Durians

If you come to South-east Asia, especially around July or December, you can't miss durians. They sell them everywhere, along the streets and in the markets. You either like it or hate it.
It is sometimes called the King of Fruits. Some said it "taste like heaven, smell like hell." It has such a distintive smell that many hotels in the region would not allow guests to bring them into the building.
It is about the size of an American football and weight from 2 to 7 lb. Depending on the quality, they can sell for as cheap as US$2 or as expensive as US$20.
I don't crave for it but if I am offered, I'll eat it. Since I grew up with it, I kind of like it.


You sometimes see them in Asian markets in the US.
These are usually from Thailand, where they are shipped frozen to the US. These don't taste as good as the fresh ones that you get in Singapore or Malaysia. In these countries, they usually don't pick the fruit. They wait till it's ripen and let it fall from the tree, usually at night.
People in the region make all kinds of edible stuff from durians or add them as flavor to other foodstuff like ice-creams, candies, cakes, porridge, etc.



Here is what it looks like when you open up a durian.









My son, Shawn, "enjoying" durian in Singapore.