In the summer months Hmart often has fresh ones (at least the Hmart in Niles does).
I’ve only had it in pastries in Chinatown so I think the flavor was toned down quite a bit by the preparation but that was enough to give you the impression of what it must be like to eat the fruit. Based on that experience I can’t say I’ll be seeking it out.
Are you sure? Niles is my store, too. I’m under the impression that these were previously frozen and that fresh ones rot too quickly (insert ‘how would you tell?’ joke) for intercontinental transport. They come in nets like onion bags and I’ve seen them frosty and not yet fully thawed. A couple hours later, they’d look fresh. I’ve also had it once or twice at the you-know-what Picnic.
The first time I bought one, I had an exchange with the checkout clerk. She asked if I knew what it was and seemed amused I was buying a durian. She then recommended a long knife to cut it open. I remember this clearly since they never, ever speak an extra word to me, a non-Asian, before or since. I also am amused at how the otherwise animated religious evangelicals at the exit door find something fascinating on the ground to study while I walk past.
You know, honestly since they were sitting out in the produce department and were not frozen at the time it never occurred to me that they might have been frozen whole for shipping.
The only frozen fruit I’m familiar with is in the bags in the freezer section. I didn’t know any fruit was shipped frozen whole and then thawed at the store like turkeys 
It’s an acquired taste. I liked it.
I prefer slightly under-ripe durian to over-ripe – the texture and smell are less “icky.” Best is the mon-thong (“golden pillow”) variety. Almost everyone I know loves durian, but we don’t eat much these days; we’re not health-food nuts, but I think the nutritional value per calorie of durian is very low.
I did Indonesian in High School and the teacher brought in a durian one day. I ate some, but can barely remember what it tasted like. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t rush out to find some more.
I’ve only had the previously frozen version, and I agree with everyone else: mild fruity taste with a garlicky undernote. The consistency is a bit slimy, too.
As I’ve mentioned befoire on this Board, I once brought Durian to a party. It was a weird, eclectic group, so I figured they’d find it interesting (as would I – I’ved been curious about durian ever since I first heard about it). So we set up a table for it, well downwind of the party. Everybody came over to sample it.
After the party, the host came over to tell me:
1.) It was a good thing that I brought it.
2.) Don’t ever do it again.
For my part, I was disappointed. It didn’t smell anywhere near as bad as it has been made out to be. On the other hand, it didn’t taste anywhere near as good as it’s reputed to. I found its gloppy texture sort of gross, and it had big seed pods inside that looked like an alien’s attempt to take over a human being. One guy liked the durian enough to take the rest of it back home with him, eliminating the what-d-we-do-with-the-garbage question.
I had a similar reaction to Breadfruit, when somebody gave me one as a present. Not as good as it was made out to be, reallyu bland, and texture unlike what I had expected.
I’ve tried it and it was pretty good. I wouldn’t make a special trip to Jungle Jim’s Supermarket to get it though (the durian cheesecake sounds interesting).
I also like paw paws (custardy taste and consistency, no reputation for being malodorous).
Tried it, and while I’m no where as adventurous as Andrew Zimmern, I wholeheartedly concur with his assessment. Yuck-o. Also, here is a rather entertaining link to someone else’s experience which I found quite amusing, and similar.
I had durian when I was in SF last month. After the little alien custard pods were removed it smelled like the produce dumpster behind the Jewel in August. The taste was not nearly as bad as the smell, but that’s faint praise.
I also liked it better than my friend who ate it with me, but again, faint praise.
I’m still concerned about my Uber rating after using the service to drive my friend, me and the triple wrapped container of fresh cut durian home from Chinatown. That poor bastard’s car might still stink.
I’d try it again if someone else bought it and offered some.
Andrew Zimmern won’t eat walnuts, either. He says it’s a texture thing.
A local Asian market has durian in the freezer; it looks like a giant closed pine cone, and is in a net bag. Even at 30 below, they smell like dirty sweat socks.
It is complete shit. Similar to eating a month-old corpse. Smells even worse.
I didn’t mind the smell, but I’m assuming the durian I had was frozen and thawed, so probably mildened. I liked the taste fairly well, although I don’t know how I’d like it fresh if it really is more intense like that. Other people seemed to have a stronger reaction to the legendary smell, which makes me wonder if this isn’t a case where some people are more predisposed to perceiving that smell, just like some people are predisposed to thinking cilantro tastes like soap. Durian is one of my favorite flavors in other kinds of treats, like bubble tea with milk, but I’m guessing in these treats the flavor and smell are even more removed from the “real, fresh, really fresh!” durian experience.
Weirdly, I’m not a big fan of lychee, which seems to be much more “westerner friendly” as Asian fruits go. Hate the texture.
As for the smell, here again is a story I have told on this Board before: One time in the early years of our marriage, the wife and I lived in a small one-room efficiency. The bed was the centerpiece of the room, there was a refrigerator next to it, and we viewed TV and videos from the bed.
One day, we made the cross-city trek to see the wife’s parents, who were still alive then. This was before the Skytrain, when these things could take half a day. We returned home that evening, and unbeknownst to me my mother-in-law had given the wife some durian. It was wrapped in foil and sealed in a Tupperware bowl. When we got home, she put it inside the refrigerator. So it’s sealed in aluminum foil, a Tupperware bowl and a refrigerator. I still don’t know about it.
We watch a movie. Some ways into it, I begin noticing this awful, awful smell, subtle at first, but definitely putrid. I think it’s me! We keep watching the movie, and the smell just grows stronger. I’m thinking Man! I really need to take a shower. A little while later, I’m thinking the wife could actually divorce me, I’ve never smelled this bad before.
After the movie, I actually apologized for my smell and said I was off to take a shower. That’s when I learned about the durian, which was really stinking the place up at that point.
My previous thread on the subject: Durian, the Evil Fruit.
Siam Sam’s anecdote makes me think of something else that had given me the idea that maybe durian doesn’t smell the same to everyone. When I had my durian (well, some segments, I didn’t eat a whole one, those things are huge) it was outside, and I found the smell to be overrated. Then I went to visit with the in-laws, including a father-in-law who I knew hated durian so I didn’t want to bring it to his apartment. Even though I hadn’t noticed much smell in the fruit itself, he could tell I’d eaten durian earlier. Oops.
We had it in Indonesia. Our friends, where we were staying, got one that was perfectly ripe. It was a delicious custardy yummy delight. Tried one in Hawaii and it wasn’t nearly as good. YMMV.
I like Durian. The stink is part of what makes it so good.
Had it in Singapore. Smelled bad. Tasted fine.