‘ Tasting like heaven but smelling like hell’
Asian fruit which smells of dead rats, rotting flesh and sewage, makes its debut on pizza
A pizza made with a pungent Asian fruit is on the menu in Auckland.
Cafe chain, Smile Dessert, is selling pizzas with durian, a fruit popular in Southeast Asia and China notorious for its powerful smell.
MasterChef New Zealand winner Brett McGregor says the concoction “sounds crazy”.
“The first time I had durian, the smell really freaked me out. It’s also really rich, creamy and really sweet,” McGregor said. “But it’s something you get used to, and once you do, it can become quite addictive.”
McGregor said he did not think durian pizza would become a Kiwi staple but believed some would try it for its novelty factor.
“I would keep durians for my desserts in my cooking, and probably not put it on a pizza.”
Victor Li, owner and director of Smile Dessert’s Dominion Rd outlet, said it sells about 50 pizzas a week to customers brave enough to try.
“People either like it or hate it, and there is a saying that durian taste like heaven but smells like hell,” Li said. “Actually, durian on a pizza doesn’t smell too strong, and is a good entrylevel test for people to try the fruit.”
The $ 11.90 durian pizza i s described on the menu as being mixed with NZ mozzarella cheese to “bring out the strong but great creamy taste”.
The rugby- ball- sized, spiky, greenish- brown fruit is known as “the King of Fruits”, and there is no neutrality when it comes to its smell and taste. Its smell has been compared to rotting flesh, dead rats, ripe cheese or even sewage. The spiky durian i s banned on planes and many airports and hotels across Asia.
Thai varieties have been available frozen or fresh in Asian supermarkets around New Zealand, and at weekend markets like Avondale and Otara. The cafe uses musang king durians, a prized Malaysian variety. Musang kings are left to ripen on the tree and collected with large nets when they fall.
“Many Kiwis do get put off by the smell, but durian is still becoming very popular,” Li said. “We make lots of other desserts from durians, too, and they are selling very well, and not just to Asian customers.”
The durian pizza got a thumbs up from Avril Liang, who hails from Beijing.
“It is sweet and fruity, it has the durian flavour but not the very strong durian smell,” Liang said.
Weekend Herald photographer Dean Purcell said it was just “okay”.
“I was fine eating it, but there was a lingering durian after taste that took quite a while to go away.”
A cafe in Shanghai first sold durian pizza in 2013 — selling about 70 a day, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Pizza Hut then tested it out in Guangdong before rolling it out in several Chinese cities this year. Watch the video at nzherald. co. nz