Say NO To Odorless Durians!

A report in the International Herald Tribune (btw, thanks to HSBC for 1 year free supply) dated 31/3-1/4 2007 stated that this crazy horticulturist from Thailand called Songpol Somsri has come up with the Chantaburi No.1, a durian which "has a smell as inoffensive as that of a banana". The Thais are celebrating because they don't like strong-smelling durians, a fact we Malaysians know too well. Whenever we see any big chunky durian with toned-down thorns, we'd shun it, don't we, because we know its a Thai variety, guaranteed to be fleshy and creamy but hardly worth eating because its tasteless and odorless. But what do you expect when the fruit is grown on large orchards, chemicals are used to induce flowering and the fruits are picked way before they ripen to minimize the odor during transport?

The danger of this new variety is that they intend to plant 6,400 ha of land with it and export the fruit everywhere. With time people will come to equate durians with this new variety and very soon, what we come to know as durians will not be the kind we have today. Already its hard to find the 'kampung' (village)/wild variety that compels durian lovers to eat by the roadside oblivious to who will see them in that 6 pm traffic crawl. Those who love the fruit will know what I mean: that wonderful, powerful pungent smell together with that sweet-bitter creamy taste that's more satisfying than any other fruit...and oh, have you tasted the orangey-red wild jungle durians that's slightly peanutty in flavor and creamier than cream, and that thick creamy yellow wild jungle variety with the long green thorns? Where was I??

Before you say Terri's gone nuts, let me tell you what Mr. Songpol will introduce next: thornless durians. Yes, durians without the 'duri'or thorns (see, its a Malaysian/Indonesian fruit; we get to name it). No stink and no thorns?? Bob Halliday, a food critic for the Bangkok Post reacted by saying "You might as well be eating watermelon." Why are the Thais messing with our 'King of the Fruits'?! Yes, you guessed it. For commercial reasons, they want to create a fruit the Americans and such can take to. Hey cheeses stink, some worse than unwashed underwear, but they continue to make them stinky. And the whole world eat cheese, smelly and all.

Thank goodness the Malaysians, Indonesians and Singaporeans, who have always loved this fruit passionately, are up against this crime. (For once these three countries are fighting on the same side, an act especially uncharacteristic of Singapore.) The reason, Mr Songpol, is we seriously love this fruit and are lucky to have conscientious durian-growers who only sell fruits that ripen and fall (incidentally, my family and I were lucky to be invited to pick up durians from the jungle floor at a friend's jungle patch last December. I think that's a feat for me, because I kept thinking of the cobras while wading my way through the jungle).

Going off track, I've realised certain things regarding the eating of durians:

1. Its a social fruit; you have to eat it with at least another person. In fact, fighting over it makes it all the more tasty! And when I eat it standing by the truck on the roadside there's this sense of kindred spirit when other people/eaters join in.

2. Every durian fruit, even from the same tree, will taste different, making it all the more exciting to eat. And that variety in taste and smell is what makes durian such an alluring fruit.

3. There'll be some dissent here, but I strongly disagree that freezing or chilling the durian makes it taste better, "like ice-cream". Ice-cream is ice-cream and durian is durian. I suspect people who like it chilled won't really know what the fuss is all about, this odorless durian issue, because when you chill the durian, the smell is suppressed.

4. Another thorny issue, one the chilled durian people will again disagree with. How can you eat chilled/frozen durian if you are a true durian lover, because you'd have to eat it from a Tupperware box, not the durian shell?? That's like eating shelled raw oysters on a plate!

5. I'd spend my last RM50 on durian, wouldn't you?



Mysterious-looking female eating durian.

What do you think? I'd like to know so give your comments in the respective comment page, but not in the chatterbox please because they'll be erased as the box scrolls.

Let Him Eat Gourd!

Hubby came home for lunch unexpectedly. Nothing available, not even leftovers. Then I remembered a dish my Filipino friend taught me years ago. Yes, bittergourd fried with tomatoes!



As I walked away from the dining table, Hub was eating and telling Wey (home because its exam week), "Look what your Ma cooked me! At least put in some fish slices," shaking his head sadly. I grinned ala Jack Nicholson and said "Some wives are serving bittergourd juice for brekkie! This is what you get for that higher-than-normal blood sugar reading recently!"

The bittergourd is supposed to be effective in lowering blood sugar levels. I try to cook this veg frequently, usually fried with thin slices of beef fillet, or stuffed with a pork-fish paste, and the whole family now loves it. Except Wey.

Seriously, this isn't as bad as you think. If you want the 'umami' or 'xien' taste, add in some chicken stock granules. Do not add water because the veg will have enough liquid. I find the sour-sweet taste of the tomatoes goes well with the bitterness of the gourd. Now does anybody still want to come for lunch?

Tripped to China Again

Chengdu and Jiujaigo, Sichuan
Oct 2006

Hubby had to visit a factory in Chengdu and asked me to tag along. What a chance, because October is the best time to see Jiujaigo, the famous park in China with its colorful lakes and trees. However to my disappointment we were to travel on an arranged tour as it was peak tourist season and it would've been too troublesome to travel on our own (our favorite way).

Our first visit was to 'Huang Loong' (Yellow Dragon), north of Chengdu. To reach there, we had to take a plane, then a long bus ride. The first thing that struck me was the altitude and the colder air. Then the landscape gave me a glimpse of how diverse China is in terms of ethnic groups and topography. Everywhere was brown rolling hills with intermittant groups of brick houses. You see the colorful flags fluttering in the wind that tells you that the people living here are not 'Han' (as all Chinese are), but some minority group that still dress in their traditional costumes. The flags reminded me of the pictures of Tibet and their religion. As winter was approaching, there were lots of fur and animal hides for sale by the roadside shops. The locals wore some kind of cowboy hats, and their chiseled faces were brown with sharp high noses and, well, even slittier eyes than ours! Wow, is this really China?


Huang Loong. Don't go if you're not fit! The place gets more and more beautiful as you climb up (the peak is over 4000m I think). However the altitude got to me and no matter how hard I tried I had to give up halfway.


Huang Loong is famous for the bright torquoise-blue water that cascade down the terraced pools. I regret not getting to the top where the best scenery is. And we got so upset with our tour guide because he didn't tell us until later that there's cable car service!


The famous lakes of Jiujaigo. Unbelievably clear blue water.



The place speaks for itself...



The waterfalls were like those in chinese paintings.



There were 20,000 tourists (mostly locals; many outside of China have not heard of this shangri-la) on that day so it was hard to take a picture of the famous 5-Color Lake. We used a small digital camera. An American lady using some impressive camera and lenses said it was hard to capture the different shades of blue even with her equipment.



Juijaigo Park is managed by the gov't. There's only one huge canteen and everybody sits together and eats the same communistic vegan food (haha). I actually had a second helping; it was good. Really! However if you're in China for the first time be prepared to be shocked by the local guy sitting in front of you: slip-slurp, spit, chomp, chomp..





Everybody should stay at the 'Ancient City' Hotel (translated from Chinese "Goo Cheng") in Juijaigo. Its an amazing reconstruction of an ancient town, complete with streets of restaurants, grocery stores and other amenities that open till midnight. All the 3-storey houses/guestrooms and the streets are made of stone, giving it a very old, back-in-time kind of feeling. Its so big that they have to use buggies to get around.



I tried the yak milk tea (only one small sip, because it smelled like parmesan gone bad!). The pancake with minced meat was very good.



On the way out of Jiujaigo, there's a small town where tourists can spend their money.



Out of fear of visiting the toilets in Jiujaigo Park, I did not drink any fluid the whole day. It was a thrill to return to the luxurious washroom in our hotel!


Back to the city. It was good not to have to wear heavy winter clothing. Chengdu is in a basin, so it is always overcast with clouds. With the overcast sky and moist air, the girls there are considered to have the best skin in China (or so our unbiased Sichuan guide said!). The traffic is horrific, like the rest of China, but probably worse here because there were thousands of trishaws. We loved the trishaw rides (cheap, fast and the 'drivers' were honest and friendly) and were disappointed that in two months they would be a thing of the past as the gov't considered them a hazard. The city has many preserved old areas and tea houses, which makes it charming and not too modern.


One of the main shopping streets.


We had a great time going around the city one night with this guy who charged only RMB10 for half an hour. We paid him double.


This Xinjiang fella was nervous; probably thought I was one of those PETA people.



Another Xinjiang fella. His kebabs were excellent!



They were everywhere!! And they speak better Chinese than me!



This dish, 'goong bao' chicken was served at almost every meal and we never got tired of it. What we get in Malaysia is a terrible version, without the essential Sichuan peppercorns and chili oil. Another favorite with the locals is the Sichuan 'firepot', a steamboat that uses stock 3 inches thick in chili oil! Too greasy for us.



When you eat where the locals eat, that's where the food is the best! The beef noodles were so good we had a second bowl (serving size was big), the 'liang fern' or cold noodles (green color) was unusual: like a jelly yet it tasted chili-hot and savory.



These were like in-between regular buns and xiaoloongbao. Yummy but kinda too fatty/greasy for us.



The Sichuans are famous for a chinese opera called Changing Faces. Its an amazing act where the elaborately painted faces of the opera artistes change right in front of our eyes many many times and in many different patterns. A closely guarded secret, the actors are said to have refused large sums of $ to reveal the technique.


Sichuan is the home of these cute but silly-looking animals. I never knew there are two types of pandas in the world, the other being a fox-like cutie like the one below.

As poor as a church mouse. As pissed as Posh.

I Can Do It!

I've relied on my son Ming to help me upload my pictures on this blog. Since he's always so busy, I've not been able to blog without his help. But! Today Ming finally taught me, and its not so hard after all. From now on I'm going to blog like mad!

Trip To Shanghai

Shanghai, May 2006

Like the salmon going back to its original place of birth, I find myself drawn to China as I grow older. Although born and raised in Sabah, I am increasingly curious about the country my parents grew up in, and escaped from. Growing up, China was the last place I wanted to visit because of tales of starvation, poverty, repulsive toilets, communists etc plus the fact that it wasn't 'cool' to visit ("Where did you go? USA?! Wow, so lucky!!)("China??" "Err.."). Besides it wasn't until the late 80s or so when the Malaysian govmt deemed that China was safe to travel for all democracy-loving Malaysians..for some, like my Dad, it came too late. He did get to visit his first wife and their two kids, after 40+ years, but not long after that he passed on.

Last year I visited China not once or twice, but three times!! The first visit in May was to Shanghai with my husband, our two boys, my mom, my niece and my in-laws. My in-laws are from Shanghai and like all Shanghaians/Shanhainese, they think there's no place like Shanghai, no food like that in Shanghai...you get it. All of us not from there don't argue with that because you simply can't out-argue a Shanghaian! Believe me when I tell you we saw people shouting and arguing a few times a day, and be warned about shopping there because they have a "no buy, no touch" and "you look, you buy" policy! And forget about bargaining. I felt as if they were going to kill me if I bargained and not buy. I'd rather shop anywhere else but Shanghai, which is a shame because they do have some fantastic shopping streets, such as Maoming Lu and Shanxi Lu, which have hundreds of shoes and clothing stores that sell quality goods at very low prices, about 1/3 that of the departmental stores .

However, prejudices aside, the food in Shanghai was very good, both home-cooked and in the restaurants. The amount and variety of dishes the uncles and aunties cooked for us were fit for emperors! We especially love the Shanghai wontons cooked by the 'Ahyi' (aunt) who has worked for the Hongs a long long time. Those smooth, tasty juicy wontons are different from Cantonese wontons (which I love too) in that the skin or wrapper is white, not yellow (i.e. no eggs used), thicker (which is fine cos there's texture and bite) and they used minced beef or pork, with a local veggie called 'xicai'. Really good! Of course there's the ubiquitous 'xiao loong bao' (small steamed buns, famed for the mouthful of 'soup' and filling inside and the thin skin/wrapper) which is sold at every corner. For a change, the 'ganjenbao' (dry-fry buns??) is also fantastic, being more 'xiang' or fragrant (to appreciate chinese food, you must sharpen and draw on all your senses. Even touch is not left out for food texture is considered, whether something is silken smooth, or crunchy or coarse. On your tongue of course). Eating in the restaurants is really humbling, because the typical meal is a banquet consisting of many dishes! They'll begin with 10 starters, each beautifully presented and every dish is just delightful! Then you get the main dishes, another ten or so but the portion is not huge, unlike what we get in Malaysia and western Chinese restaurants. I say 'humbling' because the food is so fine and superb and lavish, I felt like some bumbling fool from some countryside eating well for the first time! Honestly, Chinese food is far more superior and varied than other cuisines but because of the unpretentious way its prepared and served, it gets second-rated. For instance, there's not as much variety in Japanese cuisine but because they always serve their food artistically (even artfully!) and in such tiny amounts, and at such ridiculous prices, people feel its exquisite. Its like Italian food versus French food. Italian food is like Chinese food-- scrumptious, satisfying and totally unpretentious. What you see is what you eat, haha, not some sauce-covered overdressed ( French)or underdressed/minimalistic (Jap) concoction. Don't get me wrong, I still love French bread and desserts, and sushi and tempura. But I think you know what I mean. Ok, my son tells me blogs shouldn't be too wordy, so I'll bring on the pics!


Outside the home of youngest Hong uncle in a 'longtong' off Huahai Lu. Looking like an idiot was Wey's favorite expression on this trip.


On The Bund, the old French buildings behind us. We missed the last cruiseboat ride on the Huangpu (Yangtze) River because Wey went missing. In China's (and world's) largest city of 19 million people!


On The Bund with my mom and niece Mona, Pudong New District behind us.


The Ma aunties are all great cooks. The tomato-egg fry was my request; this simple dish is delicious if you can get juicy and flavorful tomatoes like they get in China. The smoked vegetarian duck was wonderful beyond description...


These are just the starters, each one very delicate and tasty. I didn't like the ducks' tongues (at the back) but the pumpkin on red dates (next to it) was very refreshing and surprisingly good. The starters were followed by another 10 main dishes, each one extremely delicious and beautifully presented.


These radish puffs were unbelievably light, fluffy and just so yummy. I am in awe of the person who first came up with them!


You'll find these yummy and inexpensive 'gohteh' (potstickers) and 'sengjenbao' (pan/dry-fry buns) on the streets everywhere.


Say "No" to braised noses! Ouch!


My son Wey stopped breathing at a stinky tofu stall. People actually regard it as a delicacy?!


We always have pumpkin cakes in Shanghai; a must!


The original famous statue on Huahai Lu (a major shopping street) was stolen, cut up and sold as scrap metal but it was so missed by everyone, a replacement was made. It is symbolic of that street and so loved by everyone that nobody dares abuse it now. Except for these two boys. No, they're not mine.


Pressed pig's face...people really eat this??!


At this stall in touristy Chenghuangmiao, we saw people walking away, smiling sheepishly after watching this 'peep show' and so we all sat down...then we knew why they smiled cos we too walked away with a sheepish smile, and the curious onlookers like us before quickly took the seats and so it went on and on...you'd have to fall for one of these shows yourself to know what the whole thing is about!! (Hint: look at that guy in dark glasses; how could we have paid him to fool us!)