Mont Thabor Turtle melon pan: I stopped by a bakery on my way to the train station and stumbled upon turtle melon-pan, which some may remember was the original avatar of Tasty Snacking until I designed my own. Having never seen one in person, I had to try it. The bread has a fairly standard dinner roll flavor, which is to say pretty neutral, while the "shell" of the turtle is sweet and reminiscent of Chinese pineapple bun, though less rich. It doesn't taste like melon (I believe it's called that for its appearance rather... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended japanese bakery bread montthabor turtle melon pan 3.5
Family Mart Melon Gelato Frappe: I was perusing the offering at the Japanese convenience store Family Mart and found a selection of frozen "drinks," or frappes. They have a bunch of different flavors, including strawberry, peach, and banana. I decided to try the Melon, which seems to be a special flavor in Japan (I recently had melon-flavored soda at Moss Burger for example). The drink comes frozen but has a conical lid that extends almost to the base of the cup, keeping the center hollow. Once you purchase the drink, yo... (read more) 2.5/5.0
drinks familymart japanese melon gelato frappe 2.5
People's Pop Melon Basil Popsicle: I got this popsicle from NYC-based frozen treat brand People's Pop for free at a pop-up. It had a refreshing concentrated cantaloupe flavor whose natural sweetness was complemented by fresh aromatic basil. A sweet and just a tad savory combination that worked really well in the summer heat. 4.0/5.0
recommended frozen cantaloupe sweets peoplespop melon basil popsicle 4.0
Furano Melon caramel: These melon-flavored chewy candies are from Hokkaido, purchased by way of Jmart in Flushing. I love the packaging, which somehow managed to combine the rainbow lavender fields of Hokkaido with wine, a ball of yarn, and a stormcloud. Inside the box is individually wrapped Starburst-sized candies the pastel-orange color of cantaloupe. They have a concentrated melon flavor that I really enjoyed. I also like that the candy is not so sticky that it gets stuck in your teeth. Would purchase other f... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended melon fruit caramel candy sweets japanese hokkaido cantalouope furano 3.5
Tominga Melon Cream Soda: Purchased from Galco's in Los Angeles, this Japanese fruit soda is like a carbonated melon-flavored Calpico: intensely sweet and like a liquified starburst with its artificial fruit flavor and atomic green color. It has a slightly milky finish, with a white froth that collects at the top of the bottle. I've never had a soda like it before, and I probably don't want to have a soda like it again. 3.0/5.0
drinks japanese tominga melon cream soda 3.0
Glico Yurbai Melon Pocky: This special Pocky flavor features the Yurbai Melon, a cantaloupe grown in Hokkaido, Japan. The snack comes as a Giant Pocky, at around 7" in length, and has a vivid orange-sherbet-colored coating with a sweet, concentrated cantaloupe flavor. According to the ingredients, the flavoring comes from melon juice powder. The biscuit base is neutral like most Pocky, but it's thicker and thus less crunchy than regular Pocky; more like a biscuit than a cracker. The coating to biscuit ratio is also ... (read more) 4.0/5.0
glico pocky giantpocky yurbaimelon hokkaido melon recommended cantaloupe japanese 4.0 yurbai