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
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
Mah Ze Dahr Banana Bread: Mah Ze Dahr is a small bakery in Greenwich Village with pastries carefully organized on wooden boards and raised platters, somehow conveying both abundance (through its variety of baked goods) and scarcity (there are <10 of each). This banana bread was served in a sizable disc, like an enlarged, leveled-off muffin top, or an especially thick cookie. Unfortunately, while banana bread is one of my favorites, I found it to be a bit on the dry side, and the sugar coating on top made it far too... (read more) 2.0/5.0
desserts bakery nyc mahzedahrbakery banana bread 2.0
Trader Joe's Cheesy Trees Sharp Cheddar Cheese Crackers: I like some of Trader Joe's other cheese crackers, such as their Cheddar Rockets and their Gorgonzola crackers, so I decided to give these Cheesy Trees a try. They come in a smaller box and contain two individually wrapped trays of crackers stacked one of top of one another. The crackers have a crumbly texture and have this kind of greasy cheese taste to them, kind of like melted low-quality cheddar cheese you put in the microwave to eat over tortilla chips. I really don't like them becau... (read more) 2.0/5.0
avoid cheese traderjoes cheesy trees sharp cheddar crackers 2.0
Almond Dream Pumpkin spice almond drink with cinnamon: Purchased from Whole Foods, I was hopeful about this seasonal pumpkin spice almond drink, but it became immediately obvious upon tasting that this is meant as a flavoring for coffee or other beverages, rather than something desirable to drink on its own. I tried adding it to chia seed pudding and even to oatmeal, but the flavoring just made me want to eat those things even less. Too sweet and artificial tasting. 2.0/5.0
drinks whole foods almondmilk pumpkin pumokinspice almonddream spice almond drink cinnamon 2.0
Calpico White peach drink: As a kid, I used to drink Calpico when visiting family in Taiwan. A Japanese “soft drink,” Calpico has a milky-white color but is much thinner in consistency. I remember it being very sweet but probably haven’t had it in over a decade until I came across this white peach flavor. My memory ended up being pretty accurate, though, as the drink was far too sweet and tasted like liquid peach gummies. It’s hard to imagine a situation when it would be desirable to drink this. 2.0/5.0
drinks japanese calpico white peach drink 2.0