Peeled Snacks Southwest Spice Peas Please Snack: If you think about it, pea snacks are pretty weird, a compost mix of ground grains and vegetables reconstituted and shaped to resemble their original form. Imagine if corn chips looked like baby corn, or if potato puffs were shaped like fingerlings. Nonetheless, this organic take on pea snacks is pretty indistinguishable from others I've tried, with the same light texture, yet fried, oily aftertaste that leaves your fingers as greasy as if you just ate potato chips. The Southwest flavor has ... (read more) 2.5/5.0
organic vegetables berkeleybowl peeledsnacks southwest spice peas please snack 2.5
Riska Mentai Corn Snack: I love that Japanese culture is seemingly contradictory. There is the upmost respect for serenity and simplicity, along with an obsession with quality and workmanship (e.g., tea gardens, sashimi and sushi rice, Yurbai melons) - yet, at the same time, it can be loud, brash, and colorful (e.g., manga, Pachinko). This purple bag of Mentai (cod roe) puffed corn snacks is sensory overload all on its own, with multiple exclamation points, bold lettering, and metallic silver foil highlighting. I... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional japanese mentai cod roe fish seafood junkfood riska corn snack 4.5 tokyofishmarket
Riska Corn Potage Corn Snack: There is nothing subtle about this Japanese fried snack. Shaped like onion petals, each bite combines the best of sour cream and onion with corn soup, a surprisingly sweet and savory combination that seems obvious in retrospect but refreshingly new at the same time. Intensely concentrated creamed-corn taste, like a powdered form of the liquid from canned corn. There's also small bits of dried parsley that cut through and round out the umami goodness. Airy, puffed consistency, with a text... (read more) 5.0/5.0
exceptional japanese riska corn potage snack 5.0 tokyofishmarket
Riska Yasai Salad Snack: I’m on a quest to try all flavors of umaibo, the Japanese puffed corn snack. This one is salad flavored, resembling veggie crackers but with an Asian twist incorporating soy and sesame oil. They have a consistent ring-shaped form factor thicker than American Funyuns. It’s not one of my favorite umaibo flavors, but it’s still tasty. 3.5/5.0
recommended japanese umaibo riska yasai salad snack 3.5
Riska Cheese Corn Snack: This flavor of umbaibo has a cheese flavor familiar to Asian snacks. It tastes a bit like the cheese powder from boxed mac and cheese but with a creamy, milky flavor that's mild rather than tangy. Very different than the bolder cheese taste of American cheese snacks like Cheetos. Like other Umaibo, the texture is crispy and light. In this particular package, they're cut into mid-sized rings. 3.0/5.0
umaibo japanese riska cheese corn snack 3.0 tokyofishmarket berkeley
Shribark Toasted Coconut Caramel Snack: Up to this point, I've avoided this brand of snack from the Media Lab Leanbox, fearing that it was another questionable health-food snack. Lacking alternatives, though, I decided to purchase the bar and was pleasantly surprised. The texture is very good, with a sweet caramel that binds together the granola and seeds that comprise the bar. It was very filling and leaned more towards the candy end of snack bars. Would purchase again. 3.5/5.0
recommended leanbox shribark toasted coconut caramel snack 3.5