Calbee Black Pepper Potato Crisps: There are two Japanese versions of Pringles that I've seen on the shelves from major brands Calbee and YBC. Both come in familiar tennis-tube packaging and feature a hyperbolic paraboloid-shaped stackable chip. The differences are minor: the Japanese chips are a bit thicker and tend to taste more of fried potato than of their powdered flavoring. These black pepper flavored chips have a decent spiciness to them and are otherwise fairly expected – neither good nor bad. I recently learned t... (read more) 3.0/5.0
japanese inegaya calbee black pepper potato crisps 3.0
Parle Parle-G Biscuits: Another Indian snack I received in my snack care package. According to WIkipedia, these are the best selling brand of biscuits in the world, having been produced for almost 100 years since 1939. The rectangular biscuits feature its name surrounded by a laurel design and are a golden brown color, tasting slightly sweet and normally paired with tea or coffee. I ate them without any accompaniment and enjoyed their neutral flavor and texture, though they are pretty much exactly what you would... (read more) 3.0/5.0
indian parle parle-g biscuits 3.0
Lotte Strawberry Toppo: Toppo is another staple convenience store (kobini) snack in Japan. I read somewhere that they're like inverted Pocky sticks, but they're not so much inverted as redistributed: the snack consists of long straws with a neutral biscuit exterior filled with flavored hardened icing such as chocolate and strawberry. The strawberry flavor has a good balance of sweet and tart, reminding me of the Koala's March snacks but less sweet as there is a more balanced biscuit to icing ratio. Like many Jap... (read more) 3.0/5.0
japanese strawberry inegaya lotte toppo 3.0
Kurkure Chilli Chatka: I was kindly sent a package of Indian snacks to review and started with this bag of familiar fried corn crunchies (like Cheetos) with an unfamiliar flavor or Chilli Chatka, containing a powdered coating combining a range of spices like garlic and chili powder, cumin, and fenugreek. The one item on the ingredient list that was new to me was ajwain powder, which I learned is commonly used in Indian cuisine and has flavor profile similar to anise and oregano. Definitely more spiced than spicy... (read more) 3.0/5.0
indian kurkure chilli chatka 3.0
Calpis Taste Calpis Melon Drink: Melon is a very popular flavor in Japan not just for candies but also for drinks like fruit sodas. This drink is the melon-version of the popular beverage calpis, a milky yogurt-flavored drink common enough to find in most Asian supermarkets in the US. This line of products is part of their low-calorie offerings, and it contains the artificial sweetener aspartame. It tastes like a slightly milder version of liquid candy, definitely with an aftertaste I'm familiar with from drinking diet so... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks japanese maretsu calpis taste melon drink 3.0
Lotte Chocolate Caramel Choco Pie in Ginza : The iconic snack Choco Pie from Korean brand Lotte is available in most places shops in Japan. This particular Ginza chocolate caramel cake flavor is part of a special edition "around the world" series which takes iconic desserts from various cities around the world. For example, it previously featured the NYC cheesecake. I've never actually heard of a Tokyo-specific chocolate caramel cake (and a quick Google Search comes up empty). This is a very decadent Choco Pie, with chocolate cake i... (read more) 3.0/5.0
japanese desserts inegaya lotte chocolate caramel choco pie in ginza 3.0