How to Choose and Open Durian

Summary of Post
Proven tips on choosing the meatiest and tastiest durian for your durian party, and how to easily open this thorny fruit without bloodshed! A perfect raw food, with a pungent aroma (some say odor or stink but what do they know :p) and exotic flavor unlike any other, it stirs the deepest, most primal instinct in one's self. I love this King of Fruits!

The creamy sweet fleshy meat of durian awaits thou who learns the art of opening the fruit

Choosing Durian
Taking orders
What little I know about the fine art of choosing durian was acquired from my Pa who is the go-to guy whenever a durian feast is to be held. His skill in picking out the best durians from the piles of durian at the stall is legendary.

Before he goes to the durian stall, we put in our orders/requests. It goes something like this:

Puppies need a home!

Let me introduce you to Prim, Que Que, Reena, Nee Nee and their little Bro Pup. This litter of puppies was recently rescued (found abandoned in the FRIM forest) by a kind jogger who is providing temporary shelter until homes can be found for them. She cannot take them on permanently. If a home cannot be found for them by the end of this month, I am told that they will be put back in the FRIM forest, probably end up caught by the dog-catchers there and then killed.

Nee Nee

Container Gardening: Growing my own vegetables on my apartment balcony

I love gardening and have been used to having lots of land to plant, but three months ago I moved into an apartment with two very small 'balconies' (about 3 x 8 feet each) and had to rethink veggie gardening. I'm happy to report that my vegetable container garden is thriving and I have been having fresh veggies everyday for close to two months now. It's definitely possible to grow enough for your own needs in a very small space, as long as the plants get a few hours of sunlight daily (more is better).

View of my 'balcony'