The Gazette

Love it or hate it!

I grew up in the family who loves durian and even crazy about it that allows this fruit become one of our breakfast menus; you might think we are really nuts.

People who live in the South East Asian will certainly familiar with Durian, The King of Fruit. Why is it? Durian only grows in the rain forest environment and needs 8 to 10 years from planting to fruiting. It has distinctive for its large size – could grow up to 40 cm in diameter, and typically weights one to five kilograms. The odour is very unique – some say it is a mix of pig shit, turpentine and onions, others say it is a mix of cream-cheese, sherry-wine and other bizarre dishes, whatever the descriptions is, the smell is very overpowering that causes some people to hate it without even have a chance to try the sweetness flavour of the fruit itself. It also has a formidable thorn-cover husk where it gets its name. Duri means thorn and an 'an' suffix transforms it into different noun, i.e that thorny Durian fruit.

Although Durian contains fat, but in every 100 grams in average bubble with 2.6 g protein, 140 mg beta carotene, 0.1 mg vitamin B1, 0.13 mg B2 and C9 (23.2 mg). Subsequently, if we consume in just reasonable amount, fat is certainly doesn’t matter and all vitamins do good to our body.

I joined my best friend for lunch last Thursday at Senayan City – new plaza in Jakarta. She told me that there is a new pizza corner in the food court area, called Trattoria, and taste like heaven (read: Italian). I was very curious to try it as she never stopped to describe how delicious the pizza is.

We almost have the same taste for food but I wonder whether this one was truly about the food or simply because she saw a cute Italian while she’s lunching there.

Just after I had my first bite I could tell that the pizza is delectable! She was right. It's a simple mushroom pizza without a busy topping like others but incredible hot – it's hot!! Seriously…