Glico 牧場しぼり Affogato Ice Cream: These little ice cream cups, about the standard size of paper-cup ice cream snacks you'd get as a kid in the states, come sealed in plastic packaging. The affogato flavor consisted of milk ice cream surrounded along the perimeter and at the base with an espresso-flavored ice, whose consistency was somewhere between shaved ice and bruleed sugar. Overall, it was decently enjoyable, in the way that normal store-bought ice cream has a familiar but comforting taste. 3.0/5.0
icecream japanese glico 牧場しぼり affogato ice cream 3.0
Haldiram's Kashmiri Mixture: I had Haldiram's a bunch of times growing up on playdates and have fond memories of eating Lachha potato sticks, mini match-stick like potato straws, deep fried and seasoned with a robust blend of spices. This was my first time having the Kashmiri Mixture, consisting of mung beans, potato sticks, and cashew nuts, though there are a few other types of textures, including small crunchy "noodles" (they remind me of miniature ramen noodle snacks) along with fried pieces resembling halved rice c... (read more) 3.0/5.0
indian haldirams kashmiri mixture 3.0
Nissin シスコーン BIG strawberry shortcake corn flakes: Nissin BIG is a popular brand of frosted flake cereal, the equivalent of Tony the Tiger frosted flakes. In Japan, there are much fewer cereal options, always in bags rather than boxes, and less than a handful are aimed specifically towards kids -- in the grocery stores I've been to, the cereal takes up a small fraction of the aisle compared to an entire side that you'd normally find in the states. I've had the standard frosted flakes flavor before, which tastes exactly as you'd expect, but... (read more) 3.0/5.0
japanese nissin シスコーン big strawberry shortcake corn flakes 3.0 cereal nissinworld
Venus Delites Fig Filled Cookies: I purchased these cookies at Seijo Ishii, a grocery store specializing in imported products. I haven't seen Fig Newtons, or similar equivalents, since moving to Japan, and seeing them made me crave the flavor of the humble cookie. These were about 2/3 the size and had more of a crumbly rather than soft cookie exterior, but I found the chewy fig center to be more satisfying in texture and concentrated fig flavor than Fig Newtons, or the Newman's Own version. But I still prefer the softness... (read more) 3.0/5.0
cookies turkey venus delites fig filled 3.0 seijoishii
Frito Lay Pizza-La Ebimayo Chips: Pizza-La is a takeout pizza chain in Japan second in popularity only to Domino's. While I haven't actually had their pizza before, I have had pizza in Japan several times from chains like Pizza Hut, takeout at grocery stores, and acclaimed pizzeria restaurants, so I've experienced some of the regional specialties tailored to Japanese tastes. In particular, it's common to see mayonnaise drizzled across the top of pizza pies, giving the pizza a creamy, tangy, and sweet flavor (the sweetness ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
chips japanese fritolay pizza-la ebimayo 3.0 queensisetan
Bandai Sumikkogurashi Taberareru Mascot: I stumbled upon these extraordinarily cute treats at my local Family Mart convenience store and couldn't resist getting this special Halloween offering. It came in the refrigerated aisle and features Sanrio characters from a series I'm unfamiliar with called Sumikkogurashi. Each character has a bean paste filling (according to the website, these two characters were milk and maple flavored) and the exterior is a slightly firmer but also generally soft marzipan-like coating. I've had this t... (read more) 3.0/5.0
familymart japanese bandai sumikkogurashi taberareru mascot 3.0