Durian Mpire

Stumbled upon an outlet of Durian Mpire at T3 of Changi Airport. Over and over again, I shout - "I am a duarianholic!!!" For the record, this would be my fourth post on durian. All of which ( here , here and here ) show my addiction to the king of fruit and how often I crave for it but life is unfair_ it's a rare fruit in my city, I hardly get a chance to indulge on it

But in Singapore, everything is available 24/7 in every corner. Lucky citizens!
 Durian, durian. .ohh how I love thee. . let me count the ways. .



I love durian as it is_ raw and simply fruit, but I can't deny the fact that I do enjoy it in its so many forms (pastries, ice cream, candy, etc) especially when  I found out more variations of it when I visited the province where it hails in my country_ Davao. I thought I've seen enough of durian's revolution. But here at Durian Mpire _wow! Look - crepe, puff, mousse, mochi , and the cakes !



I could go on the whole day tasting each of them.. but instead, I was happy to have tried  their signature durian cake. Heaven!

Durian Spikes

I still burp the after taste of durian and wear the infamous smell of durian, my ever favorite smelly fruit. Coming from Davao City where this fruit hails popularly in this side of the universe, I did ofcourse take back home some for my can't- get- over- it- cravings. I don't have issues with frozen durian. I actually prefer mine frozen which to me taste like an ice cream.

Cuzin' knew how we are forever yearning for the king of fruits and brought us to a durian market the soonest she could when we woke up the following day.

Buying durian ( or any fruits) here in Davao is a breath of fresh air. The customer  calls the shot. You  taste first with the privilege to buy or not. Here the customer is always right!

Best thing, you don't have to wait to get home to answer your craving. They have dine-in tables on the spot.






This month of August is Davao's Kadayawan Festival. We were there just few days ago and how delighted we were to realize that this month is also the harvest season when almost all fruits found in this province are in abundance and therefore nth times cheaper. I saw durian everywhere around the city. So opposite of scarce supply in my island see here and here .

durian tart

durian yema



Old time favorite durian sweets are yema, pastillas , tart , ice cream, shakes, but this time I was so happy to find all new favorites :



durian meringue tarts

durian pie, so magical. luv.luv. it!

durian ice candy! wowee!

durian_ _? those in square plastics ready to use for durian float ( ala mango float)



Trivia for this durian trip 2010 : cuzin' Joey had introduced us to 12 varieties of durian. Oh please don't ask me to name each and describe _ I can't! But I realize how diverse each variant is. There's one which is pure sweetness, there's one that is bitterly sweet, garlicky sweet. . so on and so forth. All are interestingly del-i-cious !

Durian Aroma

My house smells . . . of durian !!!
On our way back home, from Lucban Quezon nearing Los Banos, Laguna , I saw the fruit stand with all my favorite fruits. With my most favorite durian ! I shouted halt ! ! .and off the car . I asked the vendor of the origin of the durians. She said they were from there -in Pila Laguna. She prided that they were all freshly harvested. Oh good, we have them now in Luzon !





I noticed that they were a little smaller than the Davao produced or the ones from other countries like Thailand. Cheaper too!









Right on the spot, I bought, opened and ate one whole tiny durian all by myself ! Perfectly sweet, creamy and caramelically del-i-cious ! I 'm the only one who is a durian addict in my family. loveth!loveth!

Ofcorse, I brought home a bigger piece for my home cravings. Not yet ready to eat for now. My household (neighbors too?) has to put up with the sweet aroma strong smell only durian lover could appreciate !


*another durian post _click this => I Luv Durian

I Luv Durian

The other night, I always craved for durian. This king of fruits is quite expensive here in Manila that my cravings oftenly end up with total deprivation. Besides, it's not always available.

This was one point that I could no longer fight my durian fever. It was already late and the nearest possible place to buy durian was in Macro which is my preferred store for this fruit. It's a little cheaper there than in other stores, especially when you buy in bulk 5 kls and up, you get special discounted price.

Lucky me, there were ripe durians. I actually dropped by the store the other week to check for the fruit but all were yet not ready and still green.

My love for durian started during my younger days visits to my relatives in Davao who actually own durian farms_ ( yuhooo! kuya Dodong & family!! mind to send some? ).

Not everyone likes durian. Most people in my circle even hate it for its strong smell. I love its sweet caramel smell. Well I guess_ it really is an acquired taste.



Going back to buying durian in Macro, I asked the sales lady to open it for me. She declined and said the one assigned to do it was on break. I insisted and even succeeded in convincing her to do it herself . The lady insisted back on offering me to buy the two pieces which weighed more than 5 kls. together so I could buy on a special price.

ohlalala ...

Mom, apple is a lo lot better than your smelly fruit !!

Ofcourse I only bought a piece. See how plenty seeded pieces were there in one piece. Just enough to fill up my craving.





I like my durian to be frozen. It's like eating an ice cream. Sweet, creamy and cold. But since my mouth was already watering, I got a piece before I retired to bed and put the rest in the freezer.

Well, the following day, I managed to finish it in one sitting. Happiness !!!

Thai Deli

*Sent by the girls' uncle who is based in Thailand.

Thai's delis seem to be over the top compare to our local versions. Take for instance the durian candy. We also have it from Davao, but ours is basically candied with milk or the most mixed with other fruit like yum or jackfruit which wonderfully compliment well with durian. Thai has this durian toffy with too much coconut milk taste on it, the durian is hastily missed.




But the spicy tamarind candy is the best. We tried those made here in our country and they didn't come close to Thai's tamarind.

To say the least _ if the relative from Thailand is reading this : we don't mind if a bag will have nothing but this favorite tamarind. We luv it!!

*Ty for the goodies Tito Pip :D