D4 Durian Raspberry Cake and D24 Durian Tiramisu at Durian Desserts Buffet by Goodwood Park Hotel (Durian Fiesta 2026)

I tried the Durian Desserts Buffet by Goodwood Park Hotel, which is a part of their Durian Festa this year. Out of the buffet items, two desserts were new and presented interesting pairings with durian that I thought worked quite well. The first was their D24 Durian Raspberry Cake, and the other was D24 Durian Tiramisu, which pairs coffee with durian. 

I have not seen similar items being offered elsewhere before, and the other durian tiramisu desserts I've seen did not include coffee. Indeed, pairing other strong flavours with durian is uncommon as durian itself is a very intense and sharp flavour, so it is usually paired with other mellow flavours which complement the body notes such as pandan or coconut. So let's see how durian with raspberry and also coffee works.

I will also briefly comment on the other buffet items and the experience as a whole after this. But first, on to the novel pairings.

First, an overall note is that D24 is a durian variety that is relatively balanced in taste. It is not as complex and bitter as the trending Mao Shan Wang variety, which probably helps it to blend in a bit better with other complex tastes than something as overpowering and bitter as Mao Shan Wang. On the other end of the spectrum, D24 is also not as sweet as varieties such as Red Prawn, and has a complexity that I would say lies midway between Mao Shan Wang and Red Prawn, leaning a bit more like a caramel with some dark burnt toffee notes as opposed to the Red Prawn's sweeter milky notes. This profile might explain why it pairs well with other strong flavours, and I'm not sure this would work as well with Mao Shan Wang or Red Prawn.

D4 Durian Raspberry Cake

This was the more interesting and novel flavour pairing in my opinion. And it is also very pretty, shaped like a large iced gem biscuit. The pastel pink is also a very pleasing shade.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of how the filling looked, but it was pink and yellow with both durian and raspberry mousse, as well as some raspberry sauce or jam-looking layer. 

When I put a spoonful of the entire combination into my mouth, the first thing that hits me is a light cream with a complex explosion of flavours. It is as if the raspberry's fruity top notes and tang at the borders of the tongue form the frame and edges of the taste, while the durian's umami and top notes of garlic and chive from the thiosulphate hit the top and back of the palate and bridge the entire space between those two aspects of the raspberry in the mouth. 

The raspberry's sour notes also paired perfectly with the cream and the durian's chive and garlic notes, much in the same way sour cream and chives or onion is a golden pairing. This is the most interesting aspect and parallel I noticed.

The rich creaminess from both the mousse and the durian help to fill in the entire mid notes of the body.

I would also argue that the slight bitter notes of the durian might even have complemented the faint darker acidic notes of the raspberry, but the cream probably covered that such that I couldn't distinctly tell.

The result is an incredibly complex spread of flavours that does not clash at all, but stimulates the entire spectrum of taste, and even delivers a certain satisfying heartiness that doesn't cross over into savoury.

Finally, the pastry base is supposed to be a crispy financier. I can see how the almond powder in it might resonate with the almond notes in the durian. But after the explosion of taste, the base did not leave any impression on me at all. I did not think it was crispy actually, more like a moist financier that I initially thought was a soggy crust before reading the description. I think they should have used something much more resiliently crunchy instead to pair with the soft and fluffy mousse. 

D24 Durian Tiramisu

This is essentially a coffee-based classic tiramisu with a layer of durian cream or paste inside. The flavours paired in a completely different way from the raspberry cake.

I put a column of the cake with all the layers into my mouth at one go. And although the dark brown coffee parts look thinner than the thicker yellow durian layer, the coffee was very intense, bold and dark, and it actually anchored the entire mid notes and base notes.

How the durian came into play is by substituting and enhancing the top notes of an intense espresso with a complex blend of malty stone fruit top notes, such as a Sumatra blend. But the difference is that the top notes have garlic and chive in addition to the similar D24 top notes of caramel and malt. To see how these flavours are an accepted combination, think of how garlic and shallots are frequently fried until they are caramelised, and that blend of caramel and onion-garlic notes is well loved by many, even in savoury-sweet Chinese pastries such as salted bean pastries or savoury mooncakes.

The umami of the durian blends right into the nutty notes of the coffee at the back and top of the palate, so that was a smooth transition that filled out the taste. 

Finally, the creaminess of the mascarpone cheese fills out the rest of the taste, like the custardy body of the durian.

Other Flavour Pairings

D24 Chocolate Crémeux

Apart from coffee and raspberry, durian was also paired with chocolate in their D24 Chocolate Crémeux. However, I felt like this wasn't as perfect a pairing. The chocolate's dark and earthy notes basically further accentuated the D24 durian's mild bitter notes. The body was too crowded with the chocolate's nuttiness and the durian's cream, egg, almond and umami notes such that it was one big undecipherable mass of taste. And the durian's chive and garlic notes fully occupied the top notes, overpowering any faint chocolate top notes and being rather monotonous as a result. I also didn't think the top notes of the durian connected well with the base notes of the chocolate, so the combination felt like 2 distinct tastes in my mouth and it was a rather odd pairing as a result.

D24 Durian Pandan Coconut Roll

There was also the classic pandan coconut pairing with durian with this D24 Durian Pandan Coconut Roll. It is a safe combination and the flavour profile was a lot more typical of common Southeast Asian desserts, so there was less discovery. In terms of execution, it was decent, but I felt like the durian filling leaned closer to the cooked durian cake taste than a fresh durian paste taste, and I much prefer the latter. The roll cake layer was also a tad dry but still acceptable. The pandan-coconut flavour did come through to blend well with the durian.

Durian Ice Cream Desserts

Finally, they also had 2 new desserts showcasing their chilled durian dessert which was somewhere between a durian ice cream and a durian paste. These were my favourite of the buffet as the chilled balls were pure explosions of fresh creamy durian flavour. Like a premium durian ice cream with a lower proportion of cream and more durian. Or like the purest and freshest, most intense durian pengat. The fresh durian flavour was like an intense explosion in my mouth. 

Nitrogen Meringue Cookies with Durian Ice Cream

My favourite was this bowl dessert, but not for the meringue cookies at all. More because I could enjoy the plain durian ice cream on its own and just savour the pure intense flavour. I pretty much ignored the meringue cookies. I ate the other fruits separately. 

There were also 2 custard pudding balls which you can see from this other angle below, and which I thought went super well with the durian ice cream. Perhaps they should have named the dessert after the custard pudding balls instead of the meringue cookies. Like "Custard Pudding Bites with Durian Ice Cream."

Live Station Video Below

I did not understand the use of nitrogen as the durian ice cream was the same as for the other dessert, but it seems like they just used some nitrogen to make some dry ice that produces the white vapour as you eat the ice cream. You can see the vapour more clearly in this photo below of the service staff making the ice live with each bowl I ordered. (By the way, the custard pudding balls are those yellow things floating in the clear yellowish liquid in the huge glass bowl.) The short video is below.

Japanese Soufflé Pancake with Durian Ice Cream

They also served their durian ice cream with what they branded as Japanese Soufflé Pancake that they griddle on the spot at a live station. However, it came across to me as a thicker American pancake rather than a Japanese soufflé pancake which I've come to see as a lot more custardy like in Flipper's pancakes. This one was a lot more wheatflour forward, as you can see from the texture of the pancake in the close-up, with a bubbly dough texture.

Nonetheless, it still paired well with the intense durian ice cream and I ended up finishing it! Perhaps it wouldn't have done as well with the custardy soufflé pancake as both would have been too sweet and liquid. This thick and spongy Japan-style American pancake was a much better complement in terms of airy spongy texture and neutral taste. Despite being so spongy, it came across as more moist than fluffy.

Classic Durian Desserts

Naturally, they included their D24 Durian Cake, D24 Durian Crepes and D24 Durian Cream Puff, which they have had every year for the longest time.

I felt that the cream puff was closest to the fresh durian taste, followed by the cake, followed by the crepe. The crepe felt like it was closest to a cooked durian taste, like a steamed durian cake. The cream puff's durian filling also felt the lightest and most cream-like. Followed by the cake. The crepe's durian filling came across a tad starchy to me. So my favourite was the cream puff first, then the cake, then the crepe, in that order.

Non-Durian Desserts

They also had non-durian ice cream and cakes, presumably for those who went for the Taiwan porridge buffet and wanted non-durian desserts. They didn't have labels, and I believe they rotate daily, so don't bet on them.

The cakes were not bad, but very average, like some neighbourhood bakery that has a decent standard of quality. In order, they are an orange cake (like a tea cake texture but less dense), a typical chocolate brownie and a type of fruit cake. My favourite was the fruit cake. It felt quite complex with nice balance of spices and fruit, and a bit closer to a gourmet standard, but lighter than the dense fruit cakes around Christmas season.

There was also a berry pudding, which wasn't so nice. While the berry flavour was decent, the texture of the pudding was too thick and starchy, more like a tapioca starch cake in consistency, as you can see from the 2nd photo showing the texture.

The ice cream was terrible, like the cheapest house brand ice cream you get in the supermarket, which uses vegetable oil and filled milk. It tasted quite fake to me at least.

Buffet Spread

Finally, here are some photos of the overall spread. We were the first customers and the durian cake was already half cut, so I suppose you don't expect the cakes to have been made on the same day.

Live Station Video: Making Nitrogen Meringue Cookies with Durian Ice Cream

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