During my recent never-ending quest for top quality durian and reliable durian sellers - I found myself in the Sembawang area. This is a very small stall, located directly outside a unisex hair salon (if you want your hair to smell like durian, this is where to get your haircut). The stall is run by Mr Yap, who has been in the durian game for over 35 years.
Sembawang Durian SengLocation: 12 Jalan Tampang, Sembawang Garden Arcade
Contact: 93441512, 97598265
Mr Yap is probably one of the most eccentric characters you are likely to meet on the durian scene. He is notorious for giving unbelievable discounts to his customers, the like of which I have definitely never seen before. Moreover, he is even known to give all his durians away for
free on special occasions, such as his birthday. Mr Yap sells many different types of durian, but his pride and joy is a durian called lao tai po (
老太婆), which is literally translated to mean 'old woman'. Unfortunately, his lao tai po was not available during my visit, but I will test this durian out soon - You have my word!Ironically, like some tortured artist, Mr Yap actually doesn't like eating durian. The whole notion of a durian seller who hates eating durian really perplexes me. But like I said, Mr Yap is quite a unique character.
The texture of the flesh of
XO almost always determines what flavour you will get. If the durian has a firmer more creamy texture, then the flavour will have a delicious vanilla aftertaste. If the flesh is more watery, it will have a strong alcohol aftertaste (due to the longer fermentation time inside the husk). The XO durian that I picked out was pretty big (XO and Golden Phoenix are two of the smallest durians, some as small as a grapefruit). Texture wise this was definitely as creamy as an XO can get. The flesh is highly fibrous and lumpy, and had a delightful vanilla milk type taste.
Price: $12.00/kg. 7/10Although I felt a little disappointed with the lack of lao tai po, I was elated to see Mr Yap had one solitary huge piece of
Green Bamboo available. This bamboo was an absolutely
beast of a durian. Green bamboo is notorious for being one of the most difficult durians to open, with it having an incredibly hard husk. If you are planning to buy this durian, make sure to get the seller to open and packet it for you. Like most things in life, bigger
is better - Small green bamboo's are often discarded, as it is only the bigger types that have the best flesh. This particular had delicious thick creamy flesh. It certainly doesn't have the complexity of flavour of mao shang wang, but it is still an enjoyable smooth sweet durian. Seed size is medium.
Price: $16.00/kg. 8/10**note - the prices given above are not fixed, Mr Yap rewards customers who buy many durians. So the more you buy, the greater the free goodies and discounts you will get! Conclusion - Due to Mr Yap's quirky style of generosity, this must surely make this stall one of the 'must visit' durian stalls in Singapore, if you're looking for great durians at the cheapest possible price. I loved this little stall, and will definitely return again soon for their lao tai po!
