1621

I think that I would in fact eat cayenne flavored pop rocks.

1622

I usually visit taco bell once or twice a year. I try their weird things and then remind myself for almost 6 months why I don’t eat there.

1623

Spotted in an actual grocery store:

Just…why?

1624

Durian1
Durian1.jpg3000×2000 913 KB

Things never to do.

  • Be 2nd gen Malay immigrant.
  • See a Durian. See its £9.99 but miss the “a kg” bit.
  • Have positive memories of it.
  • Smell and shake it, think its ok. Buy. Surprised by price.
  • Get home. Open it, find its really really really ripe
  • Taste it.
  • It’s… ok
  • Eat it again.
  • Oh that was the first mouthful only, now its just rancid onion, smelly feet and sewage flavoured custard.
  • Five mouthfuls, because it cost a bloody fortune and you wondered if its just the soft bits, the first bit was ok.
  • Nope.
  • You now have 2 and half kilos of the most noxious smelliest substance known to mankind on your table.
  • Freeze it. Think if you can somehow salvage a bit for a cake/sweet.
  • Now realise you have to deodorise the fridge as its seeping in from the freezer side.
  • Throw it.
1625

Where did you even find durian?

1626

I have a huge Chinese supermarket/trade/distributer hub just up the road from me.

1627

The Chinese grocery stores here (99 Ranch) usually have frozen durian in whole/halves/quarters. Every now and then, you can get really lucky and they’ll have fresh ones for sale!

1628

Whilst we are the on the subject of Chinese and “technically food” I ate this a while back.

I ate a posh version at a Michelin starred restaurant but it was still just a slightly bitter, chewy, spiky slug.

1629

There’s a grocer near me that specializes in imported foods. They are absolutely the place to go for spices, but also Milka bars and Jaffa cakes.

They often have durians, and for a fair bit less than PWK payed, like $5 each.

1630

I’d like to consider myself an adventurous eater, but I don’t think I could pull that off.

1631

It’s just a sea cucumber. But then I’m Chinese and I’ve had my share.

1632

Oh, I love durian and sea cucumber! But I’m a first generation Malaysian immigrant so that might explain it. From a recent trip to Singapore:

No durians
No durians.jpg1152×2048 682 KB

Poor durian, the powerful and feared outlaw fruit.

Sea cucumber
Sea cucumber.jpg1836×3264 1.02 MB

Fancy meal at a Ritz Carlton. One of the courses featured a seared scallop on asparagus, fried golden mushrooms and a nice chunk of braised sea cucumber. So tasty.

1633

I was fascinated by @playingwithknives’s description above. Mind adding your descriptions of what both of those taste like? I’d love to hear more.

1634

Well, I’d say @playingwithknives’ description of durian is pretty apt. It’s sweet but not really. It’s bitter but that’s not really the right word. It is most definitely pungent and the fragrance is/can be overwhelming. This won’t really make any sense but the smell of durian really sits very heavily in your mouth after a bite, as if it’s competing for space in your mouth. The flesh on a ripe durian is very custard-like in consistency but can be firm (like firm tofu) at times as well. Durian really is one of those things where if you don’t grow up eating it you probably won’t like it.

You know, I don’t think I could describe the flavor of a sea cucumber. Every time I’ve had it it’s been pretty heavily sauced. But I suspect the texture is what could turn lots of folks off. Jelly-like, a little slimy but still a bit of a snap to it.

1635

I can take a lot of belacan / fish sauce. Durian is just something else though. Smell with a texture and a depth stretching into the nth dimension.

1636

I grew up with durians. Like many other fruit, there is a large variety of durians, with consistency ranging from creamy to firm, and taste from slightly bitter to really sweet. The price varies greatly as well.

Some prefer to eat durian fresh out of the shell but I prefer them shelled, put into an airtight styrofoam box and then chilled in the fridge.

The fresh smell of durians is usually not objectionable. It is sweet and pungent. But shortly after, and very quickly in an enclosed space, it’s like farts. It’s like farts you’ve never imagined and you can’t get rid of it, “Oh my god what the hell is that let’s run”.

Also the scent of durian lingers and conventional soap can’t get the smell out of your hands or mouth. Strangely what works best is water run over the shell of the durian, and used to either as a rinse or a gargle. I’m sure there’s some science you can google around that.

1637

I need some help with recommendations for instant ramen. Name some favorites that I should try. These will be for occasional lunch duty, but I have the ability to add things to them if needed.

I’m not opposed to spicy. As an example, I love these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ICT6ARS

1638

This is my favorite instant ramen
https://www.amazon.com/NongShim-Ramyun-Noodle-Gourmet-Spicy/dp/B00778B90S

1639

“Spicy” as a flavor just seems wrong to my brain.

1640

Don’t go to Sichuan :)