Not Your Typical Tourist

A Life Between Two Countries, And All In Between

Thailand

Puang Manee พวงมณี, The Best-est Thai Durian EVER!

Durian god must be smiling down on me. That must be the reason why I live to taste Puang Manee พวงมณี, at its birthland in Chanthaburi Province, in the East of Thailand.

This type of Thai durian, has my seal of approval. Still not as ‘good’ as Malaysia’s durians, but it’s not too bad. It ticks most of the right boxes of Malaysia durians, or rather, Malaysians’ taste buds.

I always (jokingly) say, “Thai durian is NOT durian; it’s FAKE durian.

You see, Thai people’s definition of a good durian, is on the other end of the spectrum. We need to understand that, and respect the differences.

Monthong หมอนทอง is probably the best selling durian variety  in Thailand. There is only one word for me to describe it: bland. It doesn’t taste like durian at all! And Thai people like under ripe durian, possibly these fruits are being plucked off the tree before it’s time.

As for us Malaysians, durians are only ready to be eaten when they fall off the tree. The creamier, the better. If we were served anything similar to the Thai’s “thumbs up” durian, we would definitely reject the fruit.

Puang manee durian
Puang Manee durian

Puang Manee พวงมณี was recommended to us in Chantaburi last weekend. Besides the usual suspects, aka the Monthong and Chanee ชะนี, we were shown the Puang Manee. We have not heard of this type before. It was described as sweet and creamy custard, and these are my favorite durian keywords! Hearing these descriptive words, bf of course chose Puang Manee (for me).

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Monthong durian
Chanee durian
Chanee durian

Price-wise, it was the most expensive at 250/300 baht per kilo, compared to Monthong and Chanee at 150 baht/kilo.

We paid 420 baht for one small Puang Manee durian. Only 7 pieces in one durian, this works out to 70 baht per piece! Puang Manee durian has big seed; lesser flesh, compared to other Thai durian types.

Knock,
Knock, knock .. who’s home?

Bf specifically told the seller to choose a ripe one for me, so they started going around whacking the durians using a rubber tipped stick. They were looking for ‘hollow sound‘, which indicates that the durian flesh has softened enough to ‘recede’ from the durian shell.

Look at that color!
Look at that color!
Bright yellow awesomeness
Bright yellow awesomeness
.. vs the pale yellow monthong
.. versus the pale yellow Monthong

The durian seller opened the durian, and immediately, bright yellow color durian flesh popped out. I am used to seeing pale yellow Thai durian flesh, so I knew right there and then that it is something special.

Individually wrapped
Individually wrapping the durian pieces
Plastic, lots of plastics
Plastic, lots and lots of plastics

They then proceed to wrap the durian pieces individually with plastic wrappers. One durian, eight plastic wrappers!

Stink-free fingers
Stink-free fingers

What a genius! I ate the durian without even getting my hands dirty, and this means, no durian smell on my fingers!

Puang Manee at Or Tor Kor market
Puang Manee at Or Tor Kor market

I do not remember seeing Puang Manee in Bangkok before, but saw from blogs that it’s available at Or Tor Kor market (ตลาด อตก). I did a quick check at the market yesterday, and indeed, I can confirm its availability.

Stalls in front of the Royal Project Shop
Stalls in front of the Royal Project Shop

I only saw Monthong and Chanee at the main market area, but Puang Manee is available at the ‘side stalls’, outside the Royal Project Shop.

Puang Manee durian is definitely worth a try. If your (durian) taste buds are the same as mine, make sure that the durian seller choose a ripe one for you.

 

 

Not Your Typical Tourist

Travel opens up a whole new world, which is cliche but true. I am a strong advocate for independent and solo travel. I was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia but now live in Bangkok, Thailand, resulted from a chance encounter in 2009 with my why-are-you-Thai bf. I am now split between two countries. One country for my bf, another for the family, for the occasional weekend together.