This pizza leaves the whole pineapple controversy in the dust.
Popular pizza chain Pizza Hut just loves to push the envelope in Taiwan, but seem to always come out with wonderful results, such as their bizarre-looking but thoroughly delicious flower-shaped pizza topped with chicken, squid, and Oreos last year.
Despite looking like something a five-year-old might have come up with on a whim, its chaotic appearance belies a very carefully balanced spectrum of flavors and textures.
In that way, you might be able to draw some parallels to the often maligned fruit durian, whose prickly appearance and often off-putting smell keep many away from its delectably sweet and earthy flavor.
So, it makes sense that Pizza Hut Taiwan would want to embrace this misunderstood fruit as a topping on their ambitious pizzas. In 2019, they released their first Durian Pizza, and followed up with the Durian Coffee Pizza in 2020. Now, they have refined the art of durian on pizza further with Durian Mango Cheese Pizza which was released on 28 June, 2022.
Our Taiwan-based pizza correspondent Yui Imai placed an order for one to see what baked durian would taste like, how well it would go with cheese and mango, and most importantly if it would stink.
▼ Eyes on the road, buddy, especially when it’s on fire.
When the delivery person brought it to the door, she could immediately get a whiff of the notorious durian smell, and this was even with the box still closed and her wearing a face mask. Hopefully, the delivery person wasn’t too bothered by it.
While mingling with the other toppings on the pizza, the whole thing smelled uniquely like sweet fruits rotting in the wind. This would be one of Yui’s bigger challenges from Pizza Hut Taiwan.
On the other hand, it looked great. It was a very cheesy pizza with mango jam spread on top, cream colored chunks of durian pulp, and a hearty sprinkling of coconut powder.
Still, with the odor continuing to emanate from this pie, Yui’s heart was pounding as she braced herself for a bite.
The crust was very tender and because the durian pulp had been baked, it had a very soft texture that seemed to melt in her mouth and spread sweetness throughout it. This was balanced by the tangier notes of the mango and coconut which gave the pizza a refreshing tropical feeling.
So it seems Pizza Hut Taiwan has flirted with disaster once again and come out with a winner. By the way, this pizza is only available in a personal size for 539 Taiwan dollars, which works out to about 2,480 yen (US$18). They also offer a Durian Cheese Fried Chicken, but Yui wasn’t sure she could handle that much durian in one room so she passed until next time.
But if you happen to have some durian lying around the house, you’ll probably want to get rid of it quickly, so why not try tossing it on a pizza for a change?
Related: Pizza Hut Taiwan
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