Almost Forgotten Durian

I mean, I also almost forgotten about this blog too.

Almost lost the interest in durian and durian writing these few years and I've eaten no more than 3 times per year since Covid.... mental fog maybe.

Durian has almost became a distanced dream that I hardly crave for.  I lost the lust actually!  There's no more 'I can't live without durian' mindset.  What happened?

The last few years, I've hardly had any good durians that will blow the grey matters out of my skull.  Ok fine, admittedly, there isn't much grey matter in there anyway.

What's so nice about Mao Shan Wang (MSW)?  Ok sorry if you are a MSW lover, no offense intended.  But really, it doesn't give me any kick, it's completely anti-climax... imagine when the lust is so sexually high, and than comes MSW, even the old dragon becomes a worm in me.  MSW, it's too predictable!  

I've not had any good MSW for years.  The MSW that is considered good, to me strictly, is when it has that omph factor of a freshly brewed coffee in the local coffeeshop, that strong aroma and that wake me up factor.  I can't recall when I last had such omph factor MSW.  

Ok I did the story telling.

Today, was having coffee at a coffeeshop (ok there's no omph factor in the coffee, it was kinda stale anyway) when we decided to try out durians at the nearby shop.  

The varieties were good.  There's D13, D56 (don't know what's that, have not try it before I think), D88, Shen Xian Guo, XO, Tekka, MSW.... anymore?  Dunno, din ask what they have.

We tried 3 variants, XO, Shen Xian Guo and Tekka.

Tekka is one of my favourate durian, so naturally, I would like to try it.  But it wasn't really that good.  It was half good, half han-zi (literally translated as, sweet potato, and a term to describe half ripe, bland, etc).  It's not the type of Tekka that will make me rave.

Shen Xian Guo was recommended to me by the boss.  I didn't have much impression of Shen Xian Guo as I last ate it many years back and it doesn't leave an impression.  So the boss corrected my wrong understanding of it and I must give him credit for proving my ignorance.  The one he opened for us has a nice tone of lighter shade of yellow, winkly and soft flesh. 

Hmmmm I like it!  It's got that mild stickiness, yet soft but not runny, flesh.  The taste was quite kampong durian taste, which has better depth than average graded durian variant.  It's midly bitter sweet.  Not too bitter nor sweet.  Quite balance overall.

Lastly, XO.  To me, a good XO is usually creamy beige color tone and not white.  White XO are mainly just bitter, but lacks flavor (hmmm maybe taking paracetamol is good enough).  A creamy beige flesh tends to be more flavorful.  It's not strong tasting, but XO just has it's uniqueness compared to many durians.  

The XO we had, was creamy beige in color.  The flavour was definitely what I would considered a good XO, as it's not just bland bitter.  

It's also quite value for money, given that the shell is quite thin mostly, and usually round thus you get 5 or 6 sides.  The seeds are usually small, which means, you get more flesh.  The down side, the a good XO is usually soft till it may even be runny to some.  

Conclusion. 
Out of the 3, XO definitely win somehow.  Shen Xian Guo was good.  Tekka, forgettable.  Overall, it was good enough to fill the stomach, but not good enough to make me crave to have durian again tomorrow.  Well, I'll wait a week or so, before I may try having durian again.

The peak season should be arriving in about 1-2 weeks, and prices will likely come down a bit, and quality goes up too.

Pardon the bad photos, wasn't really keen to take so didn't assemble the durians like soldiers in a parade

Mao Shan Wang MSW - The Sequel to Name Sells (Different Variant?)

Just yesterday, I was out for my lunch, when I noticed that durian prices have 'soften' and became very appealing to consumers.  There were heaps of different variants of durians from Johor for sale there.

After the quick stroll through the heaps and settling down at the coffeeshop next to the make shift stall, I noticed seemingly some happy customers leaving the durian stall with bags of comfortable priced durians.

However, when I look upwards to the tentage, I couldn't help but noticed this banner.  

It is quite a common sight to see "Black Gold" and Pahang MSW, among other FANCIFUL names.  So, based on the banner above, how different are they?

I'm sure many consumers have heard/seen the following too

-  Highland MSW

-  Old Tree MSW

-  Highland Old Tree MSW

-  and recent years, Black Gold MSW and 

-  Tai Shang Wang

-  Wang Zhong Wang

I'm not saying there are no such durian (or if everything is real), but, hey, what's the authenticity of these 'variants'?  Many consumers are very unaware!  It's fine paying more for what you deem you are getting, or should I generally say, pay the price you are willing to pay for what you gotten.  Authenticity isn't relevant ya??

Let me share a bit of Insider info.  If every consumer is aware of this, and durian sellers sees this post.... well.... i leave it as that.

Before revealing further, let me refresh 1 variant that has largely been forgotten... Wang Zhong Wang!  Hey, isn't that a variant that sellers claims????  WHAT?  EXTINCTION together with the dinosaurs?  Oh no... why didn't Xiao Qiang (nick name for cockroach, in case foreign readers wonder what that is) didn't go extinct? 

Now, let is go through the different 'Variants'/names in a sellers gonna hate me fashion.

The 'Extinct' Wang Zhong Wang (WZW)

In reality, WZW is NOT a variant on its own!  It is just the better of the lot!  Get it?  Years ago, sellers single out a few pieces from that day's supply and grouped it as WZW!  

Is it wrong?  Well, it's fine with me actually.  After all, it was usually the better of the whole day's supply and many consumers don't mind paying a few extra dollars per kilogram for it.

So, any variant of durian, can actually be categorized as WZW.  It isn't really wrong in my opinion.

The Different Types of MSW

Before going into it.  MSW was first discovered in the 80s, which is nearly 40 years ago.  It was discovered in Kelantan, and a branch was grafted onto a durian tree in Pahang.  That's the origin of MSW.  

Referring to the list of names above, I'll group these (Highland, Old Tree, Highland Old Tree) together, as it is all MSW that consumers are accustomed with.

How wrong is it to term, Pahang's durian (even if it is just kampung durian from Pahang) as HIGHLAND?  Many parts of Pahang are actually highlands, especially the durian growing region.

Highland Old Tree is just another jargon.

Old tree.  HOW OLD are these trees, before they are categorized as Old Tree?  Oh ya... we don't relate to age as YOUNG do we?  So, a ONE year old child is still called 'old'.

But if people knows better, most trees are actually very young.  Most MSW are grafted from another grafted MSW 'tree'.  So do we take the age from the 

-  grafted branch as it's age, or 

-  the original tree that it was grafted onto, or

-  since MSW came from a tree discovered in the 1980s?  

Whichever, it can't be considered old even if the tree is maybe 20+ years old right?  I'm senile, forgotten, I just mentioned One Year Old is also called Old.

Oh how about Genting Highland Old Tree

Some frequent visitors to Genting Highland would have encounter durian stalls near the foot hill.  Among the most popular durian variant that consumers loved would be MSW.

So, that's how Genting Highland Old Tree MSW came about.  Genting, I am not sure if there is even a single MSW tree there. Maybe someday, someone is going to start claiming Cameroon Highland or Fraser Hill once the novelty of the current range of names gets stale.

What about Black Gold and Tai Shang Wang

Black Gold MSW was a term coined in recent years and from my unfounded understanding (I'm just BSing here)... as told by sellers too actually.... Black Gold MSW are MSW with the 'black' bruised hue instead of the evenly yellow MSW.  Generally, they just made it seems like e premium range la.

Wang Zhong Wang disappeared so suddenly, and well... Black Gold sounds really nice.

(remember to keep your poop, cos it's worth in gold)

Tai Shang Wang

Going back in history (goodness... i am either sounding old, or a historian wannabe but can't be), the term Tai Shang Wang (or Huang) is an honorific and institution of retired emperorship (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taishang_Huang)

So, is Tai Shang Wang/Huang, a retired MSW?  Or just a honorific name that is merely just... MSW?

Differentiating MSW

Among the many names above, are they really so different, or just a name?

I've helped out at certain durian stalls before, for fun, or because I was invited to help.  It's not exactly for the money, cos it doesn't measure up.

So, from what I know (up to you to believe me).  MSW arrived based on Grade A, Grade B and Grade C!  It doesn't arrive as Black Gold, Tai Shang Wang, Highland, Old Tree, or any other fancy names!!!  PERIOD!

The 'variants' segregation are... done at/by the stall.  

So it is up to you to believe what you were sold, or know where these 'variants' came from.... 1 random seller told me years ago, I don't know how to eat durian.  I only told him, "yes, I don't know how to eat durian, but he knows how to sell, so sell it to gullible buyers".  

Spare me his crap.  When I started eating durian, he was still swimming in some sack (gosh, I'm so uncouth here).

------------------------

Disclaimer : This insider may upset some sellers... or make some consumers rethink what they are being sold.  

So, who is telling the truth?  This senile blogger or your durian seller?

I'm not sorry... it was intentional!  

Mid Year 2022

As reported in Malay Mail news portal, that durian prices will see a steep increase.

Extract from the article below:

JASIN, May 14 — Durian fans, especially those who love premium varieties like Musang King and Black Thorn, will have to deal with an expected 100 per cent price increase during this year’s durian season.

Deputy Agriculture and Food Industry Minister I Datuk Seri Ahmad Hamzah said the price hike was due to a 50 per cent drop in durian production due to weather conditions.

“We believe that the rainy season at the end of March to April has impacted the pollination of durian, which impacts the number of fruits.

Too much rainfall and strong wind impacts pollination.  This is not just during the pollination period but also during early stages of fruition.

The repeated heavy rain and flooding in Malaysia (referring to Weather Report between late 2021 till recent) will reduce fruition extensively.

Extract on most current report :

Pahang, Malaysia

Event Date : Tue, 10 May 2022

AHADID : AHA-FL-2022-000550-MYS | GLIDE Number:

Impact Update Date : Tue, 10 May 2022 14:07:53

AFFECTED AREA/S

Bentong

DESCRIPTION

Heavy rainfall has been affecting southeastern Peninsular Malaysia (in particular the Pahang State) since 10 May, causing floods that have resulted in evacuations and damage. Media report, as of 12 May, around 100 evacuated people and nearly 150 damaged houses across the Bentong District (north-east of the Kuala Lumpur area, Pahang State). Over the next 24 hours, more heavy rainfall with locally very heavy rainfall is forecast over the whole of Peninsular Malaysia.

As we are in the early season, and with this rainfall, it just gets me wondering on the quality.  Having spoken to a durian seller last week, he shared that the quality is only 50% yield per basket.

I'll hold my fangs... not much craving for durians in the last 2 years due to lower quality.

P/S : Heng ah, I still have a lot of frozen durian puree in the freezer... and i'm not sharing with anyone/everyone.

------------update 20/06/22--------------

As reported in the news article recently, durian prices in Singapore drop due to surprised bumper crop.  It was mentioned in the article, the recent rain caused durians to drop earlier.

In the past, most durian consumers are familiar with the notion that rain induced durian supply are usually not so ideal.  Well, I don't know, I haven't eaten this batch of durian yet.

I would think this current softening of price will last only till late June 2022.

In recent years, my passion for durian has dipped tremendously.  I find the taste and flavour to be massively lacking compared to mid 2000s.  

Easily 8 out of 10 times I got to try MSW, it disappoints so much, I end up referring it as, wasted calories, or the stomach is full but the soul is empty!  It's THAT BAD!

I'll consider eating it over the next couple of weeks, but not craving for it any bit.

Just recalled another post I did on End of Cheap Durians (due to demand of the Chinese Market) few years ago.  This recent bumper supply won't last, but it has proven a point, that the chinese market may have helped durian growers to sell to China at better price, but they are not masters of nature.