t like vegetables. Nevertheless I still get perplexed, how on Earth can you not love durian? Its creamy, buttery, it has a kick, it has a powerful sweetness (and bitterness in some variety), it has texture, it has body, and it has flavor and a powerful aroma.I feel offended at times when I see signage’s in Malaysia saying durian is not allowed in their premises. The King is banned, but the lesser subjects like cucumber (it’s a fruit by the way) is glorified in salads and all sorts of food offering. What an irony.
Over the years, I have seen how durians are cloned to make many variants. They were being identified with codes like D14 D18…the only D coding I know is D7, a chord in organ music. From what I recalled, the thick fleshed ones from my childhood memory could not match the ones I see nowadays. The present ones look like they have been fed with steroids. Nevertheless if guided by a proper durian lover , you might get some great D coded durians. The flesh is so thick, creamy and with a very bright yellow flesh like they have gobbled up the sun! In any case I love the white ones, the flesh is thin and the flesh wraps the seed like aS satin cloth with fine lines of edges draped over the seed only to be disturbed by the tongue of the consumer licking on it.
The joy or rather challenge of prying open the durian is another part and parcel of durian feasting. It was fun to watch my dad open the durian. He would place a cloth on the table, and used a chopper knife to to pry the end bit of the durian. Till then it will be a surprise as we would not know what type of durian is it. Whether it’s the white flesh (my favourite) or the bright yellow one. After watching my grandmother, dad, my mom, my aunty prying the durian open, it was my turn when I got married to Gloria my wife. Gosh it was a challenge indeed at first. Then I got used to it Nowadays prying open the durian is not a hassle anymore. It is done conveniently at the place of buying and placed into a biodegradable tray and sealed with a cling on plastic sheet. But I never felt it was right for the King of fruits to be placed on a flat lifeless tray and sealed like a dead being. The durian’s glory is rightfully in the throne of the fruit itself, surrounded by its faithful guards; the thorns. We should enjoy it straight from the fruit. My kids Gideon and Jeremy don’t enjoy the fruit (I couldn’t believe it). But I have hope one day they will love it. I burst out laughing the other day when we had our weekly gathering and enjoying a durian session at mum’s place , Jeremy runs from the living room to the dining hall with a sad face and says, ‘ I lost the game with my cousins. I have to do a forfeit. I have to eat durian’. I told my son, I will take the punishment for him and eat the durian.
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| Adding salt |
At another session of Durian feasting with my best buddies, I realized, people have very vivid memories of their childhood session. I don’t recall anyone talking about their childhood memories based on a cucumber they were having. But when it comes to durian memories get relived. Some recalled how their close knit families had Lorries delivering the fruit in rattan baskets. Some recalled how they had durian breakfast, lunch and dinner all in one day. I enjoyed the session chatting away till late night, we made sure the durians would be pried open in situ and not at the place we bought. We ended the night by pouring water (added with salt) on the husk and drink from it. Apparently it will cool your body. When I was a child the permeating smell of the Durian reminded me of a great fruit feasting time. Nowadays the aroma, lifts up sweet memories of moments with the people I hold dear in my heart.
EPILOGUE
..it was during the ancient food gatherer's time, a bunch of hunters came across a thorny fruit on the ground. They laid their hunted deers and other catch on the ground. They started a bonfire...they ate the fruit.they had realised, they have found the King , King of fruits. They ate till the stars in the sky disolved into the early morning orange hue sky.The king of fruits became a catylyst for various stories the hunters had to share with each other. With a backdrop of trees painting their landscape the hunters made it into a yearly affair to gather during the fruit season of the King of Fruits to share their stories.....thousands of years later, in a landscape of concrete buildings , stars that disolve in a hazy night sky, some group of urban hunters, meet at a buddy's home to eat the King of fruits...sharing stories from the urban world...d tradition still lives on.to my urban hunters Zac Chan Jocelyn Beatrix n Tan Seow Pei and Jo s mom. Thank YoU
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