Durian experience on Jalan Alor

Here we are with the durian post, a little later than planned but we’ve just got back from Langkawi and due to unknown wifi connection I decided not to take my laptop. So continuing on with part 2- the durian ‘experience’ formed the ‘dessert’ to our meal at Jalan Alor. We had already walked past several durian stalls on the way in with whole fruit of various sizes all lined up and pre packed parcels such as the above ready for purchase. We chose our poison- at 20 ringgits you’re looking at about £3.50 which isn’t especially cheap but we are in a tourist area of a major city.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of encountering durian before it’s certainly unforgettable both in look, smell, texture and taste. It’s a full sensory experience. You can smell them upon approach, they’re easily recognisable with their huge spiky cases about the size of a rugby ball and the taste can’t be compared with anything else.

We sat down and there was some anticipation seeing that there were disposable gloves on the table for protecting your fingers from lingering smells; let’s not forget durian are banned on public transport and in certain public buildings in Thailand!
Despite the infamous reputation durian has, I decided to go in with an open mind. Texture- a mushy overripe avocado immediately came to mind, particularly one which has those stringy bits in. Taste- for the first few seconds- best compared to a mild white cooking onion that has been forgotten at the bottom of the sack and has gone off, after that it seemed vaguely reminiscent of juicy fruit chewing gum (which isn’t too surprising as the durians cousin; the jackfruit is the flavour inspiration for juicy fruit).
So, in a nutshell I probably won’t be rushing back to eat durian again but having said that; it was a fun experience and was nowhere near as bad as it has been made out to be.