Calbee Yuzu and black pepper shrimp chips: I grew up eating MSG-laden Calbee shrimp crackers, so it was neat to see they are celebrating 50 years. This is the first time I tried anything outside their original flavor. The crispy crackers had a tangy slightly sour seasoning that was more interesting than tasty. Still, adding a yuzu flavor to their line seems appropriate and on trend; maybe this will help them reach 50 more years. 3.0/5.0
japanese calbee yuzu black pepper shrimp chips 3.0
Calbee Grill-A-Corn Lobster in Supreme Soup Flavored Corn Chips: Purchased from Hong Kong Supermarket in Chinatown, these Cheetos-like corn snacks have a remarkably concentrated lobster flavor that I think most people could identify blind. The seafood flavor is immediately distinctive from other more popular seasonings you might stumble upon in Asian grocery stores, like squid or octopus. I'm not sure where the soup part comes in, and there isn't anything particularly Chinese about the overall taste; it has a creamy flavor, as if you're eating lobster... (read more) 3.0/5.0
hongkongsupermarket junkfood seafood chinese calbee grill-a-corn lobster in supreme soup flavored corn chips 3.0
Calbee Mentaiko cod roe potato crisps: These are Calbee branded potato crisps seemingly designed to compete directly with Pringles, as they come stacked in a similarly-shaped tube. The potato chips have a light seasoning on them but mostly taste of plain pringles, with a little bit of chili flavoring. Too plain to be interesting, although from the packaging, it looked to be a special Japanese flavor worth trying. 2.5/5.0
chips japanese calbee mentaiko cod roe potato crisps 2.5
Calbee Pizza Potato Chips: These are junk food potato chips I see commonly at convenience stores in Japan. (Calbee is kind of like the Japanese version of Frito-Lay.) Though the packaging shows pepperoni pizza, it doesn't have a meaty flavor to it and instead tastes oddly sweet, like too-sweet tomato sauce. The predominant flavor is sweet potato, but there's also a little bit of zingy cheddar flavor, but not much else that is reminiscent of pizza (for example, no oregano seasoning as far as I could tell). The chip... (read more) 2.5/5.0
chips potatochips japanese junkfood calbee pizza potato 2.5
Calbee Takumi Sendai Beef & Black Pepper Chips: I'm pretty fascinated by meat-flavored snacks, which are very popular in Asia. These are chips you can purchase at 7-11 in Japan that are flavored like peppered steak. They have a smoky flavor that do taste of black pepper, but they also have a meaty sweetness as if the beef were marinated in a sweet glaze. The chips are thin and crispy - similar to Lay's and a bit better than the other potato chips I've had here, many of which are translucent with oil. Overall, though, the pepper flavor... (read more) 3.0/5.0
chips 711 japanese calbee takumi sendai beef black pepper 3.0
Calbee Cheddar Cheese Crisps: These are puffed corn chips, similar in texture to fried shrimp chips you get from certain types of Chinese restaurants. In other words, they have a type of crispy-styrofoam-like texture rather than resembling potato chips or crisps. Overall, the cheese flavor is so-so; I definitely didn't like it enough to buy it again. 2.5/5.0
japanese cheese chips calbee cheddar crisps 2.5