28 and 29 July 2019
One of the highlights of my trip to Resorts World Genting was eating durians, also known as the “King of Fruits” in South East Asia. There are many varieties of the large and thorny fruit. They can be distinguished by the different shapes, sizes, colour of husks and colour of flesh that ranges from pale yellow to red.
Durians emit a unique smell that some find pungent and foul smelling while others find nice. It is like cheese. Some people find the smell of cheese disgusting and revolting while others loved it. It is hard to describe the smell and taste of durians. So, one got to try it to find out. Fortunately, the four persons in my travelling group love durians.
Although durians are common in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, I would say the durians from Malaysia are the best. It is no surprise that Malaysia is one of the dominating durian exporters in the world.
Malaysia has some of the best varieties of durians and once a while, new varieties are discovered or cultivated. Currently, the Musang King durian is the most popular variety. Musang King has other names like Rajah Kunyit or Mao Shan Wang (loosely translated from Chinese - Cat Mountain King).
July is one of the best times to visit Genting Highlands as it is the peak season for the Musang King durians that are actually grown in plantations near Genting.
We had our first durian even before reaching Resorts World Genting. On our drive to Resorts World Genting from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), we stopped by Gohtong Jaya, a small town located on the foothills of Genting Highlands for lunch. Many fruit stalls could be seen in Gohtong Jaya, offering Musang King durians at competitive prices.
Choosing our durians. We bought 2 durians weighing 4.7 kg in total at 50 MYR per kg.
The durians are typically sold based on the weight of the entire fruit with shell and all. It costs about 50 to 60 MYR per kg, with guarantee that the durian would be “fit for use”. This means the seller would take back the durian if it is too ripe (watery flesh) or not ripe enough (flesh is hard like a potato). It is good to confirm that the vendor is offering the guarantee for the price quoted before opening the durian.
At some places, durians sellers pre-opened the durian fruit, removed the seeds from the husks and packed the fleshy yellow seeds in plastic or Styrofoam boxes. It is not advisable to consume such durians since there is no guarantee of freshness nor assurance that you are actually getting the variety of the durian you paid for.
The Musang King durian is one of the most expensive varieties because of its superior taste and demand. Some unscrupulous vendors may pass off cheaper varieties as the Musang King to the uninitiated. To ensure that you get the real thing, look at the fruit’s bottom to find the distinctive brown star-shape marking. It is good that the internet provides plenty of information and guides on how to identify or even select the best durians. Fortunately, my travelling companion is an expert in choosing durians so we left the task to him.
After selecting our durians, we sat at the stools and tables by the stall to enjoy the fruit. Disposable plastic gloves are provided so we don’t end up with messy fingers. The durians are finger licking good so I don’t bother with the gloves.
The Musang King durian is known for its thick, golden yellow flesh and small seeds. The bitter sweet flesh is sticky with creamy texture and little or no fibres.
After eating the “heaty” durians or king of fruits, it is a good practice to also eat some “cooling” mangosteens, also known as the queen of fruits to balance the yin and yang in our diet.
The purple coloured mangosteen is a fruit that is native to South East Asia. The tennis ball sized mangosteens have an inedible and hard exterior. A gentle squeeze would crack the shell to reveal soft, tangy and sweet fleshy segments resembling those of a mandarin orange. Some larger segments have an inedible bitter tasting seed in the middle.
Soft white flesh of the mangosteen inside the purple hard shell. You can tell the mangosteen is fresh by its pure snow-white flesh.
The durian vendor at Gohtong Jaya also sells freshly harvested mangosteens at competitive prices. We bought a dozen for only 18 MYR.
Annual Genting Durian Festival
We had our second durian feast the following day when we were at Resorts World Genting.
Every year, Resorts World Genting would hold its Durian Festival where many premium grade varieties of durians grown all over Malaysia will be available at one place. This includes varieties like Musang King, XO, Tekka, Udang Merah (Red Prawn), D24 and Black Thorn
For 2019, the festival ran from 25 May to 16 Sep 2019, 12 PM to 10 PM, at the Genting Grand outdoor car park on level 16.
This is the perfect opportunity to try various varieties of Malaysia’s best durians at one place. It was here that we sampled the Black Thorn durian for the first time.
This rare variety of durian originates from and is successfully cultivated in only a few plantations near Penang. Hence the Black Thorn durians are not readily available and very expensive.
Most of the stalls at the Genting Durian Festival sells pre-packed Black Thorn durians. We managed to find one stall at the Genting Durian Festival selling the fresh Black Thorn durian fruit for 80 MYR per kg. In comparison, the Musang King is sold at 58 MYR per kg at Genting (slightly more expensive at the hilltop location of Genting Highlands compared to Gohtong Jaya).
The black thorn durian could be recognized by a tiny black thorn that protrudes from the bottom of the fruit. Another signature mark is a thick core with a rust-coloured “drain” or line running down the middle of the opened fruit.
The flesh of the Black Thorn durian with its rosy, orange hue.
In terms of taste, the Black Thorn was slightly better than the Musang King. Sweet, flavourful and no fibres. The Black Thorn could be the durian that dethrones the Musang King in terms of taste but its availability and higher price is a show-stopper.
We also ate the D24 durian. The D24 durian was a very popular variety before being overthrown by the Musang King durian. The D24 is much cheaper as a result.
The first D24 durian that was opened was rejected by us for being hard and under-ripe. The seller took it back and replaces it with another.
This D24 durian that was not ripe enough, as shown by the pale colour and hard texture of flesh.
The second D24 was perfectly ripe with softer flesh and deeper yellow colour like all good D24 durians should be.
The D24 that we ate and pay for. Perfectly ripe with softer and more yellowish flesh.
It terms of taste, the D24 is more fibrous. Compared to “non-branded” durians, the D24 is good. But it loses out significantly when compared to the Musang King or the Black Thorn. It also comes with much larger seeds.
Once again, we bought some mangosteens from the durian stall to eat with the durians. The seller removed the shell from the mangosteen so expertly that the white fresh was presented like a bouquet.
Mangosteen with the purple shell removed, exposing the soft succulent white fresh.
Overall, we enjoyed our durian and mangosteen feasts very much during our trip to Genting Highlands in Malaysia. Eating the King and Queen of Fruits is certainly a highlight of any trip to Malaysia.
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