Five days ago everybody went home from the Bao Sheng Durian Festival. I’m still here, and so is Grant and Olmo and Aviyah, but the farm is quiet. In the mornings I do yoga by myself. The blenders in the Smoothie Bar are still. It’s like the day after Christmas. I’m happy, but not quite ready […]
Eating the First 2016 Penang Durian and Season Update
The 2016 Penang Durian season is here. I’ve already been at the Bao Sheng Durian Farm for a month, but I did not expect to be eating durian yet. I’d actually walked up to the main house to eat a very unenthralling banana when I smelled the first durian of the season. Excited much? Excuse the slightly lower […]
The Chulia Street Durian Guy Across From 7-11 | Georgetown, Penang Malaysia
His was the first durian I bought on Penang back in 2012. He’s probably where you bought your first Penang durian, if you were staying on Chulia Street. His stall is simple, just two collapsible tables wedged between his brother’s juice cart and a guy selling coconuts on one of the busiest streets in the […]
Pictures of the 2015 Malaysia Durian Tour | Or How Westerners Scarfed More Durian Than (Most) Locals
On Sunday I said goodbye to 9 wonderful durian lovers who decided to come on an adventure eating durian with me around Malaysia. I think durian attracts the best people. We had a van and a plan and a checklist of all the yummy durians we intended to consume in 8 days. We ate all […]
Reflections On My Fourth (and Last) Durian Birthday Party, the Bao Sheng Durian Festival
When I graduated from high school, exactly four kindly aunties, uncles and godparents sent me identical copies of a Dr. Seuss book called “Oh, The Places You’ll Go.” If I’ve learned anything in the durian-filled years between now and then, it’s that life is full of surprises, and you rarely know where you’re going when […]
Penang Organic Durian at Green Acres Eco-Retreat |Malaysia
Wow, I kept repeating. For once, I wasn’t talking about the durian. I was talking about the durian farm. Last summer, my friend Ryan and I visited Green Acres, an eco-retreat center built on an organic durian farm. I’ve visited more than my share of pretty awesome durian farms, but right away I knew this […]
Four Georgetown Durian Stalls To Satiate Your Hunger | Penang, Malaysia
I was at Jelutong Market with some friends when it started raining. The sky was dark, and it looked like our plan to hike up Penang Hill wasn’t going to happen. Instead, we decided to get our exercise scurrying from durian stall to durian stall between bursts of showers. We ended up visiting (and eating […]
Eat-All-You-Can Durian Buffet in Penang, Malaysia
Penang is just a little bit snobby about its durian. Yes, they have some of the best durian I’ve ever tasted, but at prices so high that it can be hard to really feel satiated. So when a friend told me about this All-You-Can-Eat durian restaurant in Georgetown, I definitely wanted to visit. Returning To […]
Durio pinangianus at the Sungei Sedim Tree Top Walk, Malaysia
A hundred years ago, a nerdy botanist poking around Penang Island on vacation found a new species of durian that fruited on the trunk and roots of the tree. He named it Durio pinangianus, after where he found it, and then nobody cared. Except I guess me. Maybe there was already so much of the […]
Tour of Jelutong Wet Market | Penang, Malaysia
Penang is a foodie’s paradise. The island has been listed multiple times as one of Asia’s Top 10 Street Food Cities, despite technically not being a city. A large part of that focus on the gourmet goes to its durian, with street stalls selling highly rated and priced durians all over Georgetown. But while its […]
Freedom Eco-Farm, A Penang Organic Durian Farm in Malaysia
The word organic. As a label it has so much promise, but do we ever really trust it? There’s a lot of “organic” durian in the world, and imagine my fingers cynically making air-quotes when I say that. That’s why finding a really organic durian orchard is something to be treasured. Rob and I were […]
Tasting the Most Expensive Durian in the World | Nonthaburi to Penang, Malaysia
Taking durians on trains is generally not an okay thing to do in Thailand. Even really expensive durians. But I had a half-ripe $300 durian (that’s USD dollars) and an expiring Thai visa. How would you handle this situation? Thought so. Me too. I decided to risk it. If the durian got kicked off the […]
