What Is Mao Shan Wang? Musang King, D197 and Raja Kunyit

Mao Shan Wang (猫山王) is the Chinese name for Musang King, a Malaysian durian cultivar and one of the most popular durians in both Malaysia and Singapore. It began life in Kelantan as Raja Kunyit, and Malaysia's official register of durian cultivars lists it as D197. Four names, one fruit. So if you have seen 猫山王 on one box, Musang King on another and D197 on a plant listing, and wondered if those were three different durians: they aren't. What people love about it fits in one line: it is bitter and sweet at the same time.

Below: what each name means, how one Kelantan tree ended up famous in Pahang, what the fruit tastes like, and why two boxes both labelled MSW can still taste quite different.

Why does one durian have four names?

It crossed languages, and picked up a government code along the way. Each name records a different stage of the fruit's history.

Musang King and Mao Shan Wang are really one name heard in two languages. There are two explanations for the Chinese one. Either it is a rough phonetic rendering of musang, or it translates the word's Malay meaning, the cat-like Asian palm civet. Nobody has settled which, and the cat stuck either way. You will also see it run together as Maoshanwang.

D197 is the least romantic of the four and the most precise. Malaysia's agriculture ministry has kept a list of registered durian varieties since 1934. Each one gets a common name and a code starting with "D", and by 2021 there were over 200 of them. The codes are widely used across Southeast Asia. It is the same system that gives D24 its name.

Where did Mao Shan Wang come from?

Kelantan. The first Raja Kunyit tree is recorded as planted by a farmer in 1970 at Pulau Raya, Tanah Merah, and later "moved" to Gua Musang.

Things changed in the 1980s. Tan Lai Fook, from Raub in Pahang, came across a Raja Kunyit tree in Gua Musang and took a branch home to graft. The new trees drew in other growers, and the cultivar was named after Gua Musang. A durian orchard owner quoted by The Vibes in 2022 dates its registration as D197 to 1993.

So the fruit was born in Kelantan, but Pahang farmers, especially around Raub and Bentong, built its commercial reputation. In why we only buy Pahang old-tree MSW, we put it plainly: that history makes Pahang synonymous with the best Musang King.

What does MSW taste like?

Bitter and sweet in the same mouthful. That pairing is what people mean when they say MSW. The flesh is buttery, thick and bright yellow, with a robust flavour and a hint of bitterness. The old name, Turmeric King, was about that colour.

Texture matters as much as taste. Good MSW is creamy and dense. Our own product pages describe D24 as gentler and Black Thorn as lighter and airier by comparison, which tells you where MSW sits: at the rich, heavy end.

The seed is famously small, and it is part of the fruit's reputation. It isn't a promise, though. Even our single-box product page notes that seed size varies naturally from fruit to fruit.

Fruit from old trees adds another layer. In old-tree MSW we look for a more complex bittersweetness, often described as having overtones of coffee, caramel or a faint alcoholic edge. We also look for drier, denser flesh, the texture durian eaters call "dry sticky". It melts like a thick custard.

What does a Musang King durian look like?

Start with the bottom of the fruit. Musang King has a dusky green husk with a distinctive star shape at the base.

Don't lean on it too hard. Appearance can overlap between varieties, and a star on the outside says nothing about whether the fruit inside was picked at the right time or handled well. For the full set of checks, from the stem to the questions worth asking a seller, read our guide on how to pick a good Mao Shan Wang.

Is all Mao Shan Wang the same?

Same cultivar, different fruit. D197 tells you what the tree is. It doesn't tell you where the tree grew, how old it is, when the fruit was harvested or what happened to it afterwards.

Before Spike launched, our founders spent six months touring orchards across Malaysia, from Johor to Kelantan, tasting and grading as they went. They came back with one narrow answer: Pahang, Old Tree, Highland, Mao Shan Wang.

• Pahang, for the Raub and Bentong history and the well-drained, mineral-rich soil.
• Highland, because most of the famous MSW orchards sit on Pahang's hilly slopes. In our view, cooler nights slow the fruit's growth and give its flavour longer to develop.
• Old trees, for that deeper, drier bittersweetness. Younger trees, in our experience, give simpler and sweeter fruit.

You may also see MSW sold as "Bitter" or "Sweet". Those are selections of MSW, not separate varieties. Same cultivar, different picks.

Handling is the last variable. Ours is frozen at peak season with Agrifreeze, fresh-locked, then delivered chilled. If you want to know how that works, read the science behind Agrifreeze.

Quick answers

Is Musang King the same as Mao Shan Wang?

Yes. Musang King is the Malay-English name and Mao Shan Wang (猫山王) is the Chinese name for the same Malaysian cultivar, registered as D197.

What does D197 mean?

It is Musang King's code in Malaysia's register of durian cultivars, where every registered variety gets a code starting with "D".

Raja Kunyit vs Mao Shan Wang: what's the difference?

None. Raja Kunyit, "Turmeric King", is the cultivar's original Malay name. It became known as Musang King after Gua Musang, and as Mao Shan Wang in Chinese.

Is D24 the same as Mao Shan Wang?

No. D24, also called Sultan, is a different cultivar with golden-yellow flesh. We describe ours as less intense and more approachable than MSW, and we sell it as a separate box.

Is Black Thorn a type of MSW?

No. Black Thorn is its own cultivar, registered in Malaysia as D200. It has salmon-hued flesh and a lighter, airier texture than MSW.

If you want to taste everything this piece describes, start with our Pahang Old-Tree Mao Shan Wang single box. It holds as much as one whole durian, fresh-locked at peak season with Agrifreeze and delivered chilled.