While Penang is home to some of the most famous durians in Malaysia like black thorn and red prawn, it is also not short of very rare durians as well.

While rare durians are understandably not as famous because consumers in general are not even aware of their existence, they are well-known among durians hunters.

Some of the well-known rare durians in Penang include the old granny, the yellow capri, sakura, etc. Another rare durian famous among durian hunters of Penang is the indomitable lantern.

The Chinese name is dian deng (点灯) which literally means to light a lantern or to illuminate. But in casual conversations, it is used to refer to just the lantern in this case.

The name came about when the mother tree kept being harrassed by animals such as civet cats, squirrels and monkeys. The farmer tried all types of measures to keep them away but failed. In the end he tried putting up lanterns on the tree branches. And it finally worked.

Thus he named the fruits of the tree dian deng, lantern.

Features of lantern durian

This is a generally small sized durian that often comes in the size of 1kg give or take.

The fruitlets are light yellow accompanied by a translucent aril membrane. Further more, it spots patches of bruises very much in the style of tupai king. But because tupai king has a brighter yellow flesh colour, it makes the bruises much more visually dramatic than lantern.

While taste of this durian is quite intense, it is famous for a different reason. And that is that it can numb the mouth like biting into flower pepper in a spicy hot bowl of mala soup.

When you add that to the already formidable taste profile of this durian, it is a combination that can send a lot of durian lovers into total meltdown.

There’s something about numbing that enhances or adds to the durian eating experience. It sort of brings the taste of the durian to a different level, or dare I say dimension.

Lantern durian is one that can deliver this experience consistently enough that is has become infamous for it.