16 December 2015

Year End 2015 - Another Few Rounds

Many consumers are under the impression year end durian is not as good as mid year due to the wet weather.  They are not wrong to some extend.  Refer to my other thread on Durian Seasons and Quality 

I may be luckier than many :p  The few rounds I had this season (3 to be exact) had not disappoint so far.  Let's recap a little.

Tekka Durian



Tekka Durian durians tends to be semi ripe (ripe on 1 side, unripe on the other).  Generally, the choosing method, go for smell.  Sniff on all sides (except top and bottom) but do not take hard sniff, just a light sniff will do.  More description found in an old post Tekka

A new observation though.  Try to go for the odd shape, oblong.  I would avoid the rounder shape Tekka.

If you are consuming a range of durians, including Mao San Wang, D88, Tekka (I mentioned these 3 becase I had them in 1 sitting recently), etc, the rule of thumb is, go for the weaker taste ones first.  MSW is known to be overwhelming tasting durian, but if you clear your mouth and breathe a little before eating Tekka, you will still be able to distinct Tekka from MSW on the 2nd seed.  Tekka is that good thus doesn't get over beaten by MSW that easily.

Given a choice between Tekka and MSW, personally, I would love a good Tekka anytime!  It's a mixture of sweetness and bitterness, a good character of taste (distinctive) yet not 'expected' like MSW.

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Mao Shan Wang 



This year's Mid Season durian was among the best in the last decade (except in 2008).  I didn't expect too much good durians this year end, but I must say, the MSW I had (above) are really worth the calories.

In the same sitting 2 Sundays ago, we had 3 MSW and 4 Tekka.  One MSW was forgetable while another was overwhelming.  But I noticed Dr Roy in a corner quietly wacking away on a Tekka (thank goodness, thus I get to eat this MSW lol).

The texture, aroma, color, etc, were good!  It's no lesser than what we had in mid year, except it lacks the Omph factor of a fresh brew coffee (local coffee).  I have not had this Omph factor for a long time, not even during mid year season.  It's nearly as comparable in quality as mid year

More on MSW as blog years ago Mao Shan Wang

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D88

I was surprised to find D88 at the stall on 12 Dec 2015.  I didn't expect to see D88 as it's usually quite illusive (low supply and short season too).  I must be rather lucky.  There were a few and we picked 2 since my friends haven't try D88 before.  

This D88 we had has good aroma, generally sweet.  Not the best, but still, it's got my friends satisfied especially it was their first time trying it.  In that sitting, we had 1 x D2, 2 x D88, 3 x Tekka and 1 x MSW, for 8 persons (even after dinner).

More description from an old post D88 

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While a lot of durian consumers here in Singapore favours Mao Shan Wang, I don't.  Put it simply, a durian fanatic will try different varieties of durian than just stick to preferred 1 or 2.

Mao Shan Wang has a strong, hit your nerve, kind of taste.  It's quite straight forward durian.  Of course there are the sweet, the bitter, bitter sweet, different texture, strong taste or average taste, but by far and large, it's relatively similar in taste.

Most varieties are about the same in the that sense.  However, different types sometimes have got different characters even in the same variant.  Thus I prefer to try different durians during different seasons, even different durians in a single sitting.  Tease the taste butt.


Anyway, I'll have a few more rounds of durian before wrapping up the year end season.

(Photo courtesy of Alfred while gluttony me tuck in)

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