Italian Lemon Cake

Origin: Italy
Type: Dessert
Description: Unrefrigerated Dessert Cake

So this thing was sitting on the shelf, no refrigeration needed. I was curious, so I picked one up, took it home, and it sat in my kitchen for a week until I got around to finally opening it.

The cake is not so much a cake-cake, though that's what it looks like. It's more of a giant snack cake. It's got the consistency of a twinky with the hint of lemon. The frosting on top is too sweet and nothing particularly special.

It's a shame, really, because I usually like lemon flavored things. This cake, however, was kind of nauseating. I don't know if it was the flavor, texture, or added preservatives that did it, but I couldn't even finish a single piece. It tastes alright, but I wouldn't recommend it as it's just a sloppily put together glorified lemon flavored twinky.

Yan Yan Hazelnut

Origin: Japan
Type: Snack
Description: Cookie sticks with hazelnut cream

Yan Yan is always a great choice for a quick delicious snack. Yan Yan can be found in most American super markets, but they usually only have Strawberry and/or Chocolate. I went to the local Asian market and was delighted to find new flavors! This is the Hazelnut flavored Yan Yan. Each pack contains cookie sticks that you dip into the flavored cream that comes with it. It's like Pocky, except you have to dip it yourself. The first thing I noticed with this Yan Yan compared to other Yan Yan that I've had before is that the sticks didn't have the cute little animal quotes they usually have on them. Oh well, this is a snack, so that's not really important. The cookies themselves are pretty plain, but that's why you have the dip. The dip of this one tastes just like Nutella. It's like the cross between hazelnuts and chocolate. Pretty good. I think I actually like this better than the chocolate variety Yan Yan.

Vitasoy Melon

Origin: Hong Kong
Type: Drink
Description: Melon Flavored Soy Milk box

I'm not a big fan of soy drinks, but I love melon flavored things so of course I had to try this. These come in a six pack of what look like juice boxes. They are, however, Melon Flavored Soy milk.

They come with a straight straw that you can poke into the top, just like any other box drink. The drink is actually kind of greenish in color. The flavor is sweet and balanced. While you can taste the soy, the melon flavor is very good. It kind of reminds me of the melon flavored ice cream pops that I purchased from the same store a while ago. This drink is as refreshing as it is delicious.

Hello Kitty Tropical Mango Marshmallows

Hello Kitty Mango Marshmallows

Origin: Japan/USA
Type: Candy
Description: Marshmallow Balls with Jelly Filling

I found these on my last market run. They looked good, but they were kind of over priced. Charging $3.50 for a bag of marshmallows just because it has some cartoon cat on the front should be a crime. When you open the bag you get that nice artificial mango smell. Mango is one of my favorite fruits so this is quite the treat.

They're so small, cute and squishy! There aren't that many in the bag though, which is a disappointment, especially when you consider the price.

When you bite into one you'll find just a tiny amount of mango flavored jelly. It's alright, but there's not enough in there. It's just a super tiny dot compared to the marshmallow part. The flavor over all is like that of mango with flowery notes. It's not as strong as I would like flavor wise and not as sweet as expected for this kind of snack. They're pretty good, but I probably wouldn't buy them again.

Balut

Origin: Philippines
Type: Snack/Meal
Description: Duck Egg with fetus

In my long journey to find the most strange foods I could find, the Balut egg has always eluded me. It wasn't until recently that I went to a new market in town and found that they are the only ones who carry it in the entire city. For those that don't know, Balut is a duck egg. A duck egg with a half formed duck fetus inside. yes, that's what it is, it's from the Philippines and is eaten by many. In some places it's even considered a delicacy.

Here I have cracked the egg open. It smells like, well, an egg. Supposedly you're supposed to just drink it raw, unfortunately I can't stand the taste or texture of raw eggs but I went and tried it anyways. It tastes like eggs...and blood. At this point in the post I'm going to tell you to not look at the next picture if you've got a weak stomach.

You're supposed to eat this thing without looking at it, but I was curious and couldn't help myself. This is what you will find inside the Balut egg. This is a Duck fetus, as was expected. What wasn't expected, and what's always a surprise, is how developed this particular fetus snack was. It's got eyes! IT'S FREAKING LOOKING AT ME! Ok, I'm not really that freaked or grossed out. I ended up trying to eat some of the smaller pieces first, the legs and parts of the body. They were chewy like a softer kind of cartilage. It tasted the same, like egg and blood. Once I got to the rest, I couldn't bring myself to eat the thing whole so I thought it might be a good idea to fry it up so I didn't have to feel sick eating something that doesn't look or taste too good.

I fried it up in the pan and mashed it up, so now it's really nothing more than foul (no pun intended) smelling scrambled eggs. It was stinky, and tasted just as bad cooked as it did raw, just now it had a different texture. I couldn't even eat it with toast. It's not that I can't stand the idea of eating an underdeveloped fetus, it's just that it didn't taste good at all. If it tasted better, I could eat it all the time, just to gross out the people that are grossed out by the way something looks.