Durian season is the time of the year all durian-lovers in Singapore are waiting for. During this time, durian stalls all around Singapore are packed with durians, in their spiky green shells or in styrofoam boxes sealed over with cling wrap. Store owners roar their durian prices, equipped with large butcher-looking knives bustle ready to make their neat cuts through hard durian shells, and Singaporeans hastily stand in queues waiting to get their hands on beckoning durians.
Why? The creamiest, freshest, richest bitter-sweet durians are available in durian season, and as every Singaporean loves, lower durian prices!
1. Faster chope the dates
Durian season varies from year to year, but it usually begins in May, lasts through June and July, and ends (sadly) in August. If you’ve missed durian season this year, start marking your calendar for next year to get out and get buying your favourite king of fruits!
2. Long queues mean good right?
Durian stalls are one of the best-loved stalls in Singapore, but good durian comes with a price. Many Singaporeans are familiar with the long lines snaking in front of durian stalls.
Queues can take up to 30 mins, and even longer for the most popular stalls. Some stalls even have queue systems just to manage their queues, like giving their customers queue numbers and setting up different queue lines.
Singapore’s durian queues happen all over the island, not just at more popular durian stalls! People may grab up to 4 or 5 durians just to make their time worth it.
If you’re willing to put in the time and effort for your favourite creamy durians, put on your most comfortable shoes and get in line!
3. Choose the best durian
When your turn arrives, check your durian to make sure it is fresh! You don’t want to reach home at the end of the day to be disappointed by the durian you bought. There are a few ways to check if your durian is fresh.
Touch the stem of the durian to feel its moisture. A fresh durian will have a moist stem, while a durian that has been off the tree for a long time will have a stem that is dry.
Listen out as the durian seller knocks on the durian with a spatula. A loud hollow drum-like sound is what you want to listen for because it means that the durian is ripe.
Smell the durian right at the base of the stem! The smell of the durian will point to its taste. Durians with no smell are not yet ripe. A durian that smells like newly cut leaves will be fresh and sweet to your taste buds and a slightly pungent-smelling durian will likely taste bitter-sweet. Choose one according to your taste, and walk home proud (and smelling like durian) to enjoy your satisfying durian-feast.
4. Lazy? Just deliver.
If you’re just too lazy to head out and face the long queues and Singapore heat, why not just get your durian delivered to your home?
While it seems like the only way to buy durian in Singapore is to head to the familiar road-side stalls, durian companies have moved their services online, and you can now get durian delivered right to your doorstep.
It is as simple as it sounds! Head to the website, make an online order, and the durian sellers will do the rest.
5. Don’t need to worry if the price is right
We’re still talking about durian delivery here! One of the best things about durian delivery is that you are fully informed about the prices of durian and delivery. Durian prices will be up on the website – no more surprises when you pay for your durian.
Delivery fees of durian in Singapore usually cost about $10-15 for delivery to a single location. Good news, certain durian stores offer free durian delivery when you order a minimum amount of durian!
Durian Factory, for example, charges $10 for islandwide delivery (cheaper than most islandwide Grabfood deliveries to non-central locations in Singapore) but offers free delivery when you order 3 boxes and above of their fragrant Mao Shan Wang durian!
This durian season, perhaps you could just order your durian online, sit back and relax and wait for your fragrant fresh durian to arrive right at your doorstep! Happy durian hunting!
If you want a durian delivery now, order durian online at this website https://www.duriandeliverysg.sg/shop/ or call +65 8904 0354 for great durian prices!
