There's A Reason This Stuff Is Banned: Durian

In the spirit of following our trend of trying new things, Ellie and I set off to the pasar (market) after school to buy a durian. Some of you might have no idea what a durian is. I myself first learned of the durian while playing Super Mario Sunshine once upon a time. 

The durian is a curious fruit. Though it's unique appearance and injury-inducing spikes set it apart from the crowd, the durian is instead famous for its insanely pungent odor. Every time I look at it, I can't help but wonder who looked at it and smelled it and thought it must be good to eat?

I truly cannot put into words a just description of the smell that emanates from the durian. The smell of the durian is so foul that you can literally identify it from a mile away. It is forbidden on public transportation. It is banned in hotels across Asia. When I say that it smells bad, you can just imagine the worst thing you have ever had the misfortune of smelling, inside a dirty gym sock, next to a dirty diaper, covered in rotten onions.

This is the woman who sold us the vile-smelling fruit. When you ask a person to describe the flavor of durian, you are likely to get a wholly unique answer. I have heard everything from stinky-sock garlic-flavored yogurt to consistency and flavor of snot, so you can imagine my excitement at trying one of the only foods that the conqueror of all things nasty, Andrew Zimmern, simply could not swallow.

We thought ahead and stopped on the way home to get noodles, to wash away the taste after eating but failed to consider the ramifications of bringing the fruit into and cutting it open inside the house.

I have to admit that the durian was not nearly as heinous as I had anticipated, taste-wise. At least I was able to swallow it. But the smell? It's still lingering today. I accidentally dropped a bit on the table which subsequently soaked into the wood grain and remains as a reminder of the day that we tried durian.