Let's Go Panda! Tekka Time (some commercially calls it Green Bamboo)

Tekka (hokkien for bamboo 'leg') or some shops calls it fancy names like Green Bamboo... WHATEVER!

How many of you have tried this variant of durian?  I swear by it!  A good tekka always tame my durian desires.  

About 2 weeks ago, a durian seller messaged me, "Pahang Tekka has arrived!"  Immediately that night, I flew down to the store!  The last 2 weeks, I must have eaten this Tekka 5 times.

Among the many durians I've tried (here in Singapore), the one that always wow me over is Tekka follow by Jing Feng.  Yes there are other favorites but these 2 never failed to seduced me.

Tekka is a far over under rated durian that most consumers pass by, going for the all so predictable Mao Shan Wang (MSW).  What's e biggie about MSW?  The hills of Pahang are mostly filled with MSW, follow by D24, and a small percentage of other variants.  

Tekka isn't a popular durian plantation owners wants to plant.  My unproven guess is
-  Tekka's yield is lesser than MSW or D24, and 
-  Tekka is risky durian, as fruits doesn't always turned out awesome, it can be inconsistently ripen.   

With that, it is little wonder there ain't much Tekka.  

Durian sellers also doesn't like selling Tekka for a few reasons (guess again)
-  Quality is inconsistent (like mentioned above, inconsistent ripeness)
-  Cost quite high (likely in between D24 and MSW)
-  Yield is low, consumers thinks they are paying too much (ok that's great news for me)
-  Difficult to open

I've done a write up on Tekka before.  I'll just repeat but in summary.

Shell
It looks a little odd shape, instead of regular shape durians.  Thorns are bigger (like MSW) and tough looking.  Some may mistaken this as Thai durian.

Color of shell is usually on the brownish, soil like tone.  Sometimes a bit yellowish too.  It's seldom nicely green in color.  Not a pretty durian, it'll never win a Miss Durian Pageant. 

Inside
There's this rough acne looking crater in the center running from top to bottom, which we termed it 'liulian sim' (sim is hokkien for Heart).  This is a unique character of Tekka.


Flesh & Taste
The richer the color, the better it is.  Pale yellow tends to be dry and less strong tasting.  Deep yellow tends to be richer in taste and softer texture.

It's got a complexity unlike predictable durians (eg D13, D101, MSW, these are all so predictable).  There's a mild citrus taste, yet that odd hard to describe porn... i'm quite lost for words.

Most Tekka are sweet with a nice hint of bitterness.  Level of bitterness is quite low, Probably 3/10 at most.  

Conclusion
This durian has never failed to impress my friends whom I introduced it to.  Several friends are hooked.  All I need to do, to lure them for durian is, telling them I'm going for Tekka.

Are you a durian lover?  If you are, you won't be so staunch about eating just 1 type, typically MSW.  How often have I not come across Singaporean durian consumers, who claims to be a durian lover, that sticks to MSW only.  That's just MSW lover, not durian lover.  Don't get confused!  Your lost is my gain!


Move aside Mao Shan Wang, you are never good enough!  

------------------ update 5 Dec 2017 ------------------ 

Last I ate this was on 1 Dec 2017.  Quality has diminished.  I suspect the first flowering in Pahang is ending thus supply is lower and quality isn't as optimal.  I'll wait for 2nd flowering's harvest, which should start from Mid December. 

Johor's Tekka isn't available yet.  Will update accordingly.

(Panda is on diet)