Chinese nationals yet to master the art of opening the fruit

BEIJING: They have learned to indulge in Musang King but some of these Chinese nationals have yet to discover the skill of opening the premium fruit.

“The thorns are hard. They are hurting my hands, I do not know where to place my knife, ” said Julie Zhou, 27.

“I have no idea what I should do.”

Zhou, who works as a marketing commissioner of an e-commerce platform, is among those who are finding that the entire process could be a nightmare.

But the big durian fan is eager to try opening the thorny fruit.

“I have opened Thailand durian before. They usually have a small crack, so it is easier. I thought opening a Malaysian durian would be as easy, ” she said.

She tried various methods including cutting the fruit with a pair of scissors and even flinging it onto the floor. But the Musang King refused to budge.

After about 30 minutes, Zhou gave up and sought help from her Malaysian friend Loh Wee Keng, a durian importer.

Loh gave Zhou a step by step guide.

Finally, Zhou got to taste her favourite fruit.

“I love it.

“I love the strong fragrance of Musang King and its creamy flavour, ” she said, raising her thumb.

On May 30, China’s General Administration of Customs approved the import of frozen whole durian from Malaysia. About three weeks later, the fruit became available here.

They are being sold online only and the response has been good.

But these durian are unlike the ones imported from Thailand in which most of fruits have already been opened as they reached buyers.

Before the import of the whole durian, only the pulp, paste and processed products of the King of Fruits could be sold in the Chinese market.

A 2kg whole frozen Musang King is now sold between 400 yuan (RM244) and 440 yuan (RM268) in China.

Although a bit costly, Zhou said it was worth the money.

After finishing the durian, she also followed the Malaysian way of drinking water from a durian shell.

A number of Chinese netizens have also gone online, searching for tips on opening durian.

A Weibo user, Xia Guang, shared that she broke her knife while trying to open a durian.

“A friend who had experience in this asked if I needed help. I was over confident that I could do it, so I said no, ” she said.

Xia said although she still did it by herself, she did not want to try again.