I recently spent two weeks in Kuala Lumpur, mostly at this durian stall.
Like, I’m not kidding. I went to this durian stall almost every night. I was just starting to work on a study comparing the beliefs and perspectives of durian lovers around the world, and I thought hanging out at a durian stall would be a good opportunity to meet Malaysian durian lovers and talk to them about how they feel about durian.
And while I was there.. why not eat some durian too?
About King of the King Pahang Durian
The durian stall is located in SS2, less than one hundred yards from Wai’s Durian and right across the street from Donald’s Durian.
It’s a fairly new stall, and has only been in business for the last two years.
If it’s your first time visiting, it can be hard to choose which place to patronize!
My second night hanging around SS2, I selected King of the King Pahang Durian because they offered slightly cheaper prices than the other two stalls as well as a new durian I’d never tasted before – D78. I figured I’d try out Donald’s the next night, and rotate between the three stalls.
Then the guys at King of the King were so nice to me that I decided to go back. Again. And again. And again.
![]() |
This guy won my adoration by giving me a free coconut one night |
Why I Kept Going Back
I ended up hanging out at King of the King’s every night for the next week while I worked on the International Survey of Durian Lovers.
I did go back to Wai’s Durian Stall one night, but after an hour or so of snacking I found myself drawn back to King of the King.
Price was part of it. I’ll be honest – I’m trying to make a living off of freelance writing and the tidbits of proceeds when one of you dear durian lovers buys my book (thank you). When I’m on a durian kick, I need the best value for money.
King of the King had slightly better prices, and seemed to have a better selection in general.
![]() |
A pile of Musang King durians |
Whereas the shelves at Wai’s Durian were nearly bare, here the displays overflowed into piles of Musang King on the floor.
The relative abundance could be a fluke of the season and their suppliers. I don’t know that they always have more than the other stalls. But what really won my loyalty was how easily they replaced durians that weren’t up to my standard.
Throughout the night, one of the servers stood on the corner calling to passerby, “Nice or no money!” He really meant it. If I so much as grimaced while giving the durian a taste, the lovely staffer would whisk it away and bring back a durian that blew my taste buds away. That’s what I call good durian service.
Plus they were really nice to me, despite me walking around clutching a pile of surveys and chatting with (ahem bothering) their customers.
![]() |
Any guesses what durian that is? |
Menu
For your benefit, I wrote down the durians available and their prices in ringgit and USD per kilo. This was during my visit in January, 2015. The buffet option was 20 RM per person.
Yes, that Musang King was really almost $7 per pound. Due to all the flooding in Pahang, Musang King was in short supply this season. Can you guess what I ate?
![]() |
Overripe but gorgeous D24 |
D24
I started with the safety durian – good old D24.
D24 was registered in 1937 and was the first widely commercialized durian because of it’s reliable quality. It’s typically a solid, satisfying choice.
This one looked so amazing I just about drooled over the camera lens. Those glacial wrinkles were beautiful – but there was something just a little bit off-putting about it. I couldn’t put my finger on it quite until I took a bite. It was overripe.
In hindsight, you tell by the grey coloration, slight translucency, and sort of bloated appearance.
![]() |
Most awesome D24 |
A perfectly ripe D24 should fill you will uncontrollable desire, like this one.
Pale yellow, the wrinkles are tightly bound creating fine shadows over an opaque skin. The skin of this D24 will stay intact as you gently place your fingers around its pillowness, feeling it squeeze inward and then burst open against your teeth. Perfection.
Those were the only D24 I ate during the two weeks, because I reserved the rest of my appetite for my new favorite – D78.
Hello, D78
Maybe I’m just attracted to underdogs, but the fact that I had never heard of D78 made me want to love it.
D78 didn’t make itself easy to love. It was a little lopsided, brilliant green, with very visible seams colored brown. It certainly didn’t look like the D78 documented by Leslie Tay.
It took some effort to get open, as the cement-like shell was really thick! When the durian seng finally got it open I had to dig my fingers down into the recess of the shell and pull out the flesh in an ooey-gooey mess.
![]() |
Ooey-gooey D78 |
Despite the messiness, I loved it. It was hands down better than the overripe D24, sweet, sticky and thick like chilled frosting. Except by a miracle of nature this was room temperature.
The next one I tasted was even better. This one was even pretty.
D78 |
D78 is a sweet, cheerful little durian with a really pleasant chocolatey undertone that grounds the sweetness. Once I’d found D78, I wasn’t even tempted to bother with the other durians.
Between price, freshness and flavor, D78 was definitely the best valued durian in SS2 when I visited. It satiated my durian needs nicely.
Which was great, because I could afford to eat a good quality durian a lot of nights in a row while I worked on the survey.
The Survey
My excuse for this two-week binge was I wanted the chance to sit down and talk pointedly with Malaysians about their love affair with durian. I’ve talked durian with a lot of Malaysian friends before, but this time, I wanted to really dig into the psychology and see what commonalities people who eat durian have in common.
Everyone I spoke to was so, so nice. Maybe they were just in a good mood from eating so much durian. Or maybe I looked pretty harmless and out of place, a solitary white girl in my awesome Oh My Pod Durian T-shirt.
People told me stories. Gave me advice. Taught me new phrases, like gadai sarong, makan durian, which loosely translates as selling everything you have to eat durian. I can relate to that.
Every night I went away with my cheeks aching and hot from smiling too much and eating too much durian.
In the end all of the surveys I printed out were filled, and I had given away all the slips of paper with the link to the survey too. I’d had a great time, and could at least tell myself I’d been productive.
It was really thanks to these guys, the durian magicians at King of King Pahang Durian Stall.
The survey is still open. Participate with 975 other durian lovers by clicking here.
How To Get There
King of King Pahang Durian Stall is open from 12 PM to 12 AM 365 days of the year. They are located behind the SS2 Police Station in Petaling Jaya (see map)
To make a reservation or check on the durians, call Ah Loong: 010-2377896 (in yellow at right in photo) or Ah Chun: 016-9443233
Chew says
D78 has a common name also?
Huai Bin says
This used to be my favorite durian stall in the SS2 area! Pahang Durian was the place where I ate the red flesh (really red, like lipstick red) hybrid (supposed to be a cross between a D24 and the Sarawak durian hutan).
We were actually there to eat some other durians, but I started talking to the workers (still recognize one of them – but never seen the owners in 2012) and they were really friendly and honest, I had the exact opposite experience of the person above.
I think I got 3 durians, shared with another fellow durian enthusiast and ended up sampling a lot more, including that red hybrid, which he gave us after he found out I was from Sarawak (he said it's a Sarawak jungle durian coupled with D24).
They're quite generous with their regulars too, they'll offer you samples and keep rare durians for you. Their prices are also cheaper than the others in the area. I haven't been back in a long time though coz I moved to Kota Damansara near Shah Alam (which makes SS2 rather far for me, it used to be just 10-15 min away).
I liked D78 too, had one the week prior from the SS6 stall (which is a lot nearer to me than SS2 nowadays) – that has great service too, didn't have time to go, not sure if you've been or not – we can go next year. They also kept a Sun Sin Zhong (Angel Durian) for me and didn't want to accept my money coz it was split at the bottom, just gave it to me. Nice couple of guys, very patient too, will explain durians and prepare them nicely for photography (at least they try their best but it's not up to the Penang or Singapore standard, those durian sellers really can make an open durian look good all stacked up).
Anonymous says
Guys, please do not go to this stall! There are other stalls nearby! This stall will give you bad durian if you don't really know durian. We got ripped off, we had to pay 200 for so so durian!!!!!
Lindsay Gasik says
I'm really glad that you shared your experience – you definitely need to make your needs and expectations known to all durian sellers or you might have an unsatisfactory meal. 200 is a lot of durian – you didn't reject any of it?
Anonymous says
Nice story… never miss to read your story every time…
Kailey Paige says
Ah great article guys! I will be in KP in July and am a fellow durian addict as well!! 🙂 So excited! Did u speak English or Malasyian with the locals? How was their English?
Lindsay Gasik says
Thanks for the comment, Kailey! I don't speak Malayu well enough to interview anyone, luckily almost everyone spoke English! Very impressive really – I wish I'd grown up with their language skills!
Nico says
Awesome Lindsay. I love reading/ salivating over your posts!
You really portray the experiences through your writing so well