durian
Sau Rieng signifies "One's own sorrows" in Vietnamese. Why is this fruit under such an austere name ? - Yes, it proceeds from an immortal love story. Long ago, there lived a young couple in the region. Not being able to overcome some social prejudices, they had to find their death to be faithful to their love for ever. Their own sorrows have received the populace's sympathies, and their dramatic love story has been handed down from generation to generation. To commemorate that couple, locals have named their one of the local valuable fruits Sau Rieng.
Durian is an expensive fruit. It is from five to six times larger than a mangosteen. Its skin is thick, rough and covered with sharp thorns. Yet, with a gentle cut between the edges of the outer shell, you can easily open the fruit to see layers of layers of brightly yellow segments of pulp as if the pulp is covered with a thin layer of butter. According to the writer Mai Van Tao, "The dense fragrance which spreads near and far and lingers a long time before disappearing. The strong smell can go straight to your nostrils when you are still as far as several dozen metres away from where the fruit is. The fragrance of durian is a mixture of smell coming from a ripening jackfruit and that of a shaddock. Moreover, it also has a strong smell that foreign-made cheese has to offer and is as tastily rich as that of a hen's egg. Others add more traits to the fruit as it also has the sweet like that of well-kept honey. What a specially tempting smell ! Those who have not enjoyed the fruit for once could find it hard to eat. Yet, once they have tried it, they are likely to seek for it happily...".