Glico Pretz – Cheddar

The cheddar flavored pretzel sticks by Glico is one of my more preferred Pretz. It contains 6% cheddar, which doesn’t seem like a lot compared to the cheesy aroma that fills your nostrils when opening a bag for the first time, but it’s enough to leave you satisfied. It also contains pepper and is mildly salty. If you prefer less salt, I recommend the direct Japanese import of the snack, as oppose to the one marketed for the west. It suppose to be less salty, but it cost a little more and comes in smaller portions. The cheddar flavored Pretz can found at local asian market for $1.50 – 3.00.

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Glico Pocky – Choco Banana

The Choco Banana Pocky is a limited edition flavor, at least here in the States. Each biscuit stick is covered with banana flavor milk cream and swirls of chocolate. It has a very rich banana aroma that is a bit overwhelming. It’s very sweet, just like other Pocky flavors, but the mixture of banana cream and chocolate did not tickle my fancy and I did not enjoy this flavor as much as I do other Pocky flavors.

The Choco Banana flavored Pocky is a definite pass, but if you want to go against my recommendation and give it try, you can find it at local Japanese Supermarkets or for order online. They range from $2-6, depending on the size of the package.

Mt Fuji IMOCHI

Mt Fuji’s IMOCHI is one of the best mochi ice creams, they are also referred to as Jpanese ice cream bonbons. They can be found in Japanese/Asian grocery stores and in the dessert portion of some Japanese restaurant’s menus. In grocery stores, they come in a disposal ice bag and can be had in green tea, sesame, or in an assorted offering (2x green tea, sesame, strawberry, and vanilla) for $4.50-5.99USD. I like the assorted pack, it provides a good variety of favors, it’s especially good for newbies of this delicious treat. My favorite is the sesame, but you really can’t go wrong with any of the flavors. The mochi is soft, the ice cream is flavorful and when combined it provides a pleasurable texture and flavor in every bite. Be warned, these things are addictive, you can find yourself finishing an entire bag in a matter of minutes.

Glico Pretz – Pumpkin

Pretz is a thin and crunchy Japanese cookie snack that is shaped like a stick. The pumpkin flavored Pretz tries to mimics the flavor of a Japanese pumpkin, also known as kabocha squash, not the pumpkin that many westerners are familiar with. It’s lightly sweeten, a little bitter, but lacks any strong kabocha flavoring. I like kabocha dishes in Japanese restaurants, but didn’t like the kabocha flavored Pretz.

The Pumpkin Pretz usually come in 1.48oz packages and can be found in most local Japanese markets or online. I bought mines at the NJ Mitsuwa Marketplace. They retail for $1.49 to 2.50 per pack.

Lotte Crunky Chocolate

Lotte is the Nestlé of South Korea and their Crunky Chocolate bar is their equivalent to Nestlé’s Crunch. It’s very thin and light, comes wrapped in a gold foil, and is sectioned off in a 6×4 grid which makes it easy to cleanly divide. Like the Crunch bar, it combines milk chocolate and puffed rice with the majority of the milk chocolate on the surface and the malt puff bleeding off the bottom. The chocolate is very smooth and the mild crunch is very pleasant, but I found the Crunky bar to be no better than Nestle’s or Mar’s standard consumer fare. It’s a decent chocolate bar, but not worth going out of your way to try.

Crunky bars are usually sold in South Korea and Japan and may be stocked in local Korean Markets. I found mines at the local H-Mart. They usually retail for about $1-2 per 60 gram bar, but can be had in South Korea for a measly 500KRW ($0.40USD).

Morinaga Choco Ball

Morinaga Choco Balls is a popular Japanese candy that comes in a number of varieties. The ones that I know of are peanut, caramel, strawberry and white chocolate. I have only tried the peanut and caramel, both are made with milk chocolate coverings. Overall, they are no different than your average American chocolate candy. They come in small 1.02oz packages (they may make larger packages) and are perfectly-sized for popping in your mouth, smaller than Whoppers and larger than M&Ms. The peanut Choco Ball unlike the caramel has a wafer wrapping between the outer and inner cores, making them quite additive, this coming from a person who is not all that fond of chocolate.

Choco Balls in the 1.02oz packaging retail for around $1USD and can be found at your locate Japanese Market or online at AsianFoodGrocer.com

Pulmuone Hamhung Naeng Myun – Extruded Buckwheat Noodle

Naeng Myun, which literally means cold noodles in Korean, is an extremely popular dish throughout Korea during the summer. There are two varieties of naeng myun: mul (물 냉면), and bibim (비빔 냉면). Mul naeng myun is served with noodles contained in a cold broth, while bibim is served dry with gochujang (red chili paste) over the noodles. I’ve had both many times in Korean restaurants and absolutely love the taste, so when I came across an instant naeng myun at the local H-Mart, I had to give it a try.

I bought the Pulmuone brand Hamhung naeng myun. It’s bibim style and comes with two servings for $5USD. In the package there are two bags of fresh buckwheat noodles and gochujang. It takes less than 10 minutes to prepare, you begin by cooking the noodles for about 30-40 seconds in boiling water. Next, you immediately rinse the cooked noodles in cold water. This is important, if you don’t rinse it immediately, you risk the noodles dissolving into a pile of goo. Once the noodles have chilled, transfer the noodles into a bowl, mix in the package of gochujang, add a boil egg to make it more authentic and you’ve got a bowl of delicious naeng myn at your disposal.

The Pulmuone brand Hamhung naeng myun is acceptable, but not comparable to what you can get at the restaurant. The buckwheat noodles is chewy and flavorless. The gochujang taste is over powering and is the only flavor I can make out of the entire dish. Overall, this a good instant hunger fix on a hot summer day, but is not a solution for a refreshing authentic neang myun craving.

Contents of the package

Making it cold

The finished product – it tastes better than it looks

Botan Rice Candy

Years back when I was still in grade school my mom gave me a pack of Botan Rice Candy and I remember being fond of it, not so much for the candy but because of the sticker that came with it. Over the years that fondness has subsided and today I enjoy picking up a pack of Botan solely for the candy.

Botan is a traditional Japanese candy made of sweet rice, but I didn’t taste any rice at all in it and it’s not very sweet. It does however, have a soft chewy texture with a nice citrus flavor. It also has an unusual double wrapping, one that you throw away and one that is edible. It looks like plastic when it’s dry, but melts when wet. Each box comes with six pieces and a free sticker. It can purchased at most local asian markets and online. Prices range from $0.75 to 2.00 for 3/4OZ box.

Glico Pretz – Honey Butter

Honey Butter Pretz is your “round of the mill” Japanese stick biscuit that is not very different from their roast flavor. It has a smooth texture and is pleasantly sweet with a harmonious hint of butter. I found it to be very light and satisfying with a cup of tea. It’s imported from Japan and can be purchased at most local asian markets or online. Prices range from $1.5 to 3 for 1.09oz box.

Hapi Gummi Candies – Fun Burger

Hapi’s line of Fun Burger gummies are produced by the Gold Seven Food Group in Hong Kong. It’s loaded with sugar, artificial flavors and colors; but which gummy isn’t? Okay, there are a couple that aren’t, but the majority are. It’s a hard gummy that’s a bit more chewy than the average fruit snack and the flavoring is mix between cherry, lime and sugar. It’s definitely not healthy, but being a fan of gummies I wouldn’t mind having it once in awhile. It can be found in most asian markets, I found it in the Hong Kong Supermarket on Hester in Chinatown, NYC. It cost me $2 for a 4.2oz/120g bag.