Where can I get durian - not the huge strong-smelling fruit which you buy at the market and are forbidden to carry onto a taxi or on the MRT, but ready to eat ice cream or cake?
Answer
At Changi airport, Jurong Point shopping Centre, or the shop on the ground floor passage way of the Bukit Panjang Plaza.
Stories
I discovered durian years ago when I knew nothing of its reputation nor the fierce favouritism contacting with the fanatical hatred of this aromatic fruit. I was in a Thai restaurant wanting a dessert and the only non vanilla and exotic new flavoured dessert they could offer me was durian.
They hesitated to serve it to me, no doubt because previously customers had been outraged, disappointed, or refused to pay. I was sure I wanted to try it, just for the experience.
I loved it. The flavour was a cross between eggs, bananas and chestnuts. It reminded me of the Spanish dessert dish yemas de Cartagena (a Catalan sugared egg dessert dish, one of my favourites, which I ate at A parador (national landmark converted into a hotel to attract tourism). The yemas I tried was a dessert. I have found several recipes for yeas (egg yolks) cooked with sugar, from Avila, called y e m a s de Avila or y e m a s de Saint Teresa. I would describe the Spanish dessert as tasting rather like the French marron glacé).
Irresistible Free Taste
Last September I passed the durian stall in the Singapore mall on a day when they were offering a free taste. Maybe that was to celebrate their opening or the autumn moon festival. This year I went back and there were no free tastes, not for passers-by who were potential customers nor for keen customers. But the displays were attractive, especially the cakes - I have a birthday coming up and all year I look at cake designs.
It was my treat. I was lured to the mall by the promise of a durian cake. I wanted to look at and buy a little cake.
When we arrived I was even more excited by the display of colourful cakes for birthdays and celebrations. Some of them are covered in conical peaks or 3D designs, not suitable for adding words such as happy birthday and a name. However, when I asked, the stall assistant explained that if you give them a couple of days notice they make a cake to order and add the words you require, such as Happy Birthday, on a small slab of white chocolate. I asked if that cost extra and she said that the words were included in the price.
Carrying Cake
The cake was given to us in a small domed plastic container to protect it from damage in transit. We were travelling only a short distance (by bus) and on arriving at our destination placed it in the fridge.
Dividing Durian Cake
A few hours later out came my tea-time treat. The cake, although small, cost about £5 in English money, and was double my calorie allowance (maybe more than double). Although we had planned to share it between two, the aroma which I find so attractive did not have general appeal. Since I was the only person who wanted it, I received a slice from the centre of the circular cake and the remainder was pushed together to create an oval.
Let Us Eat Cake
To eke out my cake, I added yogurt and water, which turned it into a mush, rather like a milkshake or lassi. We then added fruit, strawberries, oranges. I was afraid that the contrasting flavours would detract from the durian, but durian is strangely flavoured.
You don't want to talk whilst eating such a delicacy. You don't want to be distracted by conversation and then find your plate or bowl is empty. Savour every sniff and sip.
They have only two outlets apart from the ones at airports, and one is at the smaller airport. So I was lucky to be her the place which served durian.
You will, however, be able to buy large durians, in season, from markets.
D u r i a n desserts with a spoon of durian on a larger portion of a filler such as ice cream, are at some fruit dessert bars in hawker centres, the food courts found in shopping malls. Many of them are in basements and top floors. I had some once at the upper level indoor food court above Farrer Park MRT station near Little India.
Tips
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian
http://www.changiairport.com/en/shop-and-dine/shopping/durian-mpire.html
Durian Mpire, Changi Airport Terminal 2
Durian Mpire, Changi Airport Terminal 3
(details in next post)
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker. More on languages, food and fun on blogger.com. I also have posts and profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other places including YouTube. My books are on Amazon.com and Lulu.com Please like, follow and share my posts.
No comments:
Post a Comment