Kurkure Chilli Chatka: I was kindly sent a package of Indian snacks to review and started with this bag of familiar fried corn crunchies (like Cheetos) with an unfamiliar flavor or Chilli Chatka, containing a powdered coating combining a range of spices like garlic and chili powder, cumin, and fenugreek. The one item on the ingredient list that was new to me was ajwain powder, which I learned is commonly used in Indian cuisine and has flavor profile similar to anise and oregano. Definitely more spiced than spicy... (read more) 3.0/5.0
indian kurkure chilli chatka 3.0
Calpis Taste Calpis Melon Drink: Melon is a very popular flavor in Japan not just for candies but also for drinks like fruit sodas. This drink is the melon-version of the popular beverage calpis, a milky yogurt-flavored drink common enough to find in most Asian supermarkets in the US. This line of products is part of their low-calorie offerings, and it contains the artificial sweetener aspartame. It tastes like a slightly milder version of liquid candy, definitely with an aftertaste I'm familiar with from drinking diet so... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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Lotte Chocolate Caramel Choco Pie in Ginza : The iconic snack Choco Pie from Korean brand Lotte is available in most places shops in Japan. This particular Ginza chocolate caramel cake flavor is part of a special edition "around the world" series which takes iconic desserts from various cities around the world. For example, it previously featured the NYC cheesecake. I've never actually heard of a Tokyo-specific chocolate caramel cake (and a quick Google Search comes up empty). This is a very decadent Choco Pie, with chocolate cake i... (read more) 3.0/5.0
japanese desserts inegaya lotte chocolate caramel choco pie in ginza 3.0
Lotte Cookies and Cream Crunky Chocolate Balls: I bought this bag of candy from the Lawson convenience store, and it instantly brought me back to Hershey's Cookies and Cream chocolate bars, with their waxy white chocolate and dominant vanilla flavor. The form factor of this chocolate are bite-sized balls, and the interior has a crunchy cookie-like texture. Flavor-wise, it was neither good nor bad, but health-wise it was definitely not worth the calories. 2.5/5.0
japanese lawson lotte cookies cream crunky chocolate balls 2.5 cookiesandcream
Koikeya Strong Grilled Seafood Potato Chips: Koikeya has a line of STRONG potato chips, I guess indicating that they're bolder than regular potato chips. The ridged style is thinner than Ruffles, and more generally, I find that Japanese potato chips don't have the same substantial bite that American potato chips tends to have. This flavor reminded me a little bit of shrimp chips but it definitely had a slightly richer flavor, the type you get from imitation crab sticks. It was pretty decent but not one I find myself drawn to purchasi... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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Luna Vanilla Yogurt with Summer Hyuganatsu Citrus: This brand of yogurt comes in 3-packs, all with a different primary-colored label. Unfortunately, my inability to read Japanese made it impossible to know what those colored labels meant, but this particular yellow one shows a bear hugging a large yellow-colored fruit resembling a pomelo, which I assumed to be the flavor. Only after doing some research after I got home did I find that the fruit is a Hyuganatsu, which is a type of Japanese citrus hybrid between a yuzu and pomelo. I was sur... (read more) 3.0/5.0
yogurt japanese inegaya luna vanilla summer hyuganatsu citrus 3.0