San Durian

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“Tiga biji untuk RM 10 (three for RM 10),” the thin Malay seller pointed to the three big durians that he was selling. I was delighted. It was really cheap there in Ulu Langat, at the outskirt of Kuala Lumpur.

I inspected the freshly harvested green durians for a while with strong and long spikes. He said these are “san” (wild) durians. He showed me another one which was partially opened and the flesh looks yellow and the aroma was just like the “kampung” durians.

While traveling back around the Ulu Langat area I stopped by my car to buy durians. The initial plan of going to eat durian with other trekkers together was spoilt as the sky started to rain at 2:00 p.m. It took me a lot of determination to stop my car in the midst of heavy rain to buy durians..

Looking at the other five durians, I asked how much it cost for all. He looked at them for a while and said RM 25. Without hesitation, I offered RM 20 for all – eight big durians. He pondered for a while, presumably, doing his own internal complex calculation. At first, he declined but I pressed on. Eventually he agreed and said, “Boleh lah” (okay).

Ulu Langat is famous for its good quality durian. I know that the durians are cheap there. But I never know that it is that cheap.

While I was running to and fro across the road in heavy rain from the stall to my car to get my wallet, I began to notice that his wife and his daughter (about seven years old) were helping him to put the durians in two big red plastic bags. While waiting under the temporary shack with water leaking from top, I began to feel regret that I should not have reduced the price. They need the RM 25 more than I do.

I checked my wallet but other than the two RM 10 notes, the rest are RM 50 notes. If I have a few loose notes, I would top it near to RM 25. After making payment, I thanked them and left. Out of the eight big durians, I shared half with other trekker.
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That evening, I have durian only for dinner, a concept similar to eating fruits or salad for a meal. When I opened the durians, the thorns were exceptionally firm and sharp. The aroma was quite similar to kampong durian but with extras – a little alcohol smell. Wild stuff is more potent than domestic, I thought. The taste is a little plain and not that sweet. I suppose it is good for those who suffer from medical condition such as diabetes who like durian but cannot stand the sweetness level.

One awful and eerie sight was the presence of fairly big worms in the segment of durians. Though the shell of the durian is thick, the worms have their means to penetrate and made comfortable nest inside with potent supply of food.

Overall, one third of the durian is spoilt. Imagine those branded durians (eg. D24, D22, D101, Red Prawn, King of Cat Hill, etc… Yes, our durians are having all sort of designer names) that is virtually devoid of worms. The worm is like a gauge to determine the amount of chemical or pesticide used to cultivate the durian.

I ate three durians for dinner. Seeing that the durians were not that good compared to the kampung or branded durians, I felt better for the bargain.
Written by KC