Monday, June 4, 2007

Snacks and Food Products - Current Picks

Currently obsessed with the folowing products:




Calbee Okonomiyaki Flavoured Potato Chips (Japan)
-> I think this is the licensed HK-made one. Anyway, both the HK and Japan version uses U.S. potatoes so they should taste the same. I would buy the Japanese version, but there were none in the store at the time.



Ebara Kuro Senbei (Japan)
-> Surprisingly addictive. I wasn't a big fan of senbei (rice crackers) to begin with, but this one is especially tasty. Really goes well with nama-biiru (draft beer, preferably Yebisu or Kirin Ichiban). Anyway, this senbei is black because it's coated with Kuro Goma (black sesame).



Tokyo Karinto Kurohachi Karintou (Japan)
-> This one is yummy. It's hard to explain what this snack exactly is - but for Indonesians out there, this snack is suspiciously similar to 'telur gabus'. So basically, it's like a flour-based semi-crispy fried snack coated with brown honey.



S&P Glutinous Rice with Durian in Coconut Cream (Thailand)
-> This one's pretty tasty. The name explains it all, it's basically a Thai dessert much like Khao Neow Mamouang (mango with sticky rice) but instead of Mangoes, this one comes with slices of durian. Considering how rare and expensive durian is in Australia, this product is really valuable. However, I don't think this product would sell well in Asia, since you can easily make this dish by yourself (make a plate of sticky rice, put durian slices above it, and top it off with lashings of coconut cream. easy.) This microwaveable snack is tasty albeit a tad soggy when it comes out of the microwave. But it's good enough to cure my durian cravings.



Pomegranate Juice (South Korea)
-> I don't know what the brands are because I can't read Hangul!!
anyway, this pomegranate juice is mighty tasty!!




Nittou Koucha Gyunyuu de Royal Milk Tea (Japan)
-> Put 3 tablespoons of this powdered tea in a glass, fill the glass with milk, and voila, Japanese-style milk tea!! Really tasty and also, a cheap alternative to buying those expensive, $4-a-pop Kirin milk tea.
N.B: This product is meant to be used with milk. Don't be so smart as to add iced water instead of milk, hoping to get plain iced tea. It doesn't work that way. The taste is just awful!



Chibori Chibon Mougiya (Japan)
-> Really nice Japanese cookies. Comes in 5 varieties in a box: Almond & Cacao; Kabocha to Aamondo (Pumpkin & Almond); Ocha to Gyokuro (Green tea & refined tea); Kyounin to Kokonatsu (Apricot seed & coconut); Rakkasei to Goma (Peanuts & Sesame).



Bull-Dog Kakeru dake Demiglace Sauce (Japan)
-> I have mentioned this product many times. Totally indispensible. Certainly one of my favorite sauces.



Nissin Ramenya-san Asahikawa Shouyu (Japan)
-> Current favorite instant noodle. On the package, it says "Men wa hokkaidou san komugi 100%" (the noodle is made of 100% Hokkaido wheat). I have no idea why Japan is so obsessed about food items that come out of Hokkaido. Hokkaido milk. Hokkaido wheat. crabs. clams. the list goes on. What's so special about Hokkaido?



Edo Pack Custard Daifuku & Kuri Daifuku (Japan)
-> Yummy. Especially the Kuri (chestnut) daifuku. Really addictive.

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