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
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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
Koikeya Strong Grilled Seafood Potato Chips: Koikeya has a line of STRONG potato chips, I guess indicating that they're bolder than regular potato chips. The ridged style is thinner than Ruffles, and more generally, I find that Japanese potato chips don't have the same substantial bite that American potato chips tends to have. This flavor reminded me a little bit of shrimp chips but it definitely had a slightly richer flavor, the type you get from imitation crab sticks. It was pretty decent but not one I find myself drawn to purchasi... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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Luna Vanilla Yogurt with Summer Hyuganatsu Citrus: This brand of yogurt comes in 3-packs, all with a different primary-colored label. Unfortunately, my inability to read Japanese made it impossible to know what those colored labels meant, but this particular yellow one shows a bear hugging a large yellow-colored fruit resembling a pomelo, which I assumed to be the flavor. Only after doing some research after I got home did I find that the fruit is a Hyuganatsu, which is a type of Japanese citrus hybrid between a yuzu and pomelo. I was sur... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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Chichiasu 毎朝快調ヨーグルト: I wasn't expecting to write a review of this yogurt, having now tried several brands of plain yogurt in a sad attempt to counteract the inevitable effects that stay-at-home measures have had on my BMI. But amidst the blur of blue-and-white-labelled standard yogurts was this gem, literally translated to english as Good Morning Yogurt, which is definitely not just a plain yogurt. Sized like kids yogurt, which seems common in Japan, this yogurt pack tastes like a yogurt version of Yakult, the... (read more) 3.0/5.0
recommended japanese inegaya chichiasu 毎朝快調ヨーグルト 3.0