12 June is a special day for me, a bit bitter sweet and strange as well. Most people, who know me, would probably think that it is something to do with my birthday.
Actually I have never made my birthday a big deal. As a child & teenager, I was always busy with studying for my exams; while as an adult, I was either overloaded with work or travelling away from home and couldn't celebrate it.
However, one thing has never changed: No matter where I was and how busy I was, my dad always managed to find me, just to wish me a Happy Birthday. However, last year, with the time difference between the city I was and the city my dad lived, he over-slept and didn't call me on the agreed time, so he left me a Happy Birthday voicemail. He promised me that next year (i.e. 2011) he would call me on time and make sure to talk to me directly in order to wish me a Happy Birthday. Unfortunately, my dad would never be able to keep this promise, nor his plan to travel with me.
Beside my birthday, today is also father's day in Belgium, the country where I grew up and where my dad was laid to rest. Although we do not really celebrate father's day in our family, I would sometimes give him some small gifts. I think if my dad would be still alive today, he would ask me an i-phone 4th generation with as much storage capacity as possible.
So it is the first time that my birthday and father's day fall on the same day, but it is also the first time that my dad is not around.
In memory of my dad, today I would first like to introduce to everyone a fruit that both my dad and I love very much. It is actually the only fruit that my dad really like to eat. This fruit, as displayed below, is called DURIAN.
If you do a google search on "durian", you will find an extensive list of results. So I will just give here a brief information about this fruit. Durian is very famous in South East Asia and is often called the "king of fruits". Durian is very unique for its huge size and distinctive odour, taste and thorn covered husk. While some people, like my dad and me, are addicted to durian, other cannot even stand the smell.
Although my dad was not a fan of sweet things, he loved to eat any desert that contained durian, especially my mom's durian cake. This durian cake is actually a bavarois cake that combines a "Gâteau Génoise" and 1 kg of real durian. The below picture shows the durian cake my mom made:
This cake is actually quite a heaven for durian lovers. I have tried to make this cake following the recipe of my mom two times and it was quite a success. Even the dad of my best friend, who never compliments anyone, say that it is "extremely good".
Two years ago, I have found a famous "Durian Pancake" made from fresh durian everyday at a Chinese desert restaurant in Canada. It is so famous and popular that you need to pre-order this dish before you go to the restaurant. This desert is really unforgettably delicious ! I wish my dad could have tasted this durian pancake. I am sure he would loved it.
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