Where I Ate My First Durian: King’s Market in Eugene, Oregon

If I asked you to guess where I tasted my first durian, would you have guessed Oregon?  Probably not. So it was super fun to show Mr. and Mrs. Chang from Bao Sheng Durian Farm in Malaysia just where in Eugene durian entered my life.

I’ve been a guest at Bao Sheng Durian Farm for five years. I’ve been a guest to a lot of people in Southeast Asia. These people gave me their time and energy into helping me see their countries in the most gorgeous light possible.

It’s because of them that I fell in love with durian, and stayed, and started tours to show other people just how wonderful these places and their durians are.

So when Mr. and Mrs. Chang came to Oregon, I leapt at the chance to show them the gorgeous parts of the home I have continued to love from afar.

It’s hard to explain to people in Southeast Asia just where I come from.

Many people assume that America is one giant city. Sometimes I try to tell them that our population density is three times lower than theirs. That the valley where I grew up has 5 times fewer people than Chanthaburi and 7 times fewer people than Penang Island.

That our mountains have rainforests too, just the cold kind, and that sometimes the ferns and pitcher plants and the green of Malaysia reminds me a lot of home.

I like how similar and dissimilar Malaysia is to Oregon. In a world, post-US election, that feels so particularly polarized, it’s nice to feel a sense of continuity. This world is big enough for all of us, but not so big that we don’t have things in common.

That’s why it shouldn’t be that surprising that the very first place that I encountered durian was in Oregon. In Eugene, to be specific.

On West 11th Street, to be more specific.

Most specifically of all, Here:

King’s Market in Eugene, Oregon

That’s Mr. and Mrs. Chang in the parking lot of King’s Market on West 11th in Eugene. We stopped by while driving to Portland from the southern coast.

King’s Market was one of the three Asian Grocery stores in Eugene when I lived there between 2007 and 2011.

I went to King’s most often because it was only a mile away from my yurt. Yes, you read that right.

I hadn’t been back to King’s since I left Eugene in 2011.  I couldn’t guess how things might’ve changed.

The Durian

Things had changed. The entrance looked the same, but as I wandered back toward the freezer section I noticed they had added an entire aisle of open-top freezer chests, which is where the durian was.

Not like I should have expected the store to be exactly the same. I mean, look at my life.

Back then, I was working four jobs and taking community college classes to become a midwife.

Now, I stepped into the store as a blogger and durian tour guide to show my Malaysian friends where all the durian madness started.

The durian was, of course, a Thai Monthong. I don’t remember what brand I used to buy, but I think this was different. Also, the yellow ethephon spot on the stem was way more obvious. Or maybe I noticed it more.  Back then, I didn’t know to look for artificial ripeners.

The price has gone up A LOT for durian since the days when I was buying. The first durian I ever bought $1.69 a pound. Total the thing cost around $13, which I remember because these were the days when we lived on a grocery budget of $50 a week.

That $13 was a lot of money to risk on a fruit so stinky it might be inedible. Good thing durians are not only delicious, they’re calorically dense.

After that first D, I got a little bit hooked. I couldn’t afford to buy a whole durian often, but I found myself headed back to King’s every Friday evening to buy a package of durian.

Back then a vacuum-packed bag cost $5.40. Now, they don’t even carry those bags, and a pound of D in a box costs $10.99.

It was apparently, a good time to get hooked on durian.

VIDEO Vlog

Watch me show Mr. and Mrs. Chang some of the most beautiful parts of Oregon — from the snow at Crater Lake to the redwood forests along the coast — as well as their reaction to where I got my first durian in Eugene.

 

Getting to King’s Market For Eugene Durian

King’s Market is located at 2100 W 11th Ave, Eugene, OR. Tel: (541) 343-7333

Use this map to navigate to other blog post from the United States or find durian hotspots near you!

Happy hunting!