Durian – yay or nay?
This tropical fruit has a hard, spiky exterior. Inside, you would find pieces of soft, creamy fruit meat embedded in several segments. Growing up in HK, I watched market vendors went to the extent to use a screwdriver to ply it open. And fresh durian smell is more pungent than frozen ones. We could only find frozen durians here in Vancouver and the smell is nothing compared to what fresh, ripen durians smell at those markets in HK.
Durian is definitely an acquired taste. Those who love it would find the fruit sweet and fragrant. Those who hate it would say the fruit stinks like rotten egg. In fact, the opinions are a split in our household. Mama Lam wants nothing to do with it, yet Papa Lam enjoys it once in awhile.
Right now, for a limited time only, participating Chatime locations are selling Durian Milk Tea and Durian Roasted Milk Tea. I was provided complimentary drinks to taste test it.
The two drinks are very similar as they are both tea based. For both drinks, when you take a sip, you would first taste the durian but it would quickly turn into tea flavour. The Durian Milk Tea had less tea flavour and the durian taste was much more prominent. It’s more durian forward and the taste lingered. On the other hand, the Durian Roasted Milk Tea was more tea forward and the durian flavour was a bit subtle. Several sips into it we almost forgot that it’s a durian drink. While I don’t mind the taste of durian, I personally prefer the Durian Roasted Milk Tea because the tea flavour is stronger and I feel that the drink is more balanced.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the durian flavour was there but not overtly pungent. For those who have never tried durian before, this may be a good way to get acquainted with the flavour. For durian lovers, this could be another good way to enjoy this unique fruit. This drink is available at the following Chatime locations in BC:
- Vancouver: Cambie, West Broadway, East Hastings
- Richmond: Blundell
- Burnaby: Kingsway
- New West: 6th Street
- Surrey: King George
- West Vancouver: Park Royal
Tip: Share the drink with your significant other so you don’t have to worry about durian breath!
Disclosure: Drinks were provided to us complimentary of Chatime Canada. Views and opinions, however, are our own.
VanFoodies.com 
Leave a Reply