It’s that time of the year again.
No, it’s not the now annual banning of dining-in, nor the yearly release of weird aunties we call Karens into the wild like Pokemons.
With the arrival of summer, only one king of fruits come to mind.
That’s right, forget hot girl summer—it’s durian summer.
As much as many Singaporeans tend to get crazy excited when it comes to durians in this particular season, dishonest sellers who capitalise off this fervour are dime a dozen too.
Well, they might not have sold durians for dirt cheap, but at least they didn’t try to illegally trespass to pick durians.
Fake Premium Durians Being Sold
If there’s one thing you should never do, it’s to underestimate Singaporeans’ love for durians.
And they will not take kindly to sellers who get in their way of enjoying the durians they want.
Some people have shared their experience of encountering scam durian sellers to Lianhe Wanbao in hopes of warning others against getting cheated.
These durian sellers in question have allegedly tried to pass off normal durian types for premium favourites such as the Mao Shan Wang and Black Thorn durians.
Self-proclaimed durian lover Zhu was one of those angered citizens who wrote in after spotting some alleged Black Thorn durians at a supermarket in Sembawang—that totally did not look like Black Thorn durians.
While Black Thorn durians typically have dark yellow flesh, the ones Zhu saw had bright yellow flesh instead.
Something smells… and it’s not the durians.
Zhu then emailed the supermarket for feedback, and happened to contact the durian supplier thereafter as well.
To his surprise, the durian supplier actually admitted that the durians in question actually weren’t Black Thorn durians, and that Zhu had been right.
Such practices are even commonplace in the industry and have been going on for a while, the supplier disclosed.
This is all because some people lack the knowledge of identifying durian types, so sellers try to take advantage of that fact to sell cheaper durians at prices meant for premium types.
Zhu added that the durian seller even tried to convince him to buy durians from them despite the shady practices going on, but he refused the shameless offer.
Another woman named Zhang also recounted the time where she had bought three Mao Shan Wang Durians from a stall in Yishun, which cost her $18 per kilogram and totalled up to $90.
Upon reaching home, her Malaysian-born husband took one look at the durians and was able to sniff out that those, in fact, weren’t Mao Shan Wang durians.
Zhang was unable to go back to the stall on the same day to confront the seller as she lived quite a distance away from it and was preoccupied with serving guests, unfortunately.
Durian Sellers Weigh in
Photos of the durians Zhang purchased were sent in to Lianhe Wanbao, who consulted the expert opinions of durian sellers.
They confirmed that the durians in the photo weren’t actually Mao Shan Wang durians and that Zhang had been cheated of her money.
The owner of 99 Old Trees Durian, Kelvin Tan, commented that the durian with shorter thorns was actually of the D13 variant while the other with finer thorns was a D101 durian.
He also said that it was an old trick in the book for sellers to mix these in with Mao Shan Wang durians due to the colours of their flesh being similar.
The D13 and D101 variants usually cost $12 to $14, which are prices much lower than that of the Mao Shan Wang.
Cai Ming You, another durian seller who owns Top Durian Station, shared the same sentiments.
Durian buyers are recommended to examine the durian husk before buying one to check what type it is from the density and size of its thorns.
Mao Shan Wang Identification Crash Course
If you’re a true durian lover, or even if you’re not, here’s how to identify the prized Mao Shan Wang durians for what they truly are.
- The base of the durian should have an extremely distinct five-star pattern on it that is unique to Mao Shan Wang durians
- The thorns of Mao Shan Wang durians resemble pyramids and are more 3D as compared to other variants with densely packed thorns
- The seeds may appear to be big instead of simply just long and thin as well
Don’t be misled by sellers who claim that the star pattern can be smaller on some Mao Shan Wang durians, for it is very distinctive, added Cai.
Tan also suggested that buyers should patronise reliable sellers that they trust.
Don’t let these shady sellers stop you from enjoying the durians you deserve.
On the other hand, if you’re too lazy to inspect every durian with a magnifying glass, check out this app that can help you identify your durians!
Feature Image: Torjrtrx / Shutterstock.com
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