Beijing Diary: When Comes To Durian, It's Love At First Bite For The Chinese

By Samantha Tan Chiew Ting BEIJING, April 13 (Bernama) -- After five years of promoting and raising the awareness on Malaysian durians in China, the king of fruits has finally won the hearts of the Chinese consumers. Although Thailand's durians have dominated the Chinese market for more than 30 years, now the Chinese have a liking for Malaysian durians. In China, the Malaysian durian is not available with its thorn covered husk but only its frozen pulp. Many love the cold pulp that is defrosted before consuming. Chinese consumers have even learnt of the two popular Malaysian varieties, namely the Musang King, or better known as 'Mao Shan Wang' and D24. Particularly the bittersweet taste, the creamy texture and the milder scent of the Musang King had captured their hearts. Xi Yilin, 29, first tried the Malaysian durians when she was in nortern state Penang for a conference in 2010 and ever since the fruit's taste and smell has always been in her mind. "The first time I tried fresh durian was at a durian orchard. That time I could not even bear the smell but my Malaysian friend told me it is worth a try. I never thought the fruit has such a mysterious taste... its bittersweet yet creamy at the same time. The taste is very different from the varieties imported from Thailand. Yilin felt disappointed then as China has yet to start importing durians from Malaysia. "Later on I found out Malaysian durians have entered the Chinese market but in frozen pack form. I quickly grabbed a few packs and tasted them. They tasted different from the fresh ones but I even love them when they are cold. They taste like ice-cream. "I consider myself as a loyal durian lover. I still buy frozen durian especially Musang King and share with my friends, even as a gifts," she said. Convincing the Chinese of the intimidating thorny fruit that some claim smells awful was no easy task. Regal Plus (China) Co Ltd's general manager Loh Wee Keng, shared when Malaysian durian was introduced for the first time to the Chinese in 2009, the introduction was held in a special tent fearing that the overwhelming smell of the fruit may scare away the people. "There was only a small group of people who could accept the smell, some even vomited because they could not withstand the strong smell. They could accept the mild smell of the Thai durians, but not the one from Malaysian durians," he said. He said it took about two years for the Chinese to accept durians from Malaysia and the demand for the fruit surged amid continuous promotional efforts by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade, the national trade promotion agency) and the Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority (FAMA). Currently, Loh is supplying over 10,000 boxes of frozen durian pulp monthly to more than 50 customers, mainly supermarkets, fruit stores or specialty shops selling desserts and cakes. Besides durians, his company also supplies various Malaysian products namely white coffee, paste and biscuits. However, frozen durian pulp and white coffee from Malaysia remain the company's top selling items in China. After capturing the heart and the trust of the Chinese consumers, the question now is whether there is a need to export the whole fruit as well and not just the pulp? This have been discussed many times over but there has been no clear outcome. The frozen durian pulps have been well received by the Chinese consumers and they fetch good market price. A check at few supermarkets at central Beijing indicated the price of a frozen durian pulp pack could be sold double the price of a whole durian. The price of a box of frozen pulp weighing 400 grammes ranged between 180 yuan (US$27.87) and 230 yuan (US$35.61). The Chinese who could not resist durians are creative in eating the fruit. Durian speacialty stores is growing like mushrooms in Beijing, offering various desserts with durian namely crepes, cheese cake, pudding, ice-cream and yogurt drink. According to ShanghaiDaily.com, durians were consumed not just as fruit or dessert. It is also used in making pizza, steamed dumplings and fried rice. The husk is used to make soups. Pizza Hut in China recently introduced cheese durian pizza, featuring chunks of durian flesh baked with cheese, while other pizzerias are also trying to entice durian lovers with combinations like durian and meat. ShanghaiDaily.com also highlighted the Paradise Dynasty restaurant franchise famous for innovative xiaolongbao (steamed dumplings), has come up with a durian-filled version. Durian also found its way into Chinese cooking, with durian chicken hotpot reported available in Guangzhou as well as grilling durians with charcoal with the hot and melting flesh tasting even better. --BERNAMA