Shiro-Hige Cream Puff Factory Totoro Cream Puff: Shiro-Hige Cream Puff Factory is a small, quaint shop / cafe about a 10 minute walk from the Odakyu Line in Tokyo. I'm not positive of its official affiliation with Studio Ghibli, but it has so much tasteful Ghibli decor, including original watercolors and sketches, that I would imagine it has been sanctioned by the studio. Their speciality is Totoro cream puffs ranging in flavor from strawberry, chocolate, banana, and regular, each with their own adorable decoration; for example, the stra... (read more) 4.0/5.0
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Silang Oatmeal Crackers: nutty crumbly cookies (rather than crackers) that are barely sweetened. Comes in individual serving packs of two cookies, which makes them ideal for a quick snack in between meals (but they aren't very filling). 2.5/5.0
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Snow Brand Mango Pudding: The texture of this Japanese pudding is really something else - it's just set, so much lighter than American puddings and buckles a bit under the pressure of a normal-weight spoon. It's definitely the best store-bought pudding texture I've had, but I have a feeling as I try more things in Japan, that may change. The flavor of the pudding is very similar to Chinese mango-flavored gelatin cups, which is very sweet and kind of artificial tasting. I mostly like it because of the texture. 3.0/5.0
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Snow Brand Almond Pudding: I've now tried every flavor of this brand of pudding, which has an exceptionally tender slippery texture, more like a panna cotta or custard than American puddings. This almond flavored one was my favorite - it had the most neutral flavor and wasn't too sweet, tasting purely of sweet almonds. 3.5/5.0
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Snow Brand Black Sesame Pudding: This is the final unique flavor I've been able to find of this brand of Japanese pudding / custard. The black sesame has a sweet flavor, lacking some of the savoriness you would get in a true black sesame dessert, but satisfying as a sweet dessert. The texture is excellent and barely set, which I am especially impressed by for a packaged product. Worth trying! 3.5/5.0
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Sogetsu Kuromatsu Doriyaki: This doriyaki was an unexpected special gift from someone I met who knew about my snack blog. Because it was given to me, I didn't get to visit the shop directly, but the red bean pancake comes from Sogetsu, an almost 100-year-old brand whose shop in Kita-Ku attracts very long lines. The doriyaki has a marbled color, which is where its name Kuromatsu (black pine) comes from, as it resembles the bark of a tree. This coloring comes from a combination of brown sugar and honey used in the bat... (read more) 4.5/5.0
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