Durian pudding w/fresh durian at "Whatever"

[HLing]

"Whatever" (on Center street at Walker) in Chinatown used to be called Healthy Dessert, which used to be an offshoot of the Hong Kongese Hui Lau San.

They have great Mango puddings and refreshing fresh fruit slush (honey dew, canteloupe, watermelon...etc) type of dessert. They almost always have good, fresh, sweet mango slices.

Since I've been away for a few months, upon my return I found that they now also serve a few savory dishes, which is good for snacks. The dessert menu hasn't changed much, with one nice addition: Durian Pudding!

You can get a nice Durian Pudding with a small slice of the real fruit (make sure you do like durian, otherwise it might be the ice version of "stinky toufu" !), topped with some coconut ice (not ice creme) with or without sliced fresh fruit such as strawberries, watermelon balls, canteloupe balls..etc.

I love their mango pudding, so I knew I'd like the Durian pudding. It was custardy and tasted delicately smooth and frangrant. Look for it on the wall, not in the menu.

[yt28]

I went today to check out the durian pudding...and they did not have it! I was pretty insistent but they said no...not "we're sold out" but no, we don't have it...

[theskyflyer]

:-(
I was planning to go this week!

[HLing]

That's too bad...I haven't been in a while, but I'll ask next time i'm in. Maybe it's more for the summer? The item was never on the menu, but listed on the wall/window where if you enter and turn rigbt to sit down you'd be right under the sign.

[zEli173]

Great tip on the durian pudding. I was walking by Whatever yesterday so I checked it. Good stuff.

Is a jackfruit as hard to open up as a durian? I see durians pretty frequently but I don't think I've never spotted anything I thought to be jackfruit. Where can I find them?

[kobetobiko]

I haven't seen the whole jackfruit in shell in Chinatown, while I have seen plenty of durian in shell.

I think (though not 100% sure) that jackfruit is indeed harder to open than durian, and because it is usually huge in size, fruit vendors will open the jackfruit and sell the "flesh" (the edible fruit pieces) in trays. I have attached some pictures that I found on google.

Not sure if they will have fresh jackfruits in the summer, but you can always get canned ones in Chinese or Asian grocery stores.

[Simon]

Jackfruit is more labor-intensive than durian...with durian you just have to split/pry it open, being careful of the points, and then lift out the custardy pods...with jackfruit, the sellers here in Thailand sort of have to whittle away the non-edible parts to get the waxy tulip-shaped nuggests out after they've pried it open...i've never tried to do it myself because in Thailand it's sold pre-cut on the street and i've never been tempted to lug a whole one home (as i used to do all the time in NYC w/ durian, and then open it on my roofdeck to avoid stinking up my place)...

i've never seen whole fresh jackfruit in NYC's Chinatown, and i've looked for it many times...it's my favorite tropical fruit: the scent is very sweet, and the flavor is somehow slightly lemony-yet-without-being-acidic-at-all and also like something in between mint and licorice but milder than either of those...really hard to describe...

i have seen jackfruit smoothies on the menu at Doyers Vietnam restaurant in Chinatown but i've never tried them...i imagine they'd be wonderful.

[kobetobiko]

I had seen fresh whole jackfruit in Chinatown this summer. It was partially opened with some of the meat exposed, so I assumed the sellers would scoop out the meat for you. Since it is out of season, we will have to wait for next summer.

As for jackfruit smoothies, it is also available at Paris Cafe on Mott St. Despite their absolute pathetic inedible banh mi, the jackfruit smoothie was actually quite decent. I guess there is a reason why this place is not closed yet

[HLing]

I've not noticed fresh Jackfruit in China town, but it could be that I didn't look for it. My first taste of fresh Jackfruit was only in 2004 in Hong Kong. As with many of the tropical fruits, once you tasted the fresh ones, you realized that the canned version can only remind you of the fruit, but cannot give you the full spectrum of the fresh.
The best fresh Jackfruit I've had was purchased in a night market. It was stored in a huge glass fish tank, bright orange-yellow, somewhat translucent, and the fragrance of something exotic! What's more, it was called something like "Dragon Tooth" in Chinese, and how appropriate a name! They do look like some giant golden kernels of tooth extracted from a fire-blowing dragon.....

I have to say, the scent is at once attractive and repulsive. I don't understand why. The texutre is not creamy like Durian is, but more like a palm seed. I've since had the fresh ones in China and Hong Kong's supermarkets, and they are never as ripe and tasty as the ones from the street's night market, but they still emit the strong fragrance, which you don't get with the canned ones.

[Pan]

Just as easy/difficult to open, with a parang (machete). Durian is harder in one sense: It has sharp thorns.

[erica]

Here is a related question: Is it possible that I have seen durian sold on the streets of NYC Chinatown? If not durian, what is that large vaguely oval fruit, similar color to durian (yellow/green) with nubs all over? Breadfruit?

[kobetobiko]

It is very possible to see durian (whole in shell) in Chinatown. They are usually pre-frozen, but the taste is still vibrant.

There are also jackfruits in shell that looks similar to Durian. However, the "nubs" are not spikey (not pointy at the end). The smell is more "fruity" than durian.

[erica]

Thanks...I think it was jackfruit, without those spiky nubs..I think they come sometimes in net bags.....How does one eat jackfruit?

[F Schubert]

http://www.deliciousorganics.com/reci...

Above is a link to a page about tropical fruits, including tips on how to tackle a jackfruit. It can be a messy affair.

[misschopsticks]

This is a picture of the durian stand in Chinatown on Grand and Bowery. They sell a fruit that looks similar, but this one is definitely durian.

http://misschopsticks.blogspot.com/20...

[misschopsticks]

This is a picture of durians from the durian stand in Chinatown on Grand and Bowery.

http://misschopsticks.blogspot.com/20...

[lankyFool]

saw Dorian on sale at a stall in chinatown on Sunday. Think the stall was on the Bowery just above Canal, but not certain. They looked good.

[Lau]

on the corner of grand and bowery there is a fruit stall that always sells durian...they will cut it up for you, its on the northwest corner to the right of tung woo (tofu place)