Perrier Watermelon Sparkling Water: Sharp fizzy sparkling water with a concentrated fruit flavor that doesn’t taste artificial. Conveniently sized can that’s slightly smaller than a 12oz, which I typically find a bit large for accompanying a meal. A smart direction for Perrier given the success of La Croix (I find this drink better than most La Croix I’ve had.) 3.5/5.0
recommended drinks perrier watermelon sparkling water 3.5
Perrier Pink grapefruit sparkling water: A more standard (but still good) sparkling water option from Perrier, with a sharp and tangy citrus flavor. Refreshing and, as always, 0 calories. 3.5/5.0
drinks seltzer recommended perrier pink grapefruit sparkling water 3.5
Marukyo Black Sesame Funwariyaki Dorayaki: Dorayaki is a delicious filled pancake dessert from Japan that has no equivalent in American pastry (as far as I know). The closest likeness I can think of is the Whoopie Pie, though dorayaki has a bean paste filling rather than cream, and the ratio of cake to filling is slimmer. Berkeley Bowl sells an assortment of refrigerated cakes in their Asian grocery aisle, though I have normally been wary of these silica-packet-filled packaged snacks. I was intrigued, though, by this black sesame ... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended berkeleybowl japanese blacksesame marukyo black sesame funwariyaki dorayaki 3.5
Golden Gate Bakery Egg Cupcake: No surprise that lines at famed San Francisco bakery Golden Gate Bakery were long for Chinese New Year, but I still didn’t expect it to take 80 minutes to get egg tarts. At around 6pm, the owner started rationing; no single person could order more than 2, for fear she would run out. The eggtarts were as good as ever, but waiting this long necessitated making another purchase, this time for an egg “cupcake,” seemingly made just of egg, flour, sugar, and oil. It was very lightly sweetened, sof... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended sf goldengatebakery egg cupcake 3.5
Calbee Takoyaki Corn Puffs: Similar in size and texture to Utz cheese balls but tasting nothing like them, these octopus-flavored puffed corn snacks from Japanese snack brand Calbee actually hail from South Korea. They’re coated in a light brown powder tasting strongly of Worcestershire sauce, giving each bite an initial vinegary and savory hit but ending on an unexpectedly (and slightly overpowering) sweet note. They don’t have as strong of a seafood flavor as I would like, probably because the Worcestershire seasoni... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended octopus korean calbee takoyaki corn puffs 3.5 nijiya
Yida Haw Cheese: As a child, I imagined if I needed to sustain myself on my paltry allowance, I could afford to live off Haw Flakes, a traditional Chinese candy consisting of stacks of purple-red discs (think Necco wafers, but thinner), costing about fifty cents for a pack of 10 rolls. They taste like strawberry fruit leather and are made of a Chinese fruit called hawthorn. Texturally, it's hard but then slightly chewy at the first hint of moisture. This individually wrapped candy from Yia is a different t... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended candy yida haw cheese 3.5