Ahlgrens Bilar Original foam candy: A Swedish candy whose recipe has remained constant since its introduction in 1953, Ahlgrens Bilar consists of pastel-colored car-shaped candies with a texture similar to a stale marshmallow. It has bounce, but eating them also strangely feels like taking a bite out of ear plugs. The flavor reminds me of a sweetened version of the dental paste you get during a cleaning. Maybe mint, but also vaguely fruity, I believe that each color is actually a different flavor, none of which are particul... (read more) 2.0/5.0
candy avoid swedish junkfood ahlgrensbilar original foam 2.0
Kabaya Pudding Chocolate: Purchased this bag of chocolate from the subway station convenience store. The miniature pouch contains even more miniature pudding-shaped chocolates made presumably with white chocolate, since they have this waxy not-real-chocolate texture. They're really cute, though! The flavor does taste like those pudding packs that have a caramel top, or like the pudding you might get with bubble tea, but a very artificial type. 4/5 for the packaging and cute-factor, but only a 2/5 for flavor. 2.0/5.0
japanese kabaya pudding chocolate 2.0
North Colors Nori Potato Chips: Bought these potato chips from a local grocery store. The brand logo is a symbol of Hokkaido, the northernmost island in Japan and what I've learned is often representative of quality, particularly when it comes to food. According to the website, these chips are made with rice bran oil, salt, and sea water from Hokkaido, along with flecks of Nori. Unfortunately, I found the ridged chips to be subpar; they're very saturated in oil, which gives them a weak crispy texture and makes them feel... (read more) 2.0/5.0
potatochips hokkaido japanese northcolors nori potato chips 2.0
Kikkoman Banana Soy Milk: Kikkoman has a bunch of fruit-flavored soy milk juice boxes that come in similar packaging, but differently colored. I got the banana milk from 7-11 to try, but it was shockingly sweet, like drinking liquid banana runts. Would not again. 2.0/5.0
drinks japanese 711 kikkoman banana soy milk 2.0
New New York Club Rainbow Bagel with Strawberry Cream Cheese: There's a small bagel shop close to me designed to look like a NYC bagel shop, replete with white and blue tiles, metal shopping baskets filled with Skittles, and a neon Bagel sign in the window. I hadn't considered that bagels were available in Tokyo but I guess why not, so I decided to see how well it stacked up compared to real New York bagels. I got the most NYC and Japanese combination I could imagine: a rainbow bagel, in an intense purple, blue, and red swirled color palette, filled w... (read more) 2.0/5.0
bagels japanese azabujuban newnewyorkclub rainbow bagel strawberry cream cheese 2.0
Kellogg's Hershey Matcha ChocoBIts: It's fun to discover new products and brands in Japan, but there are also a lot of familiar brands offering different items especially for the Japanese market. You can find Kellogg's cereal, for example, but I've never heard of ChocoBits in the states, and I've definitely never had matcha-flavored cereal. The product photography is pretty misleading for this one. The square chocolate nuggets have a more muted tan-ish brown color and are unglazed; the matcha inside is more like a hardened i... (read more) 2.0/5.0
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