This article first appeared in Digital Edge, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 16, 2021 - August 22, 2021

Every year, Malaysians wait with bated breath for the durian season to begin. But with day trips to durian orchards in neighbouring states curtailed and restrictions imposed on makeshift stalls, smallholders have come up with ingenious ways to satisfy the cravings of city folk through takeaway and delivery options.

 1  Biji Bumi Durian, an offshoot of tourism-based social enterprise Native, sources durians grown in the wild organically by indigenous growers in Selangor. Its founder Daniel Teoh wants to dispel the notion that the forest varieties, often dismissed as generic kampung durians, are inferior. On the contrary, these varieties with names such as durian petai, durian matahari, durian atuk atuk and durian susu have unique taste profiles. As few mainlanders would have eaten forest durians, they are classified by taste — sweet, creamy, fragrance, bitter and milky, accompanied by details of their growers and snippets of history. https://bijibumidurian.com/shop/

 2  The Raya Collective, founded by daughter-and-father duo —Sukhi Wei and Datuk Wei Chuan Beng (former REDtone Telecommunications managing director) — works with selected smallholder farmers to bring premium Musang King to durian lovers. The durians, which are sold as Raja Kunyit — as the Musang King variety is known in Kelantan — are from pesticide-free trees aged between 30 and 70 years old. The Raya Collective places a strong emphasis on the provenance of the fruits. https://raya-collective.com/collections/all

 3  Durian Maison is a family-run entity that processes and packs the durians at its own factory in Raub, Pahang, before delivering to fruit lovers in the Klang Valley, Negeri Sembilan and Perak the same day. The family started growing their trees in the early 2000s and have been delivering their produce since 2018. Durian Maison’s fresh pulp comes in 500g and 1kg compostable packaging. 

https://durianmaison.com/#order

 4  Dking, which started off selling frozen fried durian at a night market stall 10 years ago, is well-known in the international circuit for its fresh and frozen pulp. Apart from the Musang King and D24 fruit varieties, Dking also sells speciality durian delicacies such as the mille crepe cake, durian cheesecake and mochi. An added bonus is that Dking delivers not just within the Klang Valley but also to Johor, Perak, Penang and Negeri Sembilan. https://dking.com.my/shop/

 5  DurianBB, a staple in the local durian scene, is actually from Hong Kong. One of its residents, Yuen Ka-kui, set up the company in 2015 after the durian party he organised in Hong Kong became a huge hit. DurianBB offers a wide range of fresh, ready-to-eat/drink and frozen durian-based products. It promises high-quality fresh durians that are vacuum-sealed and delivered from its own farm in Pahang. Apart from the much coveted Musang King, DurianBB also carries varieties such as D200 Black Thorn, D1 Gang Hai and D175 Red Prawn. For the uninitiated, DurianBB has tasting platters with a smorgasbord of its durian varieties. https://durianbb.com.my/shop/

 6  Dooran Dooran is the outcome of founder Acid Yong’s dream to create a brand that she hopes will one day become synonymous with durians from Malaysia (like Sunkist oranges or Zespri kiwis). The business had to pivot to selling durians because its main business of selling wallpaper — Yong is CEO of Korea Wallpaper Sdn Bhd — was forced to close due to pandemic-imposed restrictions. Dooran Dooran guarantees that its durians are naturally grown and collected after they fall off 30-year-old trees, opened, packed and delivered in 12 hours. Each order contains 850g to 900g of pulp collected from an estimated 4kg of durians. https://doorandooran.com/

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's AppStore and Androids' Google Play.