Fruity Fruity Davao

As soon as I told Mamu about my trip to Davao her constant reminder is “don’t forget my suha.” I was looking forward to the mangosteen and my friends wanted lanzones from Camiguin. A trip to the fruit market would definitely be a part of the itinerary. 

As it turns out, the grocery had its fill of Davao’s produce packed and ready to eat. We tried the papayas, melons and pomelo. Everything was fresh and ripe except for the melons. I enjoyed snacking on the sweet and juicy pomelo during our whole stay.
Finally we all went to market. I forgot the name of the market but it was huge! The fruit market alone was several blocks. I had a blast walking around and taking pictures.

It was suha galore!   

You can also buy colorful sweets made from Davao's fruits (pomelo, mangosteen, durian, etc.)

 The whole street was lined with mangosteen.  Ironically, it's not even mangosteen season. 

Honeycomb from a vendor of pure honeybee.

 Like in any market, the best thing to do is look for the best produce, ask for the best price and haggle, haggle, haggle. Here are some of the tips we got: Apparently, the best pomelo brand is Golden, these are priced a little higher but the quality is guaranteed. Then again this is Davao, I mean what are the chances of getting bad pomelo? One vendor told us not to get mangosteen from Jolo as these were smaller and less sweeter than their Davao counterpart. My friend bought a lot from a vendor and as a token of thanks she was given a free fruit. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was green and spiny, similar to langka only the spines are softer. Inside are a lot of white sop like atis only bigger, like twenty times bigger than the biggest atis I ever saw. The vendor said this fruit is called marang. It has a particular pungent smell that’s kind of hard of describe. You eat it the way you eat atis. The sop is fleshy and milky white. It tasted sweet and exotic, sort of a cross between a langka and a very mild durian only it had a very cottony soft texture. Not really my type of fruit. All in all it was a very sweet trip to the market.

The Durian Experience

It was my first time in Davao so I really had no idea what to expect. As soon as we got out of the plane, the scent of durian welcomed us to the “Royal City of the South.” I made a mental note of finally giving durian a try.

I guess it’s about time, after all, I like durian candy, durian ice cream and almost all durian made pasalubong anyone can think of. I’m not at all appalled by its smell as a lot of people are, rather I would describe it as distinct. I don’t remember trying durian before, but Mamu told me I did, and to say I did not like it is an understatement she assured me. I thought this was just one of Mamu’s exaggerated childhood recollections about me.

On the way to get coffee I spotted a durian vendor. He told me, that durian is twenty five pesos a kilo. The spiny guy I chose cost me forty pesos (I think the deadly skin alone weighs more than a kilo).

Unfortunately my durian was not allowed inside the coffee shop so I had to leave it outside, much to the relief of my friends. The much anticipated taste test will just have to wait.

When we transferred to a table outside I excitedly reclaimed my durian.

As soon as the spiny exterior was open, that distinct smell became more potent. But I did not lose heart. I convinced myself that I like durian products so the taste must not be so bad.

 
I dipped my finger in that yellow flesh, not bad I thought, it was in fact very creamy. I finally put my finger in my mouth.

OMG!  It was all sorts of taste (of sulphur and an aged onion), if that's possible, overwhelming my tastebuds, but not in a good way.  It was that durian scent that welcomed me but this time it would not leave my mouth. Now I know Mamu was not exaggerating when she told me I all but spit out the durian that she brought home once upon a time.

But I convinced myself to try it again. This time I pinched my nose and surprisingly, I tasted the creaminess of the flesh and the sweetness of the fruit. To be fair, it did not taste bad, it just overwhelmed me. Looks like I'm not trying durian anytime soon. 

Alas the real thing is too much for my pedestrian taste buds! I realize that I should just stick to the durian products I like so much. Oh durian, at least I tried.