Lotte Kokal Corn Soup Snack: I don't know what it is about corn soup that inspires corn-soup-flavored snacks in Asia, but I'm certainly not complaining. These Korean snacks are exactly the same size and shape and Bugles – conical corn snacks that are most definitely not healthy. The corn soup flavor leaned more salty than sweet, tasting of what I'd imagine concentrated corn-soup-flavored soup mix powder might taste like sprinkled over fried corn snacks. Not one of the better corn soup snacks I've been adding to my re... (read more) 3.0/5.0

Lotte Roasted Ohing Snack: Combining clam, octopus, shrimp, and kelp, these curled wheat crackers have a potent sweet and savory flavor reminiscent of a seafood stew with a generous helping of gochugaru (Korean chili flakes). It's a little unbalanced because the finish is very sweet, but the flavor overall is unique. Highly seasoned. Purchased from HMart. 3.0/5.0

Annie's Original snack mix: Generally, I like Annie's crackers, and I like snack mixes, so I figured this Annie's snack mix with pretzels, bread sticks, and bunny crackers (cheddar and plain flavored) would be promising. Unfortunately, it wasnt very interesting and became salty after a few handfulls. In particular, the bread sticks and plain crackers have very little taste and seem to be there merely for texture, and maybe to dilute the saltiness of the pretzels. 3.0/5.0

Nong Shim Banana Kick Snack: Who would have thought that banana flavored puffs, airy and porous with a slight glaze and crispy texture, would be such a delicious snack? I'll admit that I purchased this bag from the narrow, never-ending aisles of Manhattan's HMart solely based on its cute packaging. Yet there was also a driving curiosity for what a sweet fruity version of a cheese puff might be. Texturally, they are far more interesting than Cheetos largely due to its crispy yet light consistency. Its flavor taste of ... (read more) 4.0/5.0

Berkeley Bowl Bar snack mix: The Berkeley Bowl bulk snack mixes are generally good, but this standard bar mix with cheddar crackers, pretzels, peanuts, and almonds is not really better than the sum of its ingredients. None of the flavors compete, but it’s not particularly interesting, and there are much better alternatives. 3.0/5.0

Shrimp peanut snack: Despite my best effort at detective work with Google Translate and Reverse Image Search, I wasn’t able to track down the exact brand of this senbei snack. Too bad, because it’s one of the best ones I’ve had before. Purchased from Tokyo Fish Market in Berkeley, the snack consists of baked hollow balls filled with peanuts. Unlike the traditional crunchy glazed rice crackers I’ve had before, this one had a crumbly, buttery exterior that melt-in-your-mouths. The shell is well seasoned with a rob... (read more) 4.0/5.0