Hio Ice Cream Green Tea Milk Ice Cream: Even before I arrived in Japan, I had bookmarked this modern ice cream shop in Jiyugaoka to try for Tasty Snacking. Unfortunately, it's a bit far away from central Tokyo and I never got a chance to make it out there before COVID hit. I didn't realize, though, that you can actually find their ice cream at certain grocery stores. I went for the classic green tea flavor, which has specks of dark green mixed in. While I was hoping for a strong bitter matcha flavor, it actually disappointingl... (read more) 3.0/5.0
icecream japanese queensisetan hioicecream green tea milk ice cream 3.0 matcha
Kubota Strawberry Milk Popsicle: This frozen treat is flavored with milk but has a consistency more like a fruit popsicle than ice cream (it doesn't have the smooth texture of ice cream when you bite into it, but has more water content than cream). Slices of strawberry are embedded in the ice cream so you get both the fruit and the bar in each bite. The strawberry was nice and tart, but I wasn't fully convinced about the milk bar, which had a fairly neutral flavor overall. Purchased from Queens Isetan. 3.0/5.0
popsicle queensisetan japanese icecream kubota strawberry milk 3.0
Uchi Cafe Strawberry milk with tapioca and pulp: Japanese convenience stores had a wide variety of coffee beverages to chose from; one surprising offering is their packaged tea and milk drinks containing tapioca, often available in the same refrigerated section as the coffee. They come with an expandable bubble tea straw and contain boba-like spheres more akin to popping boba than chewy fresh boba. The snap of the popping boba, though, was more satisfying than I expected. Kind of like a cross between kefir, with a slightly tangy / sour ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
lawson drinks japanese uchicafe strawberry milk tapioca pulp 3.0
Yuki & Love Boba Milk Tea Mochi: A product of Taiwan, the motherland of boba milk tea, these mini individually-wrapped mochi snacks are about two inches in diameter and contain a moist, mulit-layered filling. An outer layer is lighter tan in color, resembling milk tea, while a dark brown center takes the place of boba. The inside is a gelatinous core that's pleasant in its milk tea flavor, if not accurate in texture, though the texture of the mochi itself is surprisingly intact and satisfyingly chewy. Purchased at 99 Ranch. 3.0/5.0
99ranch milktea taiwan yukilove boba milk tea mochi 3.0
Bin Bin Coconut Milk Flavor Rice Crackers: I grew up eating Bin Bin rice crackers, the classic kind containing individually wrapped packets of 2 peanut-shaped rice crackers coated with a sweet and savory MSG seasoning. But did you know that they had coconut milk flavored crackers? I didn't until this weekend, when I stumbled upon this product at Uwajimaya. The coconut flavoring seems to be in the biscuit base itself, which still has the familiar crispy cracker texture of the original. I was hoping it would be a little more savory... (read more) 3.0/5.0
uwajimaya binbin coconut milk flavor rice crackers 3.0