BESIDES just savouring the King of Fruits, durian lovers are now taking it up a notch when most of them chose to learn more about the fruit.
Green Acres Orchard & Ecolodge (Penang Green Acres) owner Eric Chong said his ‘Durian Tasting Farm Tours’ received a great response since it started on June 1.
“We have locals and tourists from Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore (to name a few) who booked our two-hour farm tour.
“It is an educational tour where we share our experience and knowledge about how my wife, and I manage this organic farm.
“Penang Green Acres does not use chemical fertilisers, pesticides, or insecticides, hence, minimising pollution to the surrounding environment,” he told Buletin Mutiara today.
Penang Green Acres is in Balik Pulau.
Chong said the visitors would have to pre-book the farm tour.
“Those who take part in the farm tour will get to pick, taste, and discover the varieties of fruits, herbs, and spices that we have on our farm as we bring them along the picturesque farm trail.
“After the farm tour, they will get to enjoy our organically grown durians. We have about 35 variants here,” he said, adding that the Hor Lor, Capri, Green Skin, Kun Poh and Xiao Hong variants were now in season.
Chong said he hoped to get more people to appreciate organic farming and the biodiversity of Penang.
Penang Green Acres also provides durian delivery service.
Meanwhile, Bao Sheng Durian Farm owner Chang Teik Seng said the ‘Durian + Stay package 2022’ was a hit among durian lovers.
“We only have the ‘Durian + Stay package 2022’ or durian delivery service this year. We are not open for dining-in, walk-in, take away or buffet,” he said.
Check out Penang Green Acres and Bao Sheng Durian Farm on their respective Facebook pages.
Separately, durian sellers were happy with the school holidays and the recent long weekend holidays in June.
A seller in Macalister Road, who only wanted to be known as Tan, said the number of visitors to his stall increased by 50% during the recent long weekend holidays.
“It was better than during the school holidays or normal days,” he said.
Ah Teik, the owner of Penang Ah Teik Durian stall in Lorong Susu, said he was receiving more visitors thanks to the school holidays and the recent long weekend holidays in June.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Eng Kok Wei and courtesy of Penang Green Acres