Durians vs. Smelly Tofu, Blue Cheese and Kim Chi

It is interesting that my article on "The King of Fruits" had garnered a lot of interesting feedback. My university buddy, Richard Tam, had encouraged that if you had tried smelly tofu, you should not have problems with durians which are actually comparatively more tasty than smelly tofu. Another Canadian buddy, James Dunlap, had tried durians once. Although he found the smell somewhat offputting, he would try durians again.

I would also encourage my Korean friends to try the durians because if you can take Kim Chi (with the pungent, fermented garlic smell) durians will not be too difficult to swallow.

I remember I was first given yogurt as dessert when I was studying in Canada. I wondered why my landlady, Anne Smith, had given me something that had turned sour. Not wishing to be impolite, I asked my landlady if I could bring my dessert to my bedroom to eat. I flushed the yogurt down the toilet, thinking the cream had really gone bad! Yogurt and durians would pale in comparison when blue cheese comes into the picture.

My Rialto customer Niketan Rao, had written to say he would try some durians as soon as he is able to overcome the smell, since he had heard that the taste is divine. So hurry, my friends. Don't waste another day like I had wasted 16 years! Try the durians! The divine taste is the reward. After a while, you will gradually even think the smell is actually quite uniquely fragrant after all.!

Interestingly, another university buddy, Moshin, from Taiwan but who now resides in the States, has shared that it took him 26 years before he ventured on his first bite of sashimi with wasabi. Now he loves the Japanese delicacy! It has also taken him 35 years before he tried his first rare Steak!

I guess, it is all in the mind. Beer drinkers will tell you how they first disliked beer and gradually grew to like it. Once the initial inhibition is over, the taste of anything edible on earth will gradually become acquired.

My university buddies and I are planning to have a reunion... venue yet to be decided. But if Singapore were the venue, you can be sure durians will be on the menu!

Gan Chau