Ganja or Ganyao Durian

The Name
Is it Ganja, or is it Ganyao?

The Malaysian durian sellers calls it Ganja, which is also the local name for marijuana.  Maybe Ganyao sounds like Ganja.  It's just my guess.

Ganyao is the Thai local name for this variant of Thai Durian.

So, if you are in Thailand, remember, it's Ganyao and not Ganja.  But in Singapore, if you are at the durian stall, the durian guys are more familiar with the name Ganja.


The Shape 
Exterior (Shell) wise, it is mostly roundish like a ball (maybe rare deformity may produced odd shape Ganja?? I'm not sure), healthy darker shade of green, with long stem/stalk (but not easy to notice as sellers will cut it shorter).  Some people 'SWEAR' against buying round durians as they said the flesh is thin and lots of seeds inside.  This variety will prove you WRONG!  

The Exterior (stem cut short)

The Taste
This variety impressed me the most among the 5 common Thai durians found in Singapore. A good Ganyao is buttery smooth, creamy and slides down your throat thus sometimes it is also also called "Butter Durian".  I'm not sure if any seller passes this off as Ice Cream Durian, but a good Ganyao has such good texture, like soft serve yogurt ice cream.

The Inside (Buttery and Creamy flesh)

Good ganja is bitter! Good pungent, smell but not overwhelming like strong tasting MSW.  In my own view, good Ganja surpasses durians like D24 and MSW.

Once, I couldn't stop eating despite suffering from throat ulcer (too heaty). But good Ganja is not easy to come by.

Give me a good Ganyao, I will take it over any Malaysia durians I've ever tried.

Opening The Fruit 
Unlike other Thai durian, Ganja is very 'petty' and cannot be bump or knock heavily.  Opening this durian has to be dedicate, using the 'cut' method instead of plunging the heavy durian knife into the shell.  That is because, the flesh is very tender (don't mistaken it as watery) and the durian shell is a little soft and 'flexible', thus the regular opening style will ruin the flesh.

To open this durian, use a knife, cut along the lines, before pushing the knife slightly deeper into the bottom and plying it open a little.  If it doesn't open readily, cut along the line again and repeat the opening method.  Repeat this if it still doesn't open, till you get it open eventually.  Not very difficult, just need to be dedicate.

P/S : This durian was purchased and consumed on 22 Aug 2013.  There were no more than 2 seeds per side.  This whole durian (picture above) has only 8 seeds (out of 5 sides).

------------------------- 02 Sept 2019 ------------------------

I just tried this Ganyao recently and it just brings back good memories even though it wasn't as PERFECT as the one I had in 2011.

Who says Thai durian are not nice?  Wait till you 'thai' some good ones.