Davao City is the “City of Durian”. There is an annual festival held at the city called the Kadayawan Festival which features the durian. There’s even a durian sculpture that will greet you once you arrived at the city via its international airport.

I was at Davao City since Monday to attend a series of team meetings. At around 9:00 PM last night, Charlie, John and I went out of the We Are Inn Hotel (where we stayed) craving for something to eat. As it is the beginning of the durian season in the city, we decided to go to Magsaysay Park, the durian haven of Davao City.

Magsaysay Park is located besides the Sta. Ana Wharf along the corners of Magsaysay Avenue (Uyanguren) and Quezon Boulevard. Outside the park are numerous fruit stalls that sell pomelos, mangosteen, marang and of course… durian!

Durian for those in the dark is a fruit native to Southeast Asia. It is known as the “King of Fruits”. It is famous (or notorious) for the strong and penetrating odor it emits. Its flesh though is custard-like, sweet and creamy. Because of these characteristics, it is often described as “smells like hell, tastes like heaven”.

After arriving at the place, Charlie, John and I went to one of the stalls and inquired which variety is best. There are different durian varieties like native, Arancillo, Puyat, Chanee, Monthong and countless others. I remembered Lyndon saying earlier in the day that Kob is the best variety so we tried it. We picked one  weighing around 2.5 kilos. It costs P50/kilo.

And true to what Lyndon said, Kob is really good. The flesh is firm and not squshy and tastes sweet. The seeds are also small.

Before we went home, we posed in front of the stall for posterity sake.

We waited for the jeepney near this Chinatown arc just in front of the park.

After arriving at the hotel, the first thing I did was brush my teeth. Even after doing so, the smell of durian still lingers in my breath. Oh well, it’s fortunate that I don’t have to kiss somebody that night, hehehe…

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Tags: davao city, durian, GEM, magsaysay park, mindanao