Melon Cake

Origin: Philippines
Type: Snack
Description: Melon flavored cake

These small cakes are sold in packs of 10 or more and are extremely affordable at less than $1 per cake. When you open up one of the individually wrapped treats the smell of sweet melon fills the air. It's smells delicious!

As a cake flavor, it's a little strange at first because it tastes so much like perfectly ripe melon! Usually this flavor is used for candies and drinks, so the sensation of cake with the same flavor may be a little overwhelming at first. It's sweet, but a little dry. These come in other flavors as well and go great with coffee.

Sweet Potato Chips

Origin:Japan
Type: Snack
Description: Dried Sweet Potato Chips

The packaging for these is really elegant. I swear, that's how they get you! I dropped a whopping $4 on this small bag of chips because I thought they may be worth trying. Now I've tried dried vegetable chips before, but these are a little bit different. They're of course, shaped like fries rather than the standard potato "chip", and they are covered in a shiny glossy coating and sesame seeds.

They're too hard! They're harder to chew than banana chips! The flavor is okay, very subtle, salty and sweet. The sesame seeds don't do much other than remind you that these are supposed to taste like roasted sweet potato. I only ate a couple because they are just so hard! I tried to let them sit for a while to see if maybe letting them get a little bit stale would soften them up, but they didn't. Still too hard. Totally not worth the price. I might buy these again if they came in smaller quantity pouches or something, and only if I was really in the mood for them. Don't waste your time unless you're a sucker for fancy packaging.

Seaweed Snack

Origin: Korea
Type: Snack
Description: Seasoned Dried Seaweed

 Long ago, I once had a roommate from Korea. He would take me along with him when he made a grocery run. That was the first time that I encountered these wonderful seaweed snacks, and I still buy them today. There are quite a variety of brands to choose from, but this is the one that I purchased most recently.







It is exactly what it looks like, a small package of dried seaweed. They look like little sheets of paper, and smell like sesame oil. The texture when you bite into them is crispy, but not hard. It's soft and dissolves in your mouth, much like rice paper but with a better flavor. It definitely tastes like roasted seaweed, a little bit earthy, bitter, sweet, salty, all at the same time. The texture and flavor definitely fit. These can be eaten by themselves, with rice, as a side dish, or even use it as a garnish.

Calpis Gummy

Origin: Japan
Type: Candy
Description: Calpis Flavored Gummy

A few posts ago I covered Calpico (lychee flavor). Calpis is about the same thing. It's a popular soft drink in japan that is made from water, dry milk and lactic acid. It tastes similar to a sweetened plain yogurt in drink form. These are a Calpis flavored gummy candy.

Simple enough, these gummies are shaped like your basic gum drop. Wow! These are sweet and very tart! They taste just like Calpis but a little bit more sour. They are a very nice texture too. They're gummy, but the kind that doesn't get stuck in your teeth. They're easy to chew and easy to eat a bunch of at once. I wouldn't recommend it though, they're kind of pricey. Since they are Calpis brand, a small pack like this one runs about $1.75. They're good, but not good enough for me to want to spend that much on such little product.

Eurocrem Blok

Origin: Yugoslavia
Type: Candy
Description: Layered Hazelnut Chocolate Bar

Upon opening the package, you'll notice that the chocolate bar itself is as flat as the packing design. It's a heavy dense block of supposedly hazelnut flavored chocolate. Let's see how it tastes!

Not very much like hazelnut apparently. This chocolate is very bland! It's like the cross between chalk and wax with just hints of chocolate. You can't really taste any hazelnut at all. This reminds me of something that you might find in an MRE or maybe candy you would give to someone you don't like. It might serve better as a topping or garnish on something more sweet. I don't too much care for it myself, but it's okay for the price. This big block of chocolate will only run you about 80 cents at your local foreign food mart.

Orange Fizzy Jelly Drink

Origin: Chinese Super Market
Type: Drink
Description: Carbonated Jelly Beverage

This can made it's way into my shopping cart unknowingly. Seriously, I don't remember how it got there. I don't mind though, it has a fortune cat on the can! I also don't mind trying new drinks! On the outside this may look like an ordinary, perhaps ornate, orange soda. Open it up and you'll soon find out what makes this drink so unique.

Not only is it a jelly drink, but a fizzy jelly drink! Not that the liquid is carbonated, but the actual jelly is what contains the carbonation. It's such a weird sensation! I'm not sure whether to chew it, slurp it, or just drink it down. The flavor is really yummy! One of the best foreign orange flavored drinks I've had in a while, tastes like candy! The fizziness of it feels like tiny itty bitty bubbles that dance across your tongue. I have a feeling that I'd probably get a tummy ache if I were to drink more than one of these at a time as they're pretty filling. This is a novelty drink for sure.

Kafa Saraj

Saraj Kafa

Origin: Bosnia
Type: Drink
Description: Instant Coffee

To tell you the truth, I'm a sucker for caffeine. If it's got caffeine and a unique flavor, you'd better believe that I'll be on it! I found this, Coffee Saraj, at a store down the street. I was interested in getting some after I'd first tried it at a local hookah lounge that served it. As you can see here, it is an instant coffee. Just add hot water!

The flavor is strong! The initial smell is terrible but it is really earthy tasting when compared to most western coffees. It's not bad, though it might be an acquired taste. It finishes with notes of honey and nuttiness. Definitely try this one out if you want to try something different.

Strawberry Puffs Snack

Strawberry Puffs

Origin: Japan
Type: Chip/Cookie
Description: Strawberry flavored puffy snack

As you can tell from the first picture up there, this packaging is literally screaming at you to buy it. It's a good thing I like strawberry flavored things! These wonderful strawberry puffy snacks are shaped like and have the same consistency as cheese curls. They taste like strawberry alright! They are sweet and salty, a nice balance that makes them easy to eat without getting tired of them too easily.

They have a pleasant texture and are the soft kind of crunchy. It's like eating strawberry cereal but softer like popcorn or a cheese puff. These are really good! I would recommend them to anyone who is lucky enough to come across a bag.

Schoko Bananen Video

Here is a video showing the unboxing of Schoko-Bananen.

2% Peach

Origin: Korea
Type: Drink
Description: Peach flavored water

At first glance, this can looks like it could be a fruity soda, or perhaps a stylish dietary supplement. It is neither of those things. 2% Peach is peach flavored water in a can. It has no calories, no carbonation, no sweetness. Just peach. It's not bad though. I tried it at both room temperature and chilled. When chilled it's one of the most refreshing drinks that I've had in a while. This drink is good on it's own, but I could see it being used as a drink mixer. Delicious!

Sriracha Peas

Origin: Thailand
Type: Snack
description: Dried pea snack, Sriracha flavor

Sriracha is soooo good. It's one of my favorite spicy sauces to add to just about everything. It's made of chili peppers, garlic, vinegar, and sugar and can be found in many restaurants all over the world. In most American market's Asian aisle you can find dried peas that are usually wasabi flavored, but never sriracha flavored. I picked up these bad boys at the local foreign market.

They are surprisingly sweet! They aren't too salty, and they taste just like sriracha! They're so spicy though, I can only eat a little bit at a time. They're also kind of hard the teeth, but that's to be expected of dried pea snacks. These are pretty good but I probably couldn't eat them all the time.

Ramune Soda

Ramune

Origin: Japan
Type: Soda
Description: carbonated deliciousness

As cliche as it is, it's obligatory to cover this in a foreign snack blog. Ladies and gentleman, Ramune Soda. If you haven't heard of Ramune, you've probably been living under a rock. Ramune soda has become very popular in the last few years among kids that go to anime conventions and partake in other weeaboo practices. If you want more soda for less, and to avoid annoying cultural faux pas, go to a market and pick up this bottle instead of the gimmicky one with the marble in it.
Personally, I only drink Ramune Soda in the summer time when it's hot. Not sure why, but it just tastes better in the Summer. When it's hot out, Ramune soda can and will cool you down with its flavor that's something like the cross between 7up, bubblegum soda, and something else. Yeah, it's definitely a unique flavor, not overly sweet like western drinks either. It's just Ramune soda. There's nothing else to say. It's not really that special.

Pierniczki Alpejskie

Origin: Poland
Type: Cookie
Description: Chocolate covered gingerbread with filling

When I first picked these up, I had no idea what they were. Were they candy? Cookies? Whatever they were, they were cute and looked good. I was about to find out just how good these really were.

Opening the bag, there's a faint smell of chocolate. Judging by the look of the treats you would think that chocolate outside would probably taste like that of one of those cheap chocolate donuts. Boy was I wrong! The chocolate outside is the best that I've ever tasted on a cookie or any preserved dessert for that matter. It's like a fine dark artisan chocolate was drizzled atop these delectable delights. Biting into it, you notice that the cookie part is so soft! Extremely soft gingerbread that's by no means overwhelming. It's just right.

Inside is a delicious strawberry filling. Its texture and flavor are also just right. Is this it? Have I discovered one of the most delicious delectable dessert treats of all time?! It's so good! Please try these, you won't regret it!

Bottle Green Tea

Green Tea

Origin: Thailand
Type: Drink
Description: Japanese style green tea

Yes! Japanese style green tea from Tailand. In most Asian countries bottle tea is the order of the day. Unlike artificial teas in America and Europe, most Asian teas don't contain artificial sweeteners like their western counterparts and are differentiated by their subtle flavor differences. Plain green tea in a bottle is really refreshing. This tea tastes very much like different Japanese green teas that I've had, but it's really light on the roasted earthy flavor that the other teas have. In fact, this may be even more refreshing than those! The flavor is very subtle and there's no weird aftertaste. It's just smooth and refreshing, the way bottled tea should be. I could drink this everyday, it's so good!

CREAM

Origin: America
Type: Garnish
Description: Alcohol infused whipped cream

A label on a bottle of something with cream in it that says "do not refrigerate", should set off some early warning signals. This is CREAM, alcohol infused whipped cream. It is 15% alcohol and only needs to be shaken rigorously before use and does not require refrigeration after opening.

The consistency is kind of runny for whipped cream and it has trouble holding it's shape. The smell is, well, strong. It smells like cheap grain alcohol. The flavor by itself is okay at first, it has hints of raspberry and a little bit of sweetness but then the alcohol kicks you in the teeth. It tastes really cheap. It's kind of gross really.

I made some delightful shots of Chambord and Creme de cacao, topped with the CREAM, but that didn't save it. This alcohol infused whipped cream is nothing more than an overpriced gimmick. Don't try it unless you like the taste of crappy cheap booze.

Toblerone

Origin: Switzerland
Type: Candy
Description: Chocolate with nougat

Toblerone is a pretty popular chocolate, and not just in Switzerland. Toblerone can also be found in many candy and grocery stores all over the world, including right here in America. The first time I had the pleasure of trying this sweet treat was years ago in my German language class back in high school (I was also in German club just in case you're wondering). Our teacher would bring in all kinds of European snacks and treats for us to try as part of the cultural experience. This was one that stuck with me for some time.

At most markets here Toblerone can go for as much as $3 but I was lucky enough to find this and the fruit and nut version at the local dollar store. Toblerone is delicious! it comes in a bar of break apart triangle shaped pieces. The chocolate is smooth and tastes like other Swiss chocolates that I've tried before.

Inside you'll find chewy pieces of honey nougat and almond bits. This is definitely one of those chocolates that's made to be savored. Letting it melt in your mouth and getting the full flavor of the chocolate and then enjoying the little nougat bits is the way I like to eat Toberone. Toblerone is one of my favorite chocolate bars of all time. If you find one at your local market, I suggest you pick one up and try it for yourself.

Mayonnaise Bread

Mayo Bread

Origin: Chinese Market
Type: Specialty Bread
Description: Bread with Mayonnaise filling

The best thing about going to the market a few minutes before they close is that everything in their bakery is 30% off. All the delicious breads, cakes, desserts, savory snacks, everything is at reduced price. It was the first time that I'd seen this particular bread. It looked good so I grabbed it along with other bread things that I'll probably cover later.

The top of the bread is covered in this powdery meat product. It reminds me of that shredded beef jerky you can buy in those little plastic containers that look like chewing tobacco. The texture and the taste was just like that! It's dry, salty and kind of gross. The bread itself was little more sweet, until you get to the center.

Inside the bread is the mayo filling. It's salty, greasy, not all that good. It has a unique flavor that I can't quite place and the texture is more like butter than mayonnaise. The individual parts of this bread thing are gross separately but if you take a big bite of all of the ingredients together, it's not bad. The sweetness of the bread meshes nicely with the saltiness and textures of the mayo and meat product. If you're an adventurous eater, it's worth a try.

Lychee Mogu Mogu

Mogu Mogu Lychee

Origin: Thailand/Philippines/Japan
Type: Drink
Description: Fruit Juice with Pulp

If you've followed this blog thus so far, you'll know that I'm a HUGE fan of anything that's Lychee flavored. Here we have Mogu Mogu, Lychee Flavor. It's a fruit juice with coconut bits floating around in it. I thought at first that it was lychee bits because somehow they made the fruit taste just like lychee, even the texture was the same! It's got the light flowery taste of lychee with just the right amount of sweetness. It's a refreshing treat that I would recommend to anyone.

Roasted Eel in a Can

Roasted Eel

Origin: Asian super market
Type: Canned Fish
Description: Preserved Eel in sauce

Now let me start by saying that I absolutely LOVE eel. Eel is probably one of my favorite fish to eat. When it's fresh, roasted grilled, with or without sauce, fresh or saltwater eel, I love it all! So sweet, succulent, and delicious. Needless to say, I was very excited to find and try this canned eel. My enthusiasm would be extinguished with the first bite.

Open the can, and it looks like eel. As soon as a stuck a fork in it, it was obvious that this was no regular eel. It was tough, not soft like the eel that I enjoy so much. The flavor is sweet, but not much like eel. It didn't taste like eel at all, not in flavor or texture. It's too chewy, about half way in I gave up. I couldn't finish it. It's no good. It's not something that I could eat regularly, but it's something that seems like it would be a nice treat if it were the only meat that you had to eat.

Assorted Cheap Pate

Budget Pate

Origin: Croatia
Type: Topping
Description: Meat Paste

I'd never eaten Pate before, it's just not something that's all that popular state-side. These cans were only something like 60 cents a can at a local foreign food store so I picked up a couple to try them out.

Well, it's a meat paste. The ingredients include, pork fat, more fat, animal bits, and preservatives. Not exactly a healthy breakfast. I ended up spreading a heaping helping on a piece of toast. The consistency is a lot lighter than expected. The texture and flavor can be described as such; It's like whipped cream cheese that tastes like cocktail sausages and bland. I ate the piece of toast with the Pate but I didn't like it too much and had about 2/3 of a can left. It smells like cat food so I treated it as such. I left the remainder outside my front door for the stray cats outside to eat.

Want More Garlic Toast Chips

Want More Garlic Toast

Origin: Asian Super Market
Type: Chips
Description: Garlic Flavored Toast chips

These were so cute, how could I not get them? I'm not sure what that character on the front is supposed to be exactly, but it's kind of cute in that "hey, buy me!" sort of way. I don't usually buy something because of the packaging, but this is adorable and it was on sale.

The first thing you'll notice when you open the bag is not the lack of chips inside, but rather the smell. The smell is so strong! It's like if you were to take the smell of raw garlic and amplify it 10 times over. If you're a garlic lover, you will love these chips even if it's just for the smell alone. It was a little too much for me.

The chips are a nice consistency, they aren't hard at all. They are light and crispy, the way a toast snack should be. I hate all of these toast chips made in America because they are too hard and crunchy, unlike these that are so softly crisp that they almost melt in your mouth. The flavor is just as strong as the smell, but they're also kind of sweet. It's a little overwhelming at first because it feels like your senses are being assaulted, but they get easier to eat as you go along. I ended up just putting them in a cup of soup. Yeah, they're better when you add them to something else. These chips are very unique to say the least. I would recommend these chips to anyone who likes garlic or to anyone who wants to try a crazy new chip experience.

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.