RM140 for a durian

June and July are durian season. It is common for Malaysians to eat durian that have ripened and dropped from the trees. But some Thailand durians are cut from the trees before ripe, and they freeze the durian in its shell and export it to the USA. I often see this kind of frozen durian, for US$2 to $3/lb, in the Asian grocery stores. I have bought frozen Thailand durian without the shell, but the taste is not good compared to the good durian in Malaysia. However, occasionally I just need a little to fulfill my desire for durian.

Yesterday, I was surprised to see fresh Thailand durians (with shell) in the Asian grocery store; the price was US$7.99/lb. There were only three on the shelf. I held them one by one to have a closer smell, and I found they didn’t have a strong smell. I wondered what the weight was with the shell and struggled whether to buy it or not. Steve knows I love durian, so he was encouraging me. I chose one of them. We took some other things and came to the cashier. When the durian weight x price was scanned and showed on the cash machine screen, 4.95 lb @ $7.99/lb - $39.55 (before tax). I opened my big eyes and said, “Ah… can I cancel this item?” The cashier quite understood and said, “Yes. There are frozen durian that not so expensive.” I said I know, but thought to try this fresh durian, but I didn’t know it costs so much. I gave up.

I think for a good Malaysia durian about that weight, I might pay about RM20 (about US$6). US$40 (about RM 140) for a durian is too expensive to me!

6月、7月份是榴槤的季节，马来西亚人吃从树上掉下来的熟榴槤是常理，而泰国的榴槤未熟就砍下来卖的也有，所以泰国榴槤带壳冰冻运出口到美国，我就很常见这类冰冻榴槤在亚洲华人店，USD2至USD3／磅。我曾买过的是无壳冰冻泰国榴槤，味道当然比不上马来西亚的好榴槤，不过偶尔满足一点爱吃榴槤的口欲。

昨天我在亚洲华人店喜见有泰国的新鲜榴槤（整粒带壳的），价钱是USD7.99／磅，只有三粒在那架子，我提起一粒又一粒嗅了嗅，没有很浓的榴槤味，心里在估计着一粒有壳的榴槤有多重、挣扎要买不买。Steve知道我喜爱榴槤，鼓励我要，我选了一粒。我们拿了一些要买的东西来到收银员，当榴槤重量x价钱扫描出现在收银机的营幕是4.95 lb @ $7.99/lb - $39.55（还未加税）。我张大眼说，“呀…$39.55，可以cancel不要吗？” 收银员很理解的说，“可以。有冰冻的榴槤，没有这么贵。” 我说我知道但我想试买新鲜的，想不到要这么多钱，还是不要算了。

马来西亚好的榴槤约此重量的，我想20马币（约6美元）就可以买到吧。40美元（约140马币）的榴槤，太贵了吧！