Feasting on Durians

The idea was mooted by a friend/durian fan during one of our ladies’ networking meets about 2 weeks ago. This friend, SY, had asked casually if any of us were durian lovers and if we could have a durian party, well at least before the durian season ends!
And so after plenty of SMSes around, and emails, we realised that everyone is either on a diet (too worried about getting plump), can’t stand durians (non-durian eaters) or too unwell to partake in a feast of durians (some were coughing, others were heaty and etc).
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And that was why it was only us 4 who actually turned up last Friday afternoon for our much anticipated durian feast. Initially we had wanted to be real lazy and have it somewhere in town, with comfy chairs and plenty of water to wash our hands. But someone said that it was much better if we went up to Balik Pulau for durians – it was more authentic!
Of course in the end we didn’t drive all the way to Balik Pulau – we probably would’ve got lost. But J did suggest a place she knew, which was just in Paya Terubong which sold good quality durians. She had been a regular buyer of Mr Low’s durians eversince the season started.
We met at the Shell petrol station in Air Itam, just before the roundabout to Penang Hill and piled into M’s car that afternoon. The drive took about 10 minutes, as we passed the Air Itam market, all the way to Paya Terubong.
The durian shack was easy to locate – it was just beside the bend in the winding road. You can’t miss it. And strangely, I was glad there were no heads as the shack was named “The Head Brand Durian”!
It was just a rough-and-tumble shack, with piles and baskets of durians. The shack had some benches and tables where one could sit down and start ‘attacking’ the king of fruits. It also had an outhouse and running water so one could actually wash one’s hands after a meal of durians.
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The customer service was great probably because we four looked like we couldn’t ever pry open a durian by ourselves. The owner/seller – Mr Low – was this happy, bald chap in his 50s, who offered us durian after durian. He even offered us some fragrant cempedak, for free. He even cut open mangosteens for us! Talk about being pampered.
The only thing which we lacked was drinking water. In some places, drinking water is offered as soon as you sit down.
But the ‘siao hong’ and ‘ang hea’ durians Mr Low sells are absolutely yummy. I like durians which are bitter and each durian he offered us seemed to be better than the last! It was like heaven being feted with durians of such amazing quality.
And it wasn’t even expensive. In the end, he charged us RM10 per person. We also bought durians to take home (yes, the ‘tar pau’ culture is alive and well). He was kind enough to give us each one free durian. My pack of 5 durians cost RM25. When I opened them at home later, each durian was as good as the ones I had at the durian shack.
Mr Low says that there is one more month before the durian season ends so if you want to have your fill, it’s a pleasant drive up to his Head Brand shack in Paya Terubung.
I’m thinking I must drive up there soon before the durian season ends – there’s really nothing like a good durian or two!
Head Brand Durian (Mr Low Boon Yau)
019 447 5932 or 04 658 1344

Directions:
From Air Itam, just drive along to Paya Terubung, past Majestic Heights flats, and about 5 minutes after passing Majestic Heights, you will see the durian shack.
Opening hours: Morning to 5pm daily

7 thoughts on “Feasting on Durians”

  1. NO WAY!
    I’m going for durian feast with members of bible study group and we were all discussing where to go – this sounds good…!

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  2. Hi D: I was there again on Sunday! Mr Low’s durians are good stuff. Be there quick though. He said the season ends in 10 days time. After this, he’ll be in Taiping selling durians from the Perak region. Durian season in Penang is only once a year so go quick.

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  3. Just had a fab one yesterday.The ‘Ang Hae ‘is fragrant and has a heady bouquet; slightly bitter but so full of oomph.It’s what we Singaporeans call ‘shiok’ or sublimely wonderful.Tried to bargain with the durian seller but he would not budge so I finally gave in and paid a hefty sum of RM 33 for the branded durian .Quite expensive considering the price of less well known varieties at RM10 a fruit.

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  4. Is Mr Low’s durian stall “eat all you can” style ? Do we need to bargain ? Are the durians cost @ RM8 “branded” ? How do you pick the durians ? RM10 is real cheap if you can down 2 or 3 durians at one go. (provided the durain are of good quality as you claimed !) The other day just paid RM28 for 3 durians; two “branded” + one average one.

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  5. Hi Domino: Yes, Mr Low’s stall works like this. You call him, tell him you wanna go up for durians. He keeps some for you. You go to his stall, you talk about pricing, agree on it and then he opens the durians for you to eat. You can bargain of course. The RM8 durians are ‘branded’ – they are cheaper because they come direct from the farm.But then again, the best way is to try the durians. I cannot vouch that EVERY durian is a branded durian. I’m a durian pleb anyway. 😉

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