A way of eating durian that many people seem unfamiliar with

Behold these ingredients for a delicious meal!

Now this is what I consider to be a yummy combination :b

On my recent visit to my home state of Penang, I got to talking to a fellow durian lover who's a medical doctor.  In addition to completely understanding my need to fly back to feast on the "king of fruits", he got to extolling this delicious food item's high nutrition value.  

Although he didn't specifically say so, I got the feeling that he's one of those durian purists whose preferred way to eat durian is the plain way: i.e., fresh and on its own.  Alternatively, I've long enjoyed durian ice cream (for yes, durian is a fairly common ice cream flavor in Malaysia -- more easily found, actually, than, say, pistachio or even mango!).  Also, I've been pretty happy with the durian pancakes and durian mochi that I've come across in Hong Kong dessert shops .  

In addition, I've been known to make durian the centrepiece of an actual meal -- rather than just snack or dessert course -- by eating this meaty as well as creamy fruit with rice bathed with santan (coconut milk) and sprinkled with gula melaka.  As you can imagine, it's actually a pretty rich tasting meal -- and one that's pretty much guaranteed to leave me feeling full as well as very satisfied!

Although I've long thought that this was a traditional Malaysian way of eating durian, I've since come across a number of fellow Malaysians who weren't familiar with it.  So maybe it's more a Nyonya Baba way of eating durian than anything.  Also, my mother -- whose mother, like my paternal grandmother, dressed in Nyonya kebaya rather than, say, cheongsam -- associates this dish with my father's side of the family; with her side of the family tending to prefer to eat their durian with salt -- rather than black sugar -- along with santan and rice!

Furthermore, while there are times when I want to just dig into this durian rice dish with my hand, I've also been known to opt to use a fork and spoon -- not because I want to be dainty but, actually, so as to not have the strong smell of the fruit linger on my hands the way it would if I were to handle the flesh of the durian!  And yes, I realize that this is a far from usual, never mind traditional, way of eating durian.  Still, I think my mother's way of eating durian will seem even more unlikely to most people since she actually uses chopsticks when eating this fruit whose aroma really can linger on anything its flesh comes into contact with much more than one would like! ;S