2017 05 06 13.34.15

Riska Mentai Corn Snack: I love that Japanese culture is seemingly contradictory. There is the upmost respect for serenity and simplicity, along with an obsession with quality and workmanship (e.g., tea gardens, sashimi and sushi rice, Yurbai melons) - yet, at the same time, it can be loud, brash, and colorful (e.g., manga, Pachinko). This purple bag of Mentai (cod roe) puffed corn snacks is sensory overload all on its own, with multiple exclamation points, bold lettering, and metallic silver foil highlighting. I have to admit that when I purchased it, I thought the image was of a roasted red pepper, not salted cod roe, but the flavor is closer to sweet chili anyway - eerily similar to gochujang. The texture is a riff off umaibo (portable Japanese corn puff tubes), which is to say that it's significantly lighter and airier than American corn puffs and melts in your mouth much faster as a result. The puffs are cut into consistently-sized rings, making them almost too easy to snack on (portion control was hard with this one). Very addictive; junk food at its finest. Oishii! 4.5/5.0

exceptional japanese mentai cod roe fish seafood junkfood riska corn snack 4.5 tokyofishmarket
5/7/2017