Berkeley Bowl Japan Mix: The only grocery store I know that has rice crackers available in bulk, Berkeley Bowl's take on Japanese rice crackers is as good as any. The multi-colored, spherical rice snacks each contain a single roasted peanut. Some are topped with sesame, others mixed with nori; all are glazed with a lightly savory coating. A recommended snack. 4.0/5.0
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Blockheads Black sesame shaved ice with red bean, rice cakes, almond jelly, and condensed milk: Finally got to try this LA-based Taiwanese shaved ice chain. The black sesame ice cream had decent flavor but the texture was not as fluffy as I knew it could be given my recent experience at Powder in San Francisco. At Blockheads, they make their rice cakes in house, which are essentially tang yuan (the mochi-like glutinous rice dumplings that often accompany red bean soup). I expected their almond jelly to be almond jello, but it was more like the harder gelatin cubes often used in Asia... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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Breadtop matcha red bean bun: Breadtop is an Asian bakery chain in Australia. There is one close to the hotel I'm staying at in Brisbane, and it offers staples like sausage buns and sesame balls but also modern takes, like this matcha red bean bun. Unfortunately, the bun was unsuccessfully; the dough had very little matcha flavor, and the red bean filling was overly sweet and uninspired. The dusting of icing sugar made it messy to eat, without much added flavor. 2.0/5.0
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Chin Chin grass jelly drink: I'm a big fan of gelatin in drinks, from boba to grass jelly. For those who haven't had grass jelly before, it's not chewy like boba but soft (it's less firm than jello). Unfortunately, the drink overall is too sweet, though the grass jelly adds a slightly medicinal flavor that cuts through. Because the jelly settles to the bottom of the can, much goes to waste after the liquid runs out. A good companion, though, to spiced Asian food. 3.0/5.0
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Chung Hsiang Foods Laver Soda Crackers: Perfectly seasoned, melt-in-your-mouth buttery. 3.5/5.0
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