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As much as they love their durians, many are running shy from the Mau Shan Wang (Musang King). The fruit is practically the King of the king of fruits and now goes for RM50 per kilo.

There were few takers for the Musang King variety sold at the fruit festival in Anjung Indah here since June 1 as it is said to be the most expensive variety.

Durian wholesaler Tan Choo Siang said so far only five or six Musang King durians have been sold at the month-long Penang Durian and Fruits Festival that began on June 1.

Tan said the Musang King, also known as Raja Kunyit, was expensive because it had a tasty bittersweet flesh and there were small quantities of the fruit.

"The Musang King only grows on the highlands that is one of its specific requirements," he said, adding that in Penang, it only grew on the higher parts of Balik Pulau, Pulau Betong, Gertak Sanggul and Sungai Pinang.

The taste of the Musang King had captivated even Macau's casino king Stanley Ho so much that he sent his personal jet to Singapore recently to buy 88 of this variety for about RM4,800!

Meanwhile, Tan's partner Yong Ji said more than 1,000 durians had been sold over the past five days.

Hordes of durian lovers have been flocking to the festival, which also sells many other fruits, to get a taste of more than 300 other cheaper varieties.

"Some customers love durians which are sweet while some prefer durians which are slightly bitter," he said, adding that each variety has a name based on its smell and taste.

Among those sold at the festival are "Raja Kunyit", "Durian Batu", "Ang Heh", "604" and "Ho Lor".

He said the durians sold at present were slightly more expensive as it was not the peak season yet.

"Prices should be lower in about two weeks' time when there are more durians in the market," he added.

Among the many durian lovers spotted at the fes- tival was businesswoman Jenn Yap, 40, who said that she bought five durians costing more than RM100 to make durian cake for her children.

"In Kuala Lumpur, a cake shop was selling durian cakes at RM130 per cake and customers need to place their orders six months in advance.

"Hence, I opted to bake them myself.

"I also want more quality in terms of no added preservatives," she said.

Her husband Marcus Pung, 42, said he had travelled to most states in Malaysia but the "durian kampung" in Penang was still the best.

General manager of a manufacturing company in Kuala Lumpur, Yew Nieng Wei, said he and his family were in Penang for a holiday since Friday and attended the festival to grab some durians before returning home.