Musang King VS. Mao Shan King Durian from Malaysia

[simon_grow]

I just picked up this frozen Mao Shan King Durian from Lucky Seafood supermarket in Mira Mesa, SAN Diego, California. The owner of the establishment said he did a side by side comparison with this King Durian from Malaysia vs the Thai Mornthong variety and now he can't go back to eating the Mornthong anymore. Anyone else out there ever try this variety?

I wonder if this is similar or the same as the Musang King Durian from Malaysia? Here's a picture.




Simon

[simon_grow]

For the more advanced Durian eaters out there, here are some close up shots of the spines and the ends of the Durian.







Simon

[xshen]

It is very thick and creamy. The best frozen durian I've ever had at $9.98 a lb. Our Asian markets carry them here. A good size frozen Mu Sang King will run for about $55-$65 here.

You have to watch out though. The real Mu Sang Kings are commingled with fake Mu Sang Kings that have a six pointed star. The suppliers are sneaky and the super market owners are oblivious.

[simon_grow]

Thanks for the information Xshen!

I just opened up this Durian and Oh my Friggin &@$!!! This thing was crazy complex sweet, bitter, extremely rich and buttery. Comparing it to a Thai Mornthong, it tastes like the Mornthong is watered down where as the King is much more concentrated in everything.

On first bite, my palate immediately noticed a very prominent bitter component which had notes of fresh roasted coffee beans. The bitterness was very complex and at first, I thought to myself I don't like this because it is too bitter but my head and stomach kept telling me more, more! The second thing I noticed was the perfect level of sweetness. This is a very sweet Durian but the bitterness takes the edge off the sweetness. In my hand, this Durian literally felt like thick creamy butter.

I don't know how else to put it, this Durian is extremely concentrated as if you put five regular durians together and condensed it into one. The flavor and sweetness lingers in the mouth for a long time so don't eat this if you are about to go out.

This Durian was so rich, creamy, thick and sweet that you almost need something to cut it with. I suggest you eat this Durian with a side of coconut sweet sticky rice with a few pinches of salt thrown in. I had Durian sticky rice when I was in Thailand and this is how I recommend you eat this Durian. Hands down without a doubt, this is the best Durian I have ever eaten!




Simon

[xshen]

The fruit also have aborted seeds. Lots more flesh to eat!

I'm going to sound gross but I even enjoy the burps after eating this lol

[Samu]

Hi Simon, your post alerted me that I still have on bulb piece of FRESH durian left in the fridge, a Monthong that we purchased at Tien Phat fruit store in Westminster last week. So, right away I took it out and eating it while writing this post...

From you description, looks like yours beat mine big time, even though yours was frozen.
So Xshen, what Asian Markets in LA area sell that kind that Simon ate? (Mao Shan King). Thanks!

[simon_grow]

Sam, I hope you can find this Durian, it's excellent!

On a side note, I believe this is Durian I ate is more likely a Mao Shan Wang as opposed to a Musang King. If this is true, that means I have yet to taste the holy grail of Durian.

Simon

[xshen]

Sam, I hope you can find this Durian, it's excellent!

On a side note, I believe this is Durian I ate is more likely a Mao Shan Wang as opposed to a Musang King. If this is true, that means I have yet to taste the holy grail of Durian.

Simon

It's the same durian simon. If you speak chinese, both translate to cat mountain king.

Sam, if you are in the sgv area, hawaii super market on del mar and valley carries it when in season.

[simon_grow]

Hey Xue,

It was this article that is confusing me. https://discoversg.com/2016/06/24/bitter-sweet-guide-identifying-favourite-durian-types/
I wonder if what I bought was actually Mao Shan Wang but they called it Mao Shan King to confuse people? If it's the real Musang King, I wonder why they wouldn't just label it as such? I see it could totally be the naming was lost in translation but the wonderful bitterness of this fruit does fit more the description of the Mao Shan Wang. Whatever it is, it's exceptional and I'm glad they are finally bringing in the higher quality fruit.

This frozen fruit is better than any fresh Durian I've had in Thailand or in the USA.

Simon

[fyliu]

Great description! I saw the expensive musang king durian in Hawaii supermarket too and wondered if it's worth it. Its almost twice as much as fresh durian although the size is smaller and very uniformly oval, unlike the fresh ones. It said "musang" at least on the big price label, not sure about the one on the durians.

I had musang king durian pizza in China but I don't think it tasted like what you described. I'll just assume they're serving something fake. It's still good since it's the first time I had durian pizza.

[Samu]

"This frozen fruit is better than any fresh Durian I've had in Thailand or in the USA."

Ok Simon/Xue, I'll be on the look out for this when we go grocery shopping at the Asian Markets...thanks!

[Tuckee]

Hi all, FYI, Mau Shan King is Musang King. Mau Shan is a Cantonese word taken from Malay word Musang.  the cultivar of Musang King is originally come from an east coast town called Gua Musang in Peninsular Malaysia.  And traditionally the best durian in Malaysia is always eaten by a type of civet called musang in Malay, because they live on trees and can detect the best smell.  And Musang is closely pronounced as 'cat mountain' in Cantonese, so conveniently the durian farmers and traders namely it as Mau Shan Wong (king).

A top Musang King durian, apart from buttery texture, bitter sweet taste, strong durian aroma, the seeds are aborted (small) and husk ( thorny skin of the fruit) is thin. every piece of the fruit is very fulfilling.  Even in Malaysia, the fruit is sold around usd10-15 per kg.  Very expensive by local standards.  Bad news is demand from mainland China is growing very strong, far outpacing supply.

[simon_grow]

I just changed the title of this thread as I went back to the supermarket to investigate the name confusion between the durians. In their special Durian section, they had two different varieties of Malaysian Durian. One variety, the Mao Shan King, was in an orange colored netting and the Musang King, which is in a yellow netting. These varieties also have different tags.

I already gave a taste report for the Mao Shan King Durian. The Musang King is thawing as I type and I'll give a taste report as soon as I open her up. Here are some pictures of the famous Musang King.



Simon

[simon_grow]

Here are the ends and close up of the spines.





Simon

[simon_grow]

Most of what I can find online indicates that Musang King and Mao Shan King are the same thing but these two fruit I tasted were a bit different. This Musang King tastes similar to the Mao Shan King in all respects except that this particular fruit had very very little bitter taste, almost none. It had the same sweet buttery taste and everything else. This fruit also had all aborted seeds where as the MSK had a couple small seeds and the rest aborted.

Here's some pics of the Musang King fruit.





Simon

[DurianLover]

They are both the same durians, no matter color of the netting or a bunch of new names that are generated when things get lost in translation. Most common two names are Mao Shan Wang and Musang King. They are used interchangeably. First name is more common in Chinese majority Singapore.
Putting aside exterior pics or taste descriptions, two combined factors that make them undoubtedly Musang King. That is tumeric yellow color and shrunken/shriveled seeds. There are durians that have either one of these two factors, but none other both combined.
It's not surprising they taste slightly differently. Musang King is often sold by grade with pretty steep price difference within the same variety. Many environmental factors will effect the taste, won't go into that. Generally I find Musang King one of the most reliable durian varieties. You always get what's expected. Only once for me it did live up to its standard.
While Musang King is a rock solid choice for durian, I'm not sure if calling "holy grail of Durian" is the right wording . Advanced durian aficionados usually place Musang King one or two steps below whatever their favorites are. Even among general public seems like Musang King is being dethroned right now, and I believe rightfully so.

[BigIslandGrower]

pronounced as 'cat mountain' in Cantonese, so conveniently the durian farmers and traders namely it as Mau Shan Wong (king)..

Cat Mountain King, I've heard it called.   I found Musang King to be excellent, though not my favorite.

[simon_grow]

Thank for the clarification Durianlover, I'm not going to argue with a forum member with Durian as his name, lol! We typically only get fresh and frozen Mornthong Durian here in SAN Diego so this aduriwn blew my mind. I've tasted several different varieties of fresh Durian in Hong Kong and Thailand but I hope to make a special Durian trip to Malaysia in the future. What varieties should I seek if I visit Asia? I like sweet, creamy and buttery.

Simon

[DurianLover]

I hope to make a special Durian trip to Malaysia in the future. What varieties should I seek if I visit Asia? I like sweet, creamy and buttery.

Simon

Are't all good durians sweet and creamy? 
For me holy trinity of Malaysian durians are Red Prawn, Musang King, and Black Thorn. Seems like my taste buds are aligned with locals because those 3 are the most sought after in that part of the world. Although any named and lesser know variety can compete or beat these depending on a particular tree the fruit is coming from.
I can give you suggestion that I created on my own. It seems to work pretty well. Once you pick durian variety you want to try, ask and emphasize to the seller that you want him to pick a bitter one. This will give clear indication that you know a thing or two about durians and you have sophisticated taste. He may not pick the best for you, but won't give crappy one either.
Especially try to find newcomer on a durian scene "Black Thorn". Whatever you found in a Musang King like bitter and sweet notes hitting at different times, long trailing bitter taste, etc., is even more so pronounced in Black Thorn. It answered my life long question from unrelated field. What's the difference between $10 vine bottle and a $1000  bottle? It all became crystal clear

[simon_grow]

Thanks for the information DurianLover! Now that we have Musang King in the US, perhaps Red Prawn and Black Thorn will ev ntually make it to the states as well. In any case, at least I know what varieties to keep my eyes out for if/when I visit Asia again.

Simon