When Malaysians heard about an all-you-can-eat durian buffet for just RM10 (S$2.90), they knew a good deal when they saw one.
Customers came in hordes, reportedly gobbling up 17 tonnes of the King of Fruits.
Source: Jabatan Pertanian Negeri Perak on Facebook
This caused the organisers to end the event early, cancelling the last three hours of durian eating.
The Durian Festival was held by the Perak Department of Agricultural Development for Larut, Matang and Selama District, reported Malaysia’s Oriental Daily News.
Over the weekend (13 to 14 July), participants could pay just RM10 per person to enjoy unlimited portions of durian for one hour.
Children under the age of five could eat for free.
The buffet was set to be conducted over four time periods: 11am to 2pm and 4pm to 6pm on Saturday, and 11am to 2pm and 3pm to 6pm on Sunday.
According to an Agricultural Department official, the event was held to promote durians grown in the district, so most of the fruits came from Batu Kurau and Terong.
Source: Jabatan Pertanian Negeri Perak on Facebook
For RM10, patrons could consume as much durian as they wanted on-site but were not allowed to dapao (pack) them home.
Unsurprisingly, many Malaysians flocked to the event with their friends and family to take advantage of this good deal.
Source: Jabatan Pertanian Negeri Perak on Facebook
Ms Liang Liping (transliterated from Mandarin) told Oriental Daily that she had previously paid as much as RM12 (S$3.50) per kilogram for kampung durian.
Thus, when she heard that the Durian Festival allowed her to eat as much as she wanted for just RM10, she rushed down with her friends.
She said that she saw Malaysians of all ethnic groups enjoying themselves in a “picnic” atmosphere amid a natural environment, and lauded the good vibes.
Source: Jabatan Pertanian Negeri Perak on Facebook
Another customer, Mr Liu Yafu (transliterated from Mandarin), said the advantage of this event was that he didn’t have to worry about wasting money buying inferior-quality durians at other places. He also liked the unique experience of eating durian under the shade of trees.
Ms Wang Jiamei (transliterated from Mandarin) from Kuala Lumpur, who was visiting Taiping with her husband, was invited by a friend to take part in the buffet.
She said the durians tasted “first-class” despite being kampung durian, so the price of RM10 was very worthwhile.
She said she ate till she was full, estimating that she devoured about 3kg of the fruit. Such a portion would cost her RM20 (S$5.70) elsewhere, she added.
The Agricultural Department official said they had estimated to offload about 10 tonnes of durians during the two-day event.
However, the response was more enthusiastic than expected, with people wolfing down a total of 17 tonnes over the first three time periods, comprising eight hours.
Source: Jabatan Pertanian Negeri Perak on Facebook
Thus, the organisers had to cancel the last round of durian-eating from 3pm to 6pm on Sunday as the durians were wiped out.
Satisfied customers told Oriental Daily that more of such activities should be conducted in the future, preferably every year.
Also read: Giant Tampines to hold 1-hour all-you-can-eat durian buffet on 22 & 23 June
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Featured image adapted from Jabatan Pertanian Negeri Perak on Facebook and Facebook.
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