These tourists are eating durian flame-grilled with a blow torch

These tourists are eating durian fruit flame grilled with a blow torch.

The love-it-or-hate-it fruit – famed for its pungent smell – was being served up with the unusual cooking method at a night market in Bangkok, Thailand.

A chef laid out the expensive fruit still in its shell on a grill before blasting them with a blow torch until their hard spiky exterior was black and glowing.

Footage shows tourists tucking in to the soft yellow fruit after it had been warmed up under the intense heat.

In April this year Alibaba founder Jack Ma signed a $428 million deal to export the famous fruit from Thailand – the world's biggest producer – to China.

Millions of durian fruits have been sold on Alibaba by Chinese importers since the deal was struck on April 20 with the Thai government.

Retail prices of Durian in Thailand are on average around 250 baht per kg when it is not in season or 120 baht per kg when it is in season in June and July – between £6 and £2 respectively. The weight is measured when it is still in the hard shell.

But shops in London's China Town area sell durian for £12 per kg.