FRESH DURIAN ALERT: Chinatown, now

It was the call I’d been waiting nearly three years for.

“Mari. Durian on Maunakea Street. By Bruno’s Forno.”

@harrycovair, man of few words, was cutting in and out amid traffic noises. I had one question. Harry answered it before I could ask.

“I can smell it from the sidewalk.”

Hallelujah! After a long dry spell, Honolulu, fresh durian is back! These are extraordinarily firm and spiky, Big Island-grown, with the ripe, gassy, all-permeating smell that rounds out the flavor. Eight dollars a pound, cash only at Mai Exotic Fruits, 1120 Maunakea St.

I bought one for me and one for the only other person I know standing by on permanent fresh durian alert, @konaish. With a full day ahead, I tucked my precious cargo in the trunk. I was gagging by the time I got to King Street. The rest of the day I drove around with the windows down. The valet who parked my car returned it with the AC on full blast. Nobody who came near wanted to even look at my durian. On the bright side, my only passenger yesterday was from Singapore, land of durians aplenty, and he hardly noticed.

Here it is, people, in all its glory. Sweet: check. Custardy: check. Trailing strings that smear the goo all over your face: check. This morning, for the first time in nearly three years, I got to indulge in fresh durian and black coffee, one of my favorite breakfasts of all time.

For the curious and those in durian fantasyland, here’s an awesome video called “How to Open a Durian.” It had been so long I’d forgotten. The video makes it look like you could open one with a butter knife.

Durian smile

NOT. I don’t know what kind of durian this man is slicing open as easily as if it were a watermelon, but there were no helpful hidden lines on mine. All I could see was a mishmash of killer spikes. Because of these, you can’t even hold the fruit steady without the strong likelihood of being punctured. Use a towel. Note the bulging compartments running down the length of the fruit. Aim between two compartments, stick your knife in about an inch and guide it to top and bottom of fruit. Once you can get your fingers safely in there, pry it open. From there, you’ll be able to pry the rest of the compartments apart.

Mai says this is the last shipment of the first local batch she’s seen in three years. Enjoy!

P.S. In a late-breaking development, @photolulu sends word that the Hyatt farmer’s market has supplies of fresh durian from Frankie’s Nursery. The huge one, he reports, is $150, smaller ones $75. No word yet on smell.

The durian archives
My week of durian love (March 2011)
My lovely durian: the reveal  (VIDEO) — with apologies, again, to the brave men of Koaloha Ukulele (Feb 2011)