榴莲比萨 － Durian Pizza

China has many odd food combinations, 奶盖茶 'cheese tea' or putting mayonnaise on fruit salad（水果沙拉和沙拉酱）for example, but 榴莲比萨 Durian Pizza is one of the strangest. Full disclosure before we start: I'm a huge fan of durian. However, even I wasn't convinced by this idea before I took my first, heavenly bite.

If you're not familiar with Durian, it's regarded by many people in Southeast Asia as the "King of Fruits". It's famous for its pungent smell: although some consider it sweet and delicious, most people find it disgusting. In countries where the fruit is common, it is banned from public transport and many hotels due to the stomach turning aroma - check out these signs from Thailand and Singapore.

 

Pizza in China is a bit of a misnomer, given that it normally bears little resemblance to the Italian variety. Finding a standard pepperoni here is a challenge, and you're far more likely to see bizarre toppings like 香芒紫薯 'mango & purple yam' or 培根土豆 ‘bacon and potato'. But opinions on Durian Pizza are the most polarised. Given the (entirely legitimate) objection to putting fruit on a pizza, like the abomination that is the Hawaiian, the concept of a pizza containing nothing but cheese and what many consider to be the most disgusting fruit on the planet raises understandable grievances.

At Liuzhou Meet & Learn, we undertook a survey of our members to gauge their views. Those that don't like it felt very strongly, suggesting that it should be made illegal and that its popularity is indicative of the end of days. But there's no denying that Durian Pizza is considered by many here to be a culinary success, just have a look at the results of our survey...

Interestingly, all the negative votes come from members with western backgrounds, so I suspect we would get very different results if we did the same survey in the UK. However, if you come to China, be sure to give Durian Pizza a try!