A Fruit-FULL Search for Mau San Wong

What a fruit-FULL trip to Raub attracted by the immense chi force of Mau San Wong (or Musang King) durian! Thanks to Benz laoshi's (Zhineng Qigong) connection that made the durian gastronomic delights trip possible on Sunday, 2 Dec 2012. Together with the help of Benz's uncle from Raub, I am sure that would be the beginning of many years of great durian trips that follow.

Along the journey via Bentong en route to Raub, we were thrilled to see the bountiful harvest of durians displayed at the many roadside stalls. Almost all stalls displayed sales of Mau San Wong durian to lure prospects to their produces. Looks like D24 has lost its limelight. And those RM 1 each kampung durians were cheaply priced when competing with the king of the King of Fruits.

Do CLICK HERE to view photos courtesy of yours truly (KC Leong). 

 Durians, durians everywhere! … your truly (KC Leong)

 (left): Tan CH, Grace Lim, Annie, Cindy Lim, Lim BB, Benz Ng, Ching, Brenda Lee

 The legendary Mau San Wong durian (or Musang King) with the smooth and deep yellow texture

Arriving at the durian orchard, we were really excited to see those big, healthy and low-lying durians hanging from the branches lower than our height. As Cindy quipped, she wanted to plug the durian. I was thrilled to be greeted by so many genuine Mau San Wong durians that were harvested and placed on the floor of a dilapidated workers' shelter. When the fruits were opened, from the deep yellow texture of the flesh, we know this is heavy-duty stuff. And when the flesh melted in our mouth, Hmmm, Ahhhh ... superb! ... :-) 

 At the durian orchard … (left): Brenda Lee, Ching, Soo laoshi, Yong, Cindy, Lim BB, Grace. Next to them on the floor are the Mau San Wong durians; in the wheelbarrow are D24 and Tikar durians.

  The low-lying durian … Brenda, Lim BB, Cindy, Benz, Ching

 Benz's pick-up truck for transporting the durians back to Subang Jaya … Annie rearranging the durians to create more space

Extended Eating – After eating the Mau San Wong durian, mangosteens and rambutans, the group went to Raub town to savour the famous roti bakar, coffee and 3-colour ice tea. The group sure came with big appetite. Later, the group went to Ratha Restaurant, a famous fish-head curry house to ta-pau (pack) fish-head curry. We were told that the Sultan of Pahang patronized this restaurant before.

 At the famous Ratha's fish-head curry house

 At the 3-White-Tent Durian Area ... lunch is free of charge

I particularly like the clean and spacious 3-White-Tent durian outlet besides the main road located between Raub and Bentong towns. They served lunch – yes, free of charge! The atmosphere under the oil palm trees was so pleasant, cordial and peaceful that we could sit there and chatted for hours while eating durian, rambutan, dukong and drinking fragrance coconut juice. Complete with sound amplifying systems and neon lights, we could even have durian party there dancing away with the Gangnam Style music into the evening with the carnival mood. Food is what brings us together: in this case, the durians bind us together. We saw all races eat together in this area under the oil palm trees.

Clean environment – the atmosphere under the oil palm trees is so pleasant, cordial and peaceful

Missing in the itinerary was a visit to the spectacular Chamang Waterfall which was not possible due to a massive traffic jam that blocked our way home; we then decided to take a different route to return to Kuala Lumpur.

Special thanks again to Benz who was so thoughtful that he drove a pick-up truck to help us in transporting the prized fruits back to Subang Jaya. For without the pick-up truck, our cars would be smelled for weeks after the fabric was completely infused with the goodness of the durian.

Well, with a turn of the event, my durian status has been upgraded from "I have not eaten Mau San Wong durian before" to "I am eating ONLY Mau San Wong durian" on that auspicious and memorable outing. 

 Free lunch, durian, drinking fragrance coconut juice … Brenda, Benz, Ching, Soo laoshi, Yong

Interesting Observation:

Mau Wong – At the orchard, instead of saying Mau San Wong durian, the name was cut short to become Mau Wong. In Cantonese, Mau Wong is the name for late Elvis Presley.

Durian Chi – Tan CH did not drive his MPV to Raub; instead, he was carpooling with Benz. According to Tan, he has muscle sprain in his neck which rendered him not able to perform all the necessary surveillance tasks for a safe driving when behind the wheel. However, after eating the Mau San Wong durians at the orchard, he felt the pain in his neck has disappeared. That must be the potent durian chi in action.

Old versus New – We adjourned to a famous but age-old pastry shop to buy curry and kaya puff. I was taking photos of the group members when buying the hot pastry. The young shop owner, however, was not too pleased with me taking of photos. Then with a quick thinking, Soo laoshi joked that I just returned from USA and found everything is something new to me. The explanation seemed to work well.
.
Durian Feast – As to the amount of durian that I eat, well, I have Mau San Wong durians plus mangosteens and rambutans for lunch at the durian orchard; I ate them for dinner plus dukong langsat after arriving home at about 8:30 p.m.; next day (3 Dec 2012, Monday), I also ate them for dinner just before the chi gong practice session – what a fruitful outing and a fruity treat!

After Effect – As to the effect of consuming too much potent durian, one member in the chi gong class was wondering why the whole practice area smelled durian. I guess the one person that get the maximum impact must be a lady chi gong member standing in-line about five feet in front of me when I burped a few times… :-)

Mangosteen of Japanese species - Another new discovery at the orchard; easily open, it contains 7 segments of wedge-shaped, pure white flesh minus the big seeds.

Do click here to read postings on durians written by yours truly (KC). Scroll down the pages.

Posted by KC Leong