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I can’t abide the smell of durian. Buying it is my way of saying ‘I love you’
More than a simple act of gift-giving, it is a legacy to my late grandfather.
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Just five years ago, it was absolutely inconceivable that durian would figure so heavily in the writers' life. But back in 2021, her grandfather changed all that.
ST ILLUSTRATION: CEL GULAPA
The surprise is usually delivered in a humble plastic bag late in the evening after our children are asleep. Boxes of bittersweet, rich ochre durian flesh, vacuum-sealed to retain its freshness.
My husband beams and tells me, “you shouldn’t have”. But a box is immediately opened, and the distinctive aroma – or odour, depending on the kind of person you are – soon fills the house.
