Yesterday was Indonesia Independence Day (62 years).
So I thought I’d put in the spotlight one of the many exotic fruits we have back home: durian (duren so we say back there). I love this fruit, uh huh, all of it (smell, taste, texture) .. LOL!
The first time I saw people selling durian here in Toronto was in Chinatown. The fruits were frozen .. so they only looked like durians, but they didn’t smell like ones (I got “poked” by the thorn when I was trying to smell it 
). Back home, they have fresh ones .. honestly, we could smell it from FAR away! I must say even the frozen ones have that distinctive smell. Hahaha. Some people (yes, even some Indonesians) don’t like the smell. I love it. 
To open one, I remember when I was little I stood on it (LOL), just to get that first crack .. then we just cracked it open. The actual fruit can be a bit firm, can be a bit mushy. Although I like a firmer one better, I’ll eat the mushy one too! Sweet … *drool*
Hehe .. I ordered a durian drink one time. One of my non-Indonesian friends tried it and she had this look on her face .. but she didn’t say anything. She waited to see my reaction when I took a spoonful. I like the drink, although it could be stronger (more durian taste please!!). She thought I didn’t know what I ordered .. and was anticipating a strange look on my face .. haha. (No, she didn’t like the durian drink).
My grandparents used to keep the skin after we ate the fruit, and we used it to wash our hands with (we used soap too, yes) — the white (inside) part, not the outside part … they said it helps to get the smell off our hands. I do that now too. Does it work? I don’t know .. but I don’t mind having the smell on my hands .. so .. haha!
They grow on trees .. tall trees too! So, be careful when walking under durian trees …
There’s an idiom that says “bagai tertimpa durian runtuh” (“as if getting a durian falls on you”) which means getting lots of fortune. But please don’t sit under a durian tree, it hurts (you) when it (the fruit) falls on you.
Anyway, yesterday I wanted to finish writing this post. But I didn’t, because yesterday, fruityoaty gave me a couple of links to this site that happens to talk about the city I grew up in, Jakarta and some of the street food there. TWO posts .. and I spent the rest of the evening drooling and wanting to go home…………
The smell of 4 dead cats.
Is there truth to the Malaysian belief that the malodorous durian is an aphrodisiac? HUH? There is apparently a Malay saying, “When the durians fall down, the sarongs fly up.”
I’ve never heard it back home .. maybe in Malaysia .. hehe.
I don’t like the smell of Durian so I don’t want to eat it. But my friends enjoy it so much. One time, my boss gave me 2 durian fruits and i just gave it to my room mates instead.