3 Places To Find Durian in Kuala Lumpur All Year

Maybe you’re passing through Kuala Lumpur on a business trip, have a lucky layover, or this is your only chance to travel in Southeast Asia. Whatever  – you’re in Kuala Lumpur and so help you, durian is first and foremost on your mind.

This post is for you. These are the three places in Kuala Lumpur you are most likely to find durian any time of year. I’m warning you now: It will be expensive and you better not be picky. But it will be durian. And it will be good.  (Know some where else? Help everyone out by leaving a comment).

Rob and I spent the weekend in Kuala Lumpur. It’s our first time in Malaysia when it isn’t durian season, and the city felt strangely empty.

There was so little durian in the city, even Emile wasn’t sitting below our hotel in Chinatown pedaling durian from his truck. I’d had low expectations, but I was surprised there wasn’t a single durian anywhere in Chinatown. It actually felt kind of lonely.

Durian was playing hard to get, but we enjoy the hunt. We had three days in Kuala Lumpur and so we went to three places to check out the durian scene.

The durians were expensive and had probably been artificially induced with fertilizers and horticultural trickery. If manipulation of natural processes (like flowering) makes you uneasy, maybe just wait until the main season.

But if you’re desperate, here’s where to go to sate your cravings.

Jalan Alor

Spoiler: we found durian, but did not eat durian. I would use a sad-face emoji, but Rob does not approve.

This action-packed, high end conglomeration of food carts,  restaurants and tourists is a pleasant 1.5 km walk from Chinatown. On Friday evening, we set our bags down in our hotel room and took a stroll to stretch our legs.

We found four durian stalls open on Jalan Alor. This was the best concentration of open and stocked durian stalls in the whole city (in March. This would not be the case during the regular season).

I wasn’t surprised Jalan Alor had durian. It’s probably the most famous place to eat if you are a foodie in Kuala Lumpur, and was packed with people from every nationality.  Lined with old trees and zigagging red and gold lanterns, the street was dazzling. It was like a carnival.

It makes sense that the street would draw whatever durian supply exists in the city. For March, there was a decent selection too. Between the four stalls we saw Musang King, D24,  D99, and even Red Prawn.

We purchased none of them.

At the stall above the Red Prawn cost 80 RM per kilo. Before we could wipe the astonished look off our faces, the seller jabbed the price into calculator with a meaty finger and raised it to our blinking eyes. It read 152 RM, which equates to about $40 USD.

It was the most expensive durian I’ve ever heard of in Malaysia. Even the famed Musang King sells for less than half that.  I’m still not certain if the vendor was serious or just whipping out a crazy tourist price to test our devotion.

If $40 for a durian isn’t a big deal to you, I feel happy for you. The price certainly didn’t seem to dissuade the Middle Eastern and Chinese businessmen we saw eating durian at the tables.

For us, $40 was too much, especially when there are other, cheaper options around.

If we were more desperate, we’d have bought these packets from as low as 10 RM from Ah John (photo below), who had the best prices and arguably the best smile.

But who are we kidding? We travel for durian. And we still had two days left in Kuala Lumpur to find something more tempting at a better price.  If you don’t have time to hunt at leisure, Jalan Alor may be a convenient option for you to get your fix.

Call ahead for Jalan Alor: 
Phang Kee Durian Shop
Tel: 016- 334-6840
No. 70 Jalan Alor, Kuala Lumpur

Chow Kit Market

Next on our hit list was Chow Kit Market. It was the first place Rob and I ever tasted Malaysian durian and, like a baby duck imprinting on the first moving object it sees, I’m attached to this market in ways that don’t make great logical sense.

I knew I’d be back at Chow Kit, durians or not.  By coincidence my friend Jess was on holiday from teaching school in Myanmar, so Rob stayed home and I walked to Chow Kit alone, not sure what we’d find.

This was one of the largest kampungs

The pile of cempedaks near the Shell Station was gone. So were six to seven other durian stalls. I kept walking down Jalan Alang, and just as I was about to give up hope, I spotted one lonely durian stall with a rapidly disappearing inventory of Musang King, Red Prawn and Kampung durians.

We helped with the disappearing act.

After haggling over prices, we managed to snag a few petite, softball sized kampungs for 25 RM per kilo. These had to be the most expensive kampungs ever. During the season , tiny kampungs like these can sell for as little as 50 cents each. Fifty cents. 

Instead, Jess and I paid 30 RM each and were happy. Because it was durian, and this time of year that’s a gift.

Call ahead for Chow Kit Market:
Sab Durian
Tel: 016-287-2115/ 010-423-0818
Facebook: sabduriansabking

SS2 Durian Station

On Saturday night Rob and I made plans to eat at Donald’s Durian, a stall of such renown that we have somehow managed to eat there only once, a very long time ago, and I don’t remember anything about it.

We were destined to avoid Donald’s Durian once again.

When we arrived at SS2, we were dismayed to see that Donald’s was closed. The stall was mummified in striped blue cloth through which, as the sun set, I could see the sparkle of white lights hanging over an empty showcase.

The huge stall on the corner, Wai’s Durian Stall, was mummified too, the parking lot strangely empty.

Getting to SS2 takes some effort, and we would have been famished and disappointed if good old King of the King Durian Stall hadn’t been there for us. I guess they really are open 365 days of the year, as promised. Still, I would call ahead if I were to go again.

They had some odd durians, like Hor Lor and Jantung, but we chose reliable D24, which at 25 RM/kilo was the cheapest option. After paying the same amount for teensie kampungs the day before, the price felt strangely reasonable.

It was so delicious I didn’t dare interfere with Rob’s scarfing to ask for a photo, so you’ll have to just trust me. Then I spotted the packets.

Unlike the miserly packed trays for sale at Jalan Alor, these were solidly filled with a fragrant durian that made my mouth water. I splurged and bought a packet of an unknown durian for 25 RM.

It was so good we ate half the packet before I remembered to take a photo.

There are times to wax whimsical about flavors and varieties, but this was not one of them. This was a time to eat durian and enjoy it. It was thick and creamy, with small round seeds and a good heft which gave us plenty to bite into. No durian snob would give it awards or write highfalutin’ reviews of its slightly mealy texture and mild flavor, but it was satisfying and hit my spot perfectly.

And sometimes, that’s all you want from a durian.

Conclusion

This is obvious, but if you can visit Kuala Lumpur during the main durian season. There will still be durian at all the places mentioned above, but there will be more of it. It will be cheaper. Most of all, it will be better.

If you can’t do that, go somewhere where it is durian season. Like the Philippines, or Australia. You can find out when and where the durian season is in our 12-month Traveler’s Guide to Durian Season. Unlike the durians in this post, the guide is very affordable at only $0.00 (it’s free).

But, if for whatever piece of luck you are in Kuala Lumpur and it’s February, or March, or April, you can totally slate your durian thirst. Call ahead, make sure to arrive early in the evening and bring more cash than you would actually like to spend. It will be worth it.

Call ahead:
Jalan Alor
Phang Kee Durian Shop.
Tel: 016- 334-6840
No. 70 Jalan Alor, Kuala Lumpur

Chow Kit
Sab Durian Stall
Tel: 016-287-2115/ 010-423-0818
Facebook: sabduriansabking


SS2
King of the King Durian Stall
010-237-7896 / 016-944-3233

Got any tips or know somewhere else? Help durian lovers everywhere by sharing your knowledge in the comments.