International Brunch Buffet at Rasa Sayang Resort's Spice Market Cafe

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Western Breakfast at siTigun Cafe

It is dark, roasted, brewed, aromatic, bitter, and in the modern world it is one of the world's most consumed beverage and we're talking about coffee which was first introduced

Western Cuisine at Santorini Cafe

It was curiosity that led me to this place, a restaurant called Santorini Cafe. I think the name itself, Santorini, is really enthralling, and so I did a quick search on the web ( Google, Wikipedia )

Wan Tan Mee at Lye Lye Food Court

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Spaghetti Carbonara at Food Gallery | Times Square

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Fried Maggi at Abu Mamak Stall

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Top 10 Rules for Fine Dining

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Breakfast at Kopitan Restaurant

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Banana Leaf Rice and Tandoori Naan at Sri Ananda

From Little India, many of you might be wondering, why come up with such a name? To be honest, I think indian food has an authenticity that is truly unique. I believe not many of us penangites actually know more than a handful of indian food, wait, you're thinking about - roti canai aren't you?

Hokkien Mee at Green House Kopitiam

The time was ticking fast. It was getting late. At any moment from now, starvation would be killing us. Needless to mention that we were afraid that at this time, precisely at 11.25 pm, it'll be very hard to find a place to drug ourselves with food.

Top 20 Fruits You Probably Don't Know

Right genius, you probably know a lot of fruits, ate durians or your best friend's dad actually opens a fruit stall. But if you were to stop lying to yourself and adopt a more humble attitude, I would be very humble myself on sharing with you fruits that most of us have never heard of.

Tang Yuan at Sugar Dynasty

It was 9.30 pm and we were greedily hunting for desserts after finishing our dinner. As we were just in the town area, we decided to travel back in time to a dynasty where it is called - Sugar Dynasty (Tang Chao).

Invited Review : Tainan Restaurant at Midlands

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12 Facts about Tea

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Nando's at Gurney Plaza

The first Nando's Restaurant was founded in 1987 in Johannesburg, South Africa. And today, Nando's has already been a worldwide franchise restaurant reaching out to places we have never even heard of - Austalia, Mauritius, Zimbabwe and etc. Reputedly famous for its spices and chicken or more specifically peri-peri chicken, and specializes in flame-grilled peri-peri chicken,

Jawa Mee at Seasons (Vegetarian)

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Spaghetti Carbonara at Manila Place

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Laksa and Yam Rice at Seang Tek Road

People often think that in order to promote their food business well, one of the criteria is to have a good location, a hot spot, or a slot where all the commotion is in town. But in Penang, that's not always the case. Good location does not make a food good, but it is good food that makes a location good.

Durian Trip to the Hills of Sungai Ara

At this time of the year, most of us if not all Penangites have one food to hunt in common. Can you guess what is that ? Yes, it's durian and no doubt You Are Smarter Than A Fifth Grader :)

Seafood Popiah at Padang Brown

The wonder in Penang is the people here are very innovative, food wise that is. It's not about giving funny names like Khor Tsu Koon to the the durians, but innovating a local delicacy into it's own signature. And today, we're food hunting for popiah (fresh spring rolls), or more specifically Seafood Popiah.

Curry Mee at Air Itam Market

It was a beautiful Saturday morning, and we woke up early at 7am for something different, something we don't do so often - marketing. It's not business marketing, but grocery marketing to prepare a lot of stuffs for tonight's invited barbeque dinner by the beach. So we decided to go to Air Itam Market,

Wan Tan Mee at Genting

It was early Friday morning and the night before, my aunt and I planned to have our breakfast at our usual place. We have been customers - regular customers for Genting Kopitiam for a long time, dating back to the time when I was still in primary school.

Showing posts with label Durians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Durians. Show all posts

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Durian Trip to the Hills of Sungai Ara

At this time of the year, most of us if not all Penangites have one food to hunt in common. Can you guess what is that ? Yes, it's durian and no doubt You Are Smarter Than A Fifth Grader :)

This fruit is mostly found in Southeast Asia especially in Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. And it seems like the name of King of Fruits for durians do have justifications after all.
I'll explain them later, now let's take a tour to the hills - to the durian orchard.

We were on a very steep and narrow road, only one car at a time, and there was around 6 other cars trailing behind our back, rendering to accidents at any rate if you would to just lose control of your vehicle for a second. Halfway there and looking up, you can already see nettings tied up above, and there were durians laying there, waiting to be picked up by the farm owners. It was a bumpy ride, but what awaits atop was paradise.

cluster of durians



When we finally parked our cars and set foot on the ground, that alone managed to put smiles on all our faces after the tough ride up.

the crew




looks like the durians had declared war



orchard owner/ tauke/ sifu

As you go along the the scrumptious durians, you'll find out why they're crowned the kings of fruits.


Susu (milk durian)

- Durian is one of the very few fruits in the world that gives out a unique odour.

I especially like this durian because it has very strong aroma, followed by a very strong bitterness yet sweet senstation.


hor loh (water gourd durian)


- Durian is one of the few fruits in the world that requires much skills and force to open it.

This durian has a very unique husk which shapes like a water gourd. It has a sweet and creamy flavour.

yah kang (centipede durian)

- Durian is one of the few fruits in the world that has sharp thorns on its husk.

This durian has a little orange yellowish flesh and tasted almost similar to hor loh.


ang heh (red prawn durian)


- Durian is one of the few fruits in the world which is so nutritious, containing vitamin C, potassium, carbohydrates, protein and trytophan.

This is probably everyone's favourite, it is expensive but definitely worth a try. It has a orange reddish flesh, filled with very strong fragrance and has a slight bitterness followed by a sweet creamy sensation.


khunn poh (named after Mr Lau Khunn Poh who budded it)

- Durian is one of the few fruits that makes people profoundly - love it or hate it.

This durian tasted almost like another durian called Ang Sim (red heart durian) with a creamy and tender flesh.


604 (named after Mr Teh Hew Hiong of Sungai Pinang)

- Durian is one of the few fruits in the world which has a lot of cultural beliefs. For instance, durian is believed to have eyes as durian almost never fall on someone's head.

This durian tasted a little bit normal for me, but it has rather small seeds which makes it more fleshy.


It is believed that to avoid the odour or smell on your hands after eating the durians, wash the durian (husk) under a running tap and let the water flow to your hands.




It is also believed that drinking durian water with it's pulp can cool down our body. Adding salt to the water might increase the effectiveness.


mangosteens

An alternative way is to eat mangosteens with the durians, because it is considered to have cooling properties.

nasi pulut

It is a very good way to eat durian together with nasi pulut, the both of them blends very well and making the durian rice very chewy and fragrant.







list of durians



It was a wonderful experience and it was my first time to a durian orchard. As a Penangite, I'm really grateful to have this opportunity as undoubtedly there are many tourists who traveled far to Penang just to have a glimpse of durians.

the way home

Prices .
The prices for durians can vary depending on it's name (brand), size, flavour, and rarity (which is also influenced by the season)
But it is definitely much cheaper to eat them in the farm rather than on the streets or roadside.

Bonus .
This place is located on the hills of Cangkat Sungai Ara, prior bookings are needed for a visit.

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