There are some words that are used for the names of many different durians in different states of Malaysia.

One of the most common words used for the name of durians in different geological areas is kunyit. There is Kunyit in Kelantan, Kunyit in Kedah, Kunyit in Penang, and many more including durians that incorporate the word “kunyit” in a longer name such as nasi kunyit.

Another word that is used a lot is batu. Batu is Malay for rock, or stone. So it’s understandable that durians named batu are sometimes also referred to as the rock, stone, or shi tou (石头) in Mandarin.

A few of those durians named batu are some of the most formidable durians you can find. Including legendary durians from Asli origins.

So it goes without saying that when a durian is named with the word batu within, it carries with it a certain amount of burden on it’s spiky shoulders. A burden of expectations.

Up steps Durian Batu that hails from Penang.

It got it’s name from the mother tree being located on rocky ground and very close to a huge boulder.

I would like to say that this is a rare durian in Penang. It really is. But when you go to farms that have it, you’d feel that it’s not as rare as it really is. Further more, Penang island is well connected by infrastructure. So wholesalers and resellers can often bring this to less reclusive areas to retail them to the general public.

I’m aware that Penang durian batu does make it into town via resellers. But I have never seen them in Georgetown with my own eyes.

Yet I’m pretty sure that if you are intent on getting your hands on one, you’ll more probably succeed than fail.

Don’t ask me how the logic of that works. It’s just how I feel about it.

Penang batu durian features

This is a big durian that easily goes over 2 kilos. You’d probably get away with saying that there are no small batus.

It’s substantial size is not in the arena of the megaliths like D15 or D18. But it is generally considered a huge durian when you compare it with other durians like capri or kacang hijau.

The overall shape is round. So round that bola immediately comes to mind. I wouldn’t just say that it’s circular. Proclaiming that it’s spherical does not seem far off.

The husk colour is a soft faded greyish green. It first gave me the impression of red prawn. But the more I looked at it, the more the thought of red prawn disappeared like lalang in the wind.

The thorn pattern is rather uniform. Almost as if all the thorns are of similar size.

As you look closer, you’d realize that the base of the thorns is rather wide. Much wider than most durians. If they are longer and more protruding, it might resemble that of D14.

I don’t know why. When I saw this durian for a first impression, not only did I recognize it’s sizeable presence, but my intuition tells me that it is compact and filled with mass inside.

Maybe I already know it… because I must know.

And sure enough, this durian tend to come fully stocked and loaded. Usually with 4 or 5 lobes of fruitlets. This one in the picture in particular carried within it 6 lobes of inner beauty. The high yield really took me by surprise.

When the opened batu was brought to me, I saw the fruitlets as a very pale colour tone. Something like bak eu. But when I took it out into the sun to snap some pictures, I could make out a soft tender yellow.

Maybe the yellow is the colour of sunlight. Like how if you shine a red flashlight on a white wall, the wall would look red. And a blue light on white wall will create a blue wall.

Regardless of the type of colour tone, the bruises told me that it’s showtime.

Oddly enough this durian is a slow cooker.

What I mean is that the first time I tried this durian, I didn’t feel much kick on the first 2 seeds. So little that I almost asked the farmer to take it back and pack it. I was going to feed it to the dogs.

But as if the farmer has already seen how this played out hundreds of times already, I was given the gesture to eat more. I politely did. And I’m glad I did as it’s the moment that changed the direction of the Penang batu experience.

Because the flavour of the durian started to surge uncontrollably like a wave. And I knew the destination it was pushing me towards is the island of ecstasy.

Seed after seed. Wave after wave. It doesn’t stop pounding.

Imagine being pinned to the rocks at the seaside. And wave after wave comes splashing onto you as the tide gets higher.

Bam. Bam. Bam.

You find it a little thrilling at first. But at some point you start fearing for your life.

Sooner or later you are going to break. You are going to panic. And you really don’t know what’s going to happen if you don’t get out of the predicament soon.

As much as I would have liked to see what’s on the other side of that tunnel, I was unable to. I had chickened out. I stopped eating and packed the rest. Unchained myself from the rocks in the process.

Because I was a little stunned when I came to my senses and realized how much batu I have eaten. It’s much much more than I usually eat of 1 durian.

You know sometimes you go to the gym and feels shiok while making your muscles work. You love the feeling of the burn and keep pumping the iron bars. But eventually you have to force yourself to stop because you just know bad things are going to happen if you don’t.

The durian taste itself is subtle. But the texture is perfection. Delightfully soft yet not so soft as to feel like pudding. Sticky but not too sticky for this attribute to standout. There’s a light but chronic bitterness that comes with every wave. And a strong fermented taste at the end that reaches for the ceiling of your mouth.

Delicate gourmet finesse.

If you bring this to a pastry bake-off, you just know that you are going to win hands-down.

It’s definitely worthy of the batu name.

Durian batu harvest season

Durian batu has an early harvest. Which means that as soon as the season starts, you can already start to enquire about it’s availability with the farms to make your reservations.

The supply is rather short. But because it’s not that famous, you might actually find that getting one is not that difficult.

However, we all know what can happen if something triggers a fad for a durian. And this durian definitely has the qualities for people to go gaga over.

And remember. This is a generally big durian. I would say that an average hungry adult would not be able to finish 1 durian. So put this into consideration when ordering this durian.