vickichowder: MALAYSIA

2013

For my not-living-in-Asia readers, you will have probably only seen one type of durian (if you ever do) in the supermarket - and that would be the one from Thailand. Are Malaysian durians different from those from Thailand?

Yes. And in every aspect too: color, sweetness, taste, size...

After-dinner durian

I think my mom and I had more than 10 durians that night

You can tell the amount of moisture by shaking the durian lightly

Similar to how there are seemingly endless and new varieties of apples, durians have countless species that vary in color and taste as well.

Besides the varying species, each type of durian is sold by different prices according to their quality. I was lucky enough to try the cheapest kinds as well as the most expensive kinds.

The difference between cheap muscat king that I had at one of the many all-you-can-eat durian stalls scattered across Malaysia, and the expensive one probably costing me a lot of money is:

We spent almost $100 CDN on these 7 or 8 durians

1. The flavour is much more pronounced and robust when its a higher grade (more expensive). No this does not mean that it smells even smellier but that you get a deep durian smell.

This tiny piece of meat has almost no seed!

2. The flesh to seed ratio is extremely high. The seed is flat and very small, meaning you get maximum flesh - exactly what you want when you spend that much money on durians.

Notice that glossy sheen - it's what keeps your fingers clean!

3. Your hands stay clean and durian-mess-free when you eat. Cheaper durians will unleash their juice (?) and durianness upon your fingertips when you hold it during your durian feasting. The expensive ones leave no mark on your hands except for the wonderful fragrance of durian.

We ate durians for breakfast that day

4. The expensive ones tend to be much smaller in size. Upon opening these smaller and much more expensive durians, you will find, on average, less than 8-10 pieces of durian meat. These precious pieces of durian also freeze much much better than cheaper kinds as they will not lose their shape and expel as much moisture upon thawing.

**

Alrighty, now for those of us who do not know how to appreciate the super expensive durians, let me show you how to properly spend your 3$ or 5$ CDN wisely on durians:

1. You are to not eat dinner. Durians are very filling so leave ~~some~~ a lot of room.

2. You are to drive around at night until you see a stall with a mountainous tower of durians and the sign "ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT". Because only then will you satisfy your empty stomach.

3. You are to pick your seat at a plastic table and chair, and preferably beside the table of mangosteens. Mangosteens is the queen of fruit, and durian is the king. You have to eat them together because durians are hot and mangosteens cold (this is a Chinese thing I won't even try to explain it in other English terms). Sitting right beside the mangosteens will allow you to take a bunch, quickly eat it, and throw the shells away when the owner's not looking so you eat it for free *yay*

Oh, and between four people, we consumed 30ish durians in 2 hours.

Or you can park your car/othermethodoftransportation on the road beside the roadside durian stall:

This was in Penang, where I tried the 'red meat' durian, which is actually a deep orange.

Wash yo dirty hands here

Durians are only picked from the ground because they only fall down when they are perfectly ripe enough. For this reason, Malaysian durians are rarely exported and when they are they are extremely expensive (some can go up to ~$100 CDN per kg)

Looking from the top of a mountainous region where it is the prefered climate for durian tree growth

A durian on a tree

MUAH MUAH MUAH

VICKI CHOW

P/S

School begins this Monday for me and that means I'll be in Waterloo for a period of time that is longer than I prefer.

What else does going back imply? That I won't be seeing my lovers for quite a while and that gets me in a mood that is worse than what gloomy Waterloo weather makes of me.

My brother and I say hello

Can my university just have a campus in my city so I don't have to go through all this that feels too much like a break-up with Mississauga please *thumbs down* Okay lets end my depressed gloomy-cause-of-all-the-rain-today mood!

Stay hungry my dear readers - got lots more food for you

, by vickichowder

CENDOL

SS15 ROJAK & CENDOL, MALAYSIA

During my one and a half month stay in Petaling Jaya (right outside of Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur), I was lucky enough to be able to eat at this famous street side stall about four times.

Rojak is a mix of cut up things tossed in a sauce, and was what I waited in line for 15 minutes to eat. The rojak that I like the most is the Indian one, or what they call mamak rojak in Malaysia.

Mamak rojak, or Indian rojak, consists of a variety of deep fried dough fritters (that have different taste and textures), bean curd, hard boiled egg, cuttlefish, grated cucumber, and grated all in a thick spicy and sweet sauce rich in ground peanuts.

There are many other places to eat rojak, and I find that each stall has their own rendition on it. After trying out a few, I can say that this roadside stall has the best and the forever-long-lineup of people will sure to agree with me. This is something that you must eat there since when you open it up at home in the plastic bag, you will find the deep fried dough fritters a bit soggy from the moisture from the vegetables.

After that you'll need a palate cleanser, and in a lineup (or sometimes cluster) of people a few tables down, you will hear the refreshing sound of ice shaving - the exact place to tend to your hot body (after standing on the roadside under the Malaysian heat of course).

Composed of freshly shaved ice, gula melakka (coconut palm sugar), green noodle-like jelly, red beans, corn kernels, and coconut milk.

Their home-cooked red beans are boiled in water, sugar, and a hint of salt (which gives this cendol its distinct taste).

Also served is a cendol with glutinous rice, although most people just go and order a regular cendol which is served in a plastic bowl atop a plastic plate. You are then to leave the spoon, bowl, along with the plate anywhere in the vicinity as someone will collect it, wash it, and fill it with more for the next customers (the same goes for the rojak).

Cendol is something you can order at almost every food court (read about food courts in Malaysia here!) but if you've tried it before already, please do try this one because it has a very special taste you cannot forget.

MUAH MUAH MUAH

VICKI CHOW

P/S

After getting the OK from my dentist saying that I can go to the gym again a week after my wisdom teeth extraction I have indeed taken advantage of the fact that I'll only be able to go to my local gym a couple of weeks before I move back to Waterloo.

And so there I was so happy that I went to the gym until my friends proclaimed that they would be would be going to eat. At like 2300.

Big Bang shrimp for those Big Bang fans

I gave in and shared a salad with my girlfriend who never goes to the gym except for that night

Well then please keep checking my blog for the remaining parts of my Asia trip - as I'm afraid it may take me several months and will power and the opposite of procrastination to deliver all the good food and destinations to your computer screen.

Who else is dreading the new school year?

, by vickichowder

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LANGKAWI, MALAYSIA

DURIANS IN MALAYSIA

SS15 ROJAK & CENDOL, MALAYSIA

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