三星社 green tea castella: Somehow manages to be both moist and slightly dry. Green tea flavor is not bad, but the cake overall is overly sweet. Expensive ($5 for 4 pieces) 2.5/5.0
greentea matcha castella japanese hmart cake sweets green tea 2.5
Tao Kae Noi Spicy Hi tempura seaweed: This version of the TKN seaweed snack is backed with a layer of fried tempura, giving it more rigidity and bite. The flavor is a bit like ramen seasoning packets but with a more prominent nori flavor. While the bag is resealable, the entire package can easily be consumed in one serving – not because it's particularly tasty, but because there isn't much in it. 2.5/5.0
hmart japanese taokaenoi spicy hi tempura seaweed 2.5
Ginza Tokyo Sugar Butter Sand Tree cookies: Japanese sandwich cookies with a dense, crunchy exterior (somewhat flaky when you bite through it) and a cloyingly sweet icing in the middle reminiscent of cereal milk. Nice packaging, but disappointing flavor. 2.5/5.0
japanese cookie sugarbuttersandtree 2.5 foreign ginzatokyo sugar butter sand tree cookies
Meiji Kyo-matcha chocolates: These thin square chocolates have a light green color and ornate embossed floral design. While it has a concentrated matcha flavor, the chocolate itself has a waxy and dense mouthfeel similar to white chocolate. The ingredient list has sugar followed by cocoa butter, which seems about right. 2.5/5.0
meiji japanese matcha chocolate 2.5 greentea sweets kyo-matcha
Ikedaya Mangetsu: Shrimp crackers in disc form, flavored with sesame seeds, cuttlefish, and MSG. Similarly textured to the bright pink shrimp crackers sometimes offered at American-ized Chinese restaurants, those these are a bit more dense. Not as boldly flavored as shrimp crackers, though the nori does add a new salinity to the mix. Purchased from Tokyo Fish Market in Berkeley. 2.5/5.0
japanese shrimp crackers seafood tokyofishmarket ikedaya mangetsu 2.5
Koikeya Pride Potato Hidennoko Norishio: Nori-flavored potato chips from Japan. Texture is less crispy than American potato chips, so you don't get the same satisfying crunch. Light on seasoning. Not bad, but not particularly good either. 2.5/5.0
chips japanese nori potatochips koikeyapridepotato hidennoko norishio 2.5