durian: friend or foe?

durian.  the fruit you either love or hate.  but.  is it possible to love and hate it at the same time?  or maybe not really know if you love it or hate it?  i can't walk away but i'm just not ready to commit.  wow.  story of my life.  here are some photos for you to enjoy.  

we're gettin' into peak durian season and this is what you see down all the streets.

you know it's coming because you can smell it from half a mile away.  no joke!

after an enormous and delicious meal with cisilia and her family,

they invited dad and i over for durian.  cisilia's husband, like dad, 

is also an enthusiastic lover of durian and was excited to give us some.

you cut a little 'x' in the top then peel the sucker open

WELCOME TO THE DURIAN GALLERY

**disclaimer**

if the the thought of an alien fetus, boiled chicken,

custard and pus all mixed together and tucked into 

a little capsule creates an image which is displeasing 

to you, you may not enjoy the next few images.

down the hatch!  here goes my first proper taste of durian.  i took a bite/slurp of it and thought i was going to vomit out of my nose.  it took all my willpower to swallow it.  at first taste, these words came to mind: alcohol, soy sauce, sweat, paint thinner, sweet, teriyaki, feet.  however, the after taste was actually quite pleasant.  everyone thought i was nuts with the soy sauce and teriyaki thing but i swear it was there. 

now here's the thing intriguing thing about durian.  the moment it touches your lips, it's one thing.  when you swallow it, it's another.  when you enjoy the aftertaste, it's yet again something else.  when you are completely done, you have no freaking idea what your mouth just tasted.  it's like it has some sort of memory erasing capability in it.  and if you can remember, you can't quite pinpoint or describe what the flavor is even though you are burping up the taste of it for the next two hours.  

in the end, i ate three pieces from three different durians.  the first one was so intense.  the second one was much more agreeable and the third one, i couldn't really tell because i was starting to get too full to really think about it, but it was also pretty good too.  but also kind of gross.  but also good enough to eat again.  i think.  it's so hard to know.

because durian is a 'hot' food, i needed to balance it out with something 'cold'.  

so cisilia sprinkled salt and added water to the shell and i drank it.  

well durian, we've had a good time.  i think we might meet again.  it's hard to know whether or not i will love you or will puke all over you then throw you out onto the street but i can't wait to find out.