Durian is a fruit that’s native and extremely common throughout parts of Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The durian fruit has received a bit of a bad reputation as many people on television have mentioned how bad it smells and even how bad it tastes… but I’m here to tell you, durian is the most amazing, unique, and I think it’s one of the most delicious fruits in the world. I’ve been living in Southeast Asia, mostly in Bangkok, Thailand, since 2009, and since that time I’ve gotten to eat my fair share of durian fruit, most times being a sensational experience. I remember my first time to taste durian, I was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with a friend, and I could smell the fruit, and then we saw a truck selling durian. I was so excited I could hardly contain myself, something I had heard so many things about, I was about to try. My first bite was incredible, literally one of the most memorable bites of anything I’ve ever had, a cacophony of sweet cream.
Lindsay from YearoftheDurian.com (http://www.yearofthedurian.com/) is one of the most passionate durian lovers I know, so when she invited me to a Nonthaburi (นนทบุรี) durian farm, known as Suan Toorien Padoi (สวนทุเรียนป้าต้อย), just outside of Bangkok in Thailand, I was pretty excited to go along. Nonthaburi (นนทบุรี) is extremely well known for their durian, and they grow what is considered the most expensive durian in the world, the Nonthaburi Kanyao (ก้านยาว นนทบุรี), a variety with a long stem. Lindsay was on a mission to get her hands on the most expensive durian in the world, I was happy to come along. We went out to the farm, and first walked around the farm. The durian far was really awesome, and all the durian trees were extremely well manicured and taken care of. In Nonthaburi, the durians are so famous and so high quality mostly due to the great quality of soil that is produced in the area. It’s close to the Chao Phraya river, which has just the right amount of salinity in it, mixed with just the right amount of minerals to make it the perfect durian growing environment.
Lindsay purchased a Nonthaburi kanyao durian (ก้านยาว นนทบุรี), but unfortunately, it wasn’t quite ripe to eat then, so we also got a Nonthaburi monthong (หมอนทอง นนทบุรี), another type of a durian, to eat right there on spot. How does durian tastes? There are many ways a durian can taste, but this particular durian was sweet like honey, and had a beautiful creamy texture to it. It wasn’t too heavy or bitter, but was just like sweet pudding. I tend to like my durian a little bit more on the bitter side, so it has a nice little bit to it, but I would have to say that this durian we ate, was quite amazing. One of the best things about eating a durian straight from this farm in Thailand, was that it was a 100% organic durian – and I could honestly taste the difference in freshness of the fruit. It was so pure, so buttery and so fantastic tasting.
Durian is known as the king of fruits, and mangosteen is often referred to as the queen of fruits. When you eat durian in Thailand, they always say that it’s a warming fruit, and it does actually warm up your body in a similar way alcohol does. In the opposite way, mangosteen is said to cool your body, so that’s why both fruits are often consumed together. I’m not so sure of the effectiveness of this, but I do think durian and mangostee do go very well together. The mangosteen, picked straight off the tree at Suan Toorien Padoi (สวนทุเรียนป้าต้อย), was amazing. Again, it was such a pure taste, so milky and sweet.
Visiting the Suan Toorien Padoi (สวนทุเรียนป้าต้อย) durian farm in Thailand was a great experience. As a lover of durian, it was so nice to be able to enjoy a durian, picked straight from the tree, and nice and fresh. Also, I really appreciated and could taste the quality of the durian we ate. If you love durian, go to a farm to get a taste of the king of fruits right off the tree!
Music in this video courtesy of Audio Network
Lindsay’s blog: http://www.yearofthedurian.com/
Full restaurant review: http://wp.me/p4a4F7-2sI
Are you interested in more Thai food? Check out my “Eating Thai Food Guide” for the serious Thai food lovers: http://www.eatingthaifood.com/eating-thai-food-guide/
Authentic Thai recipes: http://www.eatingthaifood.com/thai-recipes/
T-shirts: http://migrationology.spreadshirt.com/
Eater at: http://migrationology.com/blog & http://www.eatingthaifood.com/blog/
Thank you for watching, and don’t forget to subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=migrationology