WHILE the rage with musang king durians in Malaysia is about the exponential jump in price and conspiracy theories about why, in Australia’s Melbourne, the king of fruits is climbing up the social ladder. 

On a prime piece of real estate in Docklands, durian-hankering Malaysians and adventurous Australians eager for a taste of exotica will this weekend get to eat all they can at a “Musang king durian festival” by the waterfront.

Yes, that’s right – the durian buffet has landed in Melbourne.

Tickets to two of the four sessions are sold out, and to a third, almost all taken. Only 200 tickets are available for each session. That is close to 600 people who will be getting their fill of one of the highest grades of durian in Malaysia.

The glee is stretched across the broad grin of Adam Ng, the gregarious chief executive and director of organiser Duria Australia, the latest and third international base of the Malaysia-incorporated company established in Kamunting, Taiping.

Duria Australia is air-freighting in 2,400kg of the fruit, which on the retail market is valued at A$67,200 (RM208,100).

“We have a few tickets left to the second session on Saturday (8pm-9.30pm),” Ng told The Malaysian Insight, “and the second session (8pm-9.30pm) on Sunday”.

While guests will get to eat all they can of fresh, whole-fruit musang king and D24 durians, they will also get to sample an array of delicacies derived from durian. These include gelato, mochis, and savoury from pancake and spring roll to fireball and iceball.

Ng, 35, is the man behind the drive to transform perceptions towards the durian in Australia, hoping to foster acceptance among Western odour sensitivities and palates. At the moment, Duria’s musang king is well established in Hong Kong and China.

“I want to promote Malaysia and its food and culture through the king of fruits,” said the former Klang boy from SMJK Kwang Hwa and a graduate in hospitality management from Victoria University in Melbourne.

The durian buffet is only the beginning for Ng, who established Duria Australia last September.

In that time, he has “raised the stink” of durian to high society through once-unthinkable events, such as setting up stall in Crown Casino, organising durian high tea in Australian settings, and promoting aggressive marketing in suburban markets frequented by Malaysians and Asians. 

“The goal is to broaden the market through downstream products beyond the two seasons of availability of whole-fruit export,” said Ng, no stranger to the hospitality business through his management of JAMPS Café at the World Trade Centre, and his opening of Little Nonya in Docklands.

He believes durian-flavoured products, such as gelato, could also ease alien palates onto the exotic fruit. – December 15, 2017.