I've recently traveled Asia for about seven months - One of the things I fell deeply in love with was the majestic fruit called durian.
(A Musang king Durian from Malaysia, said to be the very best of the best)
Durian - The king of fruits
When I stayed at a place where this vanilla, custard, unexplainable tasting fruit were in season, I was for sure eating it every day.
If I got sentenced to death, and I could have whatever food I've wanted I wouldn't go for any high-class restaurant food - I'd pick a tree-ripened Musang King durian from Malaysia. (Kind of worth dying for actually)
(In Malaysia they treat the durian fruit with the respect and honour it deserves, they always make sure the fruit is properly tree-ripened and sell most of them the same day as it dropped - If you want the best durian, go to Malaysia, but be prepared to pay the price for it which can be anywhere from 7-20 dollars per kg)
Frozen Durian Ice-cream
However, I'm here in Norway now with no fresh durian in sight (but it will be imported here in a few weeks time!)
So the only option I have, if I want to have a taste of the king of fruit, is to buy it frozen. The first time I tried a frozen durian I didn't eat more of a few bites because I let it defrost way too much and it became soggy and not very enjoyable.
Nevertheless, I didn't give up on it, and now I usually let it defrost in room-temperature for about two hours, and then it's just like eating Ice-cream.
(A seedless frozen durian)
What about the price?
Well, buying the same amount of fresh durian would probably cost about half the amount of what I pay for the frozen one. Here in Norway, I've found seedless durian weighing in at 454 grams - for about 7 euros per package. (try your local Asian-import store)
If you've never tried this fruit, I encourage you to try it out. Be aware of the smell, which some describe as a combination of onions and gym sock. I'm not going to disagree with the fact that it smells, a lot, but I love the smell of a ripe, delicious durian.
Don't let the smell put you off, try it, it's the kind of food that you'll most likely try a few times before getting the feel of it. It's strange, no doubt about it. The looks, the taste, the smell and on top of that it's a fruit! It tastes nothing like one; it's more like something you could imagine to find visiting an alien planet, or maybe something that gets served inside the gates of heaven - Some say heaven is already here on earth, and if you find that hard to believe, you know what to do - get yourself a durian and experience something extraordinarily.... Something out of this world!