Wakabato Iso Hineri rice crackers: Thought I hadn't tasted this particular brand before, these seaweed-flavored rice crackers are a classic Japanese snack. The rice crackers have a braided texture and curled shape, almost like a tentacle, and are coated with a sweet and savory glaze speckled with nori. Addictive and well balanced, these are the rice crackers I most often crave. Purchased from Tokyo Fish Market. 4.0/5.0
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JJ Bakery Peanut Mochi: Generously sized chewy and sweet mochi coated with peanut powder and filled with a sweet, textured peanut paste. Mochi is glistening on the inside. Holds up well in the fridge (I had it a day after it was purchased, and it was still delicious). 4.0/5.0
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Yaokin Cabbage Taro Baked Cookies: This bag of puffed corn snacks was purchased solely based on packaging, with its friendly green police frog and lack of English labeling. They are more airy than your typical cheese ball, with a flavor that is almost like a junk food mirepoix, with tomato, onion, and carrots. It's unmistakably Japanese, with added sprinklings of nori and MSG. And, like many Asian snacks, they come in small packages, with only 3 servings in a bag. Brought out during a party, these were quickly devoured an... (read more) 4.0/5.0
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Shirafuji Seika Ika mirin age: To mark the occasion of reaching 1,000 tasty snacks, I went to Tokyo Fish Market to purchase Japanese snacks. I purposely picked two bags without any English on the packaging. The first was a squid-flavored rice cracker which, according to the ingredients, contains shrimp, cuttlefish, and octopus. Combining these seafood flavors with a generous amount of MSG leads to a umami-rich snack. The irregularly shaped crackers have a deep orange color and a shiny coating. Very satisfying and tasty. 3.5/5.0
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Uji Purple Potato Soft Serve: Returning to this small ice cream shop on Shattuck to sample additional soft serve flavors, I tried their seasonal purple potato ice cream, which came in a lovely shade of lavender. The ice cream had a rich milk flavor with only a hint of potato at the end. Given that the tofu, black sesame, and matcha flavors from Uji are all vastly superior (I've sampled all three flavors by now), I wouldn't recommend the purple potato ice cream, but it's decent. 3.0/5.0
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Royce' Potatochip Chocolate: After trying some of the flavored ganache at this Japanese chocolatier, I spotted an unusual chocolate covered potato chip line and asked for a sample. Ridged and thick-cut, the potato chips are surprisingly crispy, and the dark chocolate works unexpectedly well with the fried chips. It finishes with a familiar flavor of vegetable oil, but not in an overwhelming way. I'm sure that the potato chips without the chocolate taste better than your typical Lay's or Ruffles. A winning combinatio... (read more) 4.0/5.0
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