Originally Posted by
LapLap
I cannot abide cilantro/coriander leaves, despite a multitude of attempts, but Durian was love at first sniff.
Not all Durian, or at least, not all what I can get in London, where I have had OKish portions and one misstep that reminded me of eating raw rotten onion layers, but whenever I come across a shop elsewhere in the world selling it it always makes me stop in my tracks and inhale as hard as I can. It’s like a heady, deep, rich custard, but with a complex fruit tang to it. I can’t see how it would be possible to enjoy eating Durian without enjoying the smell of it. Just wish I had more opportunities to eat it and someone to help educate me into learning what the best qualities to look out for are and how to work out and identify the optimum stage of ripeness. Just caught myself drooling thinking about the smell.
Curiously when durian was mentioned, I thought of cilantro as another thing that some people could not stand.
Some of the best durians are indeed from Malaysia, the current favourite is termed as the 'Musang King' or 'Mao Shan Wang' as it is known in Malaysia and Singapore. Since most cannot travel to Malaysia now, they actually export a frozen vacuum sealed version in boxes. Probably one could get them in Asian grocery stores, just ask if they have Malaysian Musang King durians. Another variety is the Thailand Monthong durians that are usually savoured with glutinous rice.
As for enticing aromas, the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies (Famous Amos franchise in Singapore touts the 'free smells'), a fresh brew of coffee, freshly ground black pepper, the aroma of a sizzling steak, the mixed Peranakan herbs being ground in a pestle and mortar to make their sambal, and the smell of pine and dew during a morning hike makes my list.