If one Malaysian tells another Malaysian he has just tasted
some great durians in Penang Island, the latter may not be surprised. Why? For
most lovers of the “king of fruits” know that Balik Pulau, a suburban area of
Georgetown city in the island, is famous for producing good durians.
Now, I am delighted to share about my story of having tasted
real great durians during my holiday trip to Penang two weeks ago. No, not the
fruits from Balik Pulau orchards………..but from a plot of forest land hidden
in………PENANG
HILL! Yes, the hill with the peak called Bukit Bendera that the island
boasts of as a tourist visiting spot. I believe Malaysians who read this
article are now surprised. Not many Malaysians, including me, have had heard of
Penang Hill producing durians, let alone real good ones.
Another surprise………I ate organic durians, which
are hard to find nowadays with all the fruits from “commercial” orchards
glutting the markets during durian seasons. And how did I know the durians I
tasted were organic ones? Simple sign: Caterpillars or slug-like worms could be
found inside some parts of a few fruits (I just discarded the parts containing
the pests, and the other parts were still edible). Comparatively, “commercial”
fruits sold in the markets are free of the pests due to chemical treatment
applied to the trees.
My story began when my good pal Lim Buck Kooi persuaded me
to have a weekend retreat at his chalet, sited 800-over feet on steep slopes in
the hill. He insisted I should not defer the trip but go there in the midst of
the main durian season when fruits were still a-plenty. So, with three other
pals – Kok Han, Mun Sum and Cecilia - accompanying me from the central state of
Selangor , I drove four hours to the north to meet up with Buck Kooi.
Buck Kooi was a very generous host. After a sumptuous
seafood lunch, followed by wine-tasting relaxation and another round of seafood
meal in the afternoon, he led us to a spot at the foot of Penang Hill. Going to
his chalet was not by car or by the public cable-coach (funicular train). I had
to park my car at the foothill and we took a panting half-hour walk via a small
winding and steep path upwards.
We reached the chalet around dusk. Numerous durians were awaiting
us to savour as Buck Kooi had already arranged his younger brother and a friend
to pick up the ripe fruits just before we arrived. The chalet overlooks eight
acres of land sprawling the slopes. His durian trees are interspersed amongst
wild tropical trees and bushes. Apart from durians, the plot also yields other
good quality fruits like rambutan, pomelo and, to my surprise, coconut – I had
never seen coconuts flourishing in high altitudes before. In addition, there
are edible wild bamboo shoots which could be cooked with spices as a
mouth-watering dish that goes well with rice.
Now, allow me to zoom into our durian feasting galore. The
fruits placed around us were in different shapes and sizes. According to our
host, his “loose” orchard amidst the forest holds various famed species – Ang
Heh (Hokkien dialect, meaning red prawn), Musang King (musang is the Malay
name for civet cat, a wild animal fond of eating durians), D15, D2 and other
species. Buck Kooi had high accolades for his D2. Unfortunately, fruiting of D2
and Ang Heh ended early this season. We told him we would be back to relish
both species next season. I could not differentiate the species of the ones we
ate but I can vouch that all were fantastic, coming in varying flavours – some
were succulent sweet, some with a tinge of mild bitterness mixed with the
sweetness, some exuding a milky sensation. The edible flesh or pulp, technically
called aril, encapsulating the hard oval seeds inside the spiky husks were
either golden in colour, milky, yellow or slightly greenish toned. If Ang Heh
was available, it would be light red or dark pink.
After the satisfying durian feast, we took organic
rambutans, and they were really sweet and juicy. The edible chunky flesh easily
got cleanly detached from the seeds when I sunk in my teeth – that showed the
rambutans were of good quality.
Thereafter, we sipped fresh coconut water from the small
opening cut out by a cleaver at one end of the fruit. Normal local
coconuts taste quite bland if not mixed with sugar solution. But ours was
naturally sweetish. And the edible
fleshy part technically called endosperm was soft but intact when we scraped it
out with our spoons. Being already full, we left the pomelos untouched.
We continued our fellowship until 2 am. over exquisite Pao
Er Chinese tea which our host generously “sacrificed”, for our sake, from his
personal imported stock. A cosy slumber in cool fresh atmosphere topped up our
memorable stay in the retreat.
Buck Kooi’s fruits are for personal consumption. Apart from
his family, he offers to relatives and friends.
It may be psychological, but I feel my biological system
inside me is more accustomed to organic durians than commercial ones. Last
time, whenever my wife brought home durians from the outside market, I would only
take four (4) seeds at the most. More than that, my throat would become dry and
irritated (even after drinking a lot of water). This time, in Buck Kooi’s
retreat place, I was a durian glutton, yet no dry or sore throat the next
day. Perhaps, the coconut water and Chinese
tea soothed my body………….or perhaps because no chemicals were applied to his
trees………I wonder? I also discovered that the strong aroma (to durian lovers, it
is sweet aroma; to durian haters, it is pungent odour) did not linger on my
right hand after wash. Normally, when a person eats a lot, the hand
that picks up the seeds will harbour the smell for some hours.
The only regret my pals and I from Petaling Jaya had was………we
should have planned to stay longer in the retreat instead of just two days. Due
to lack of time, we missed the famous Penang assam laksa noodles from a stall
in the Air Itam sub-town nearby the foothill. We did not visit Kek Lok Si pagoda temple
and Malaysia’s tallest Kuan Yin (Godess of Mercy) statue also nearby. We also
did not visit Bukit Bendera. And the thought of the variety of wonderful hawker food available in Air Item……..oooh!
I will definitely re-visit the retreat next durian season. I
crave to try the D2 and Ang Heh which I missed this time. I am sure Kok Han,
Mun Sum and Cecilia want to tag along again. We will also ensure not to miss
the delicious foodstuffs around the foothill in Air Itam. Surely, our close pal
and host will be glad to receive us again.
(Wine-tasting in Georgetown before going to Penang Hill.
L-R: Kok Han, Cecilia, Chuan Lee (associate of our host), Buck Kooi, Mun Sum. I
was snapping this picture).
(Savoury bite to go with fine wine – Buck Kooi’s
recommendation)
(This seafood restaurant called Terubong is not too far from
the foot of Penang Hill. It serves great dishes…….see samples below)
(Delicious - same type of fish served in different styles)
(The beginning of the path to the retreat - it gets much steeper and narrower further up)
(Dusk scene taken just before reaching our destination)
(Don’t pluck. They will drop when ripe)
(This
structure at the side of the chalet is the “house” for swifts – the birds that
produce the ingredients for the Chinese exotic birds’ nest soup. The small
openings are for the swifts to fly in and out. They fly out at dawn to search for
food and return by dusk to rest. According to Buck Kooi, white-colour bats (or
albino bats?) are also seen almost daily – their habitat is a cave slightly
further up the hill. They normally fly out in the late evening, before
nightfall).
(Proof that it’s organic – the two dark holes had dead pests
inside. The other seeds not affected could be eaten)
(Try this………tangy pulp but melts in your mouth)
(The retreat chalet)
(Photograph taken while descending the retreat. The
dome-shaped structure on top right
houses the large and tall Kuan Yin statue)
NOTE; HEARTY APPRECIATIVE THANKS TO OUR HOST LIM BUCK KOOI
FOR HIS ALL-OUT HOSPITALITY
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