Hu Wang Roasted Seaweed Prawn Crackers: From Taiwan, these shrimp crackers are much lighter than the multi-color prawn crackers sometimes served at American-ized restaurants. They taste much better too, with a slightly sweet shrimp flavor dusted with powdered nori, which adds salinity without being overly salty. According to the packaging, "nutrients intact!" Recommended if you can find them... 3.5/5.0
recommended seafood chinese huwang roasted seaweed prawn crackers 3.5
Jane-Jane Hot Prepared Shredded Squid: I grew up eating this dried squid snack and continue eating it to this day. The stringy texture makes is more manageable and snackable than jerky, and its heavy MSG seasoning is full of umami. The Hot is not exactly spicy but had a satisfying kick. It's also just a little bit sweet. 3.5/5.0
squid janejane hmart seafood 3.5 recommended msg chinese hot prepared shredded
Jia Duo Bao herbal tea: Sweet and refreshing chilled tea that tastes of grass jelly. Minimalist packaging but classic flavor. 4.0/5.0
tea chinese grassjelly drinks recommended herbaltea jiaduobao herbal 4.0
Jia Duo Bao Herbal Tea: This brand of herbal tea seems to have dropped its iconic red bottle for a new golden one. Nonetheless, the flavor is exactly the same: more sweet than herbal but with a refreshing honey flavor. 2.5/5.0
drinks asian chinese jiaduobao herbal tea 2.5
Jiu Zhen Nan pineapple cake: From Taiwan, a country that reveres the pineapple cake. Cake itself is very buttery and rich, but the pineapple filling is substantial and satisfying. Good in small quantities. 3.0/5.0
jiuzhennan chinese taiwanese pineapplecake cake pineapple asian 3.0
Kuang Chuan Oolong Tea: I spent some time this summer looking for the best asian grocery store to buy bottled tea in Chinatown and ended up wandering into a handful of different small shops. To be honest, I don’t recall exactly which one this drink was from, but this bottle of oolong tea was decent - slightly roasted flavor, unsweetened, and thirst quenching. It wasn’t good enough for me to seek out again, though. 3.0/5.0
drinks tea chinese kuangchuan oolong 3.0