Review: Asian goodies
Sep. 24th, 2007 09:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
slipjig3As I'd mentioned in an earlier post, the lovely ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
issendai kindly and generously gifted the household with a king's ransom in Good Food. With the exception of a few familiar goodies, such as caramel apples, cider donuts, pecan divinity and a few hits off her Goo Goo Cluster stash, most of what she delivered were Asian delicacies, unavailable in Glens Falls and heretofore unfamiliar to me. Since then, thanks to about 36 hours of fairly constant grazing and sampling, I am now prepared to present my reviews:
Item: Cocon Mixed Pudding
Concept: The comfortable middle ground between pudding and gelatin, presented in individually wrapped shot glass-sized plastic cups, and available in several fruit flavors ranging from strawberry to lychee. No spoon necessary—just peel off the top, give it a squeeze, and knock it back.
Review: Very pleasant. Quite a bit closer to Jell-O than classic pudding, except for its milky pastel colors, and just exotic enough to get your attention. If I could figure out how to make them, I'd be adding vodka and peddling them in college bars. Thumbs up.
Item: Nori Maki Arare (Rice Crackers with Seaweed)
Concept: Pretty self-explanatory: crispy little glutinous rice sticks, each wrapped in dried nori.
Review: Like sushi, only crunchy (which, I hasten to add, is a good thing). Salty, savory, appealing, and addictive as hell. (And until someone around here starts selling those nori-wrapped triangular rice snack packets, these are the next-best thing.)
Item: Crispiroll (Peanut flavor)
Concept: Individually wrapped crisp tuille cookies with a creme filling.
Review: My first bite nagged at me for about ten minutes as I tried to place the flavor, when it hit me: homemade peanut butter cookies, dead-bang perfect. Ohhh, yes.
Item: Peony Mark White Lotus Seed Paste Mooncake
Concept: Thick, golden, silver-dollar-sized lotus-flavored snack cakes. Individually wrapped and sold in a gorgeous reusable tin.
Review: Very, very rich and decadent. This was my first encounter with lotus-flavored anything, strangely enough, and I have to say that it's a bit of an acquired taste. Then again, considering that I'm eating yet another one as I type this, it didn't take me long to acquire it at all, did it? Yum. (And I am so keeping the tin.)
Item: Kasugai Mango Gummy
Concept: They're gummies. They're mango-flavored. They're mango-flavored gummies. Geez, do Asian marketers individually wrap everything?
Review: The first one I cracked open, and not likely to last long. Softer than the gummi bears you're used to, and strictly circular in shape, but oh, so happy.
Item: Kasugai Roasted Green Peas
Concept: Your basic green peas, roasted until crunchy and bagged like potato chips. Two varieties presented: Hot (the wasabi peas that are all the rage in the U.S. at about double the price) and the milder Regular.
Review: *crunch* *munch* *gulp* *snarf* What? Oh, the review. Not now, I'm busy... *munch* *slurp* *little pink hearts over the eyes* *crunch*
Item: Pokka Japanese Green Tea
Concept: Cold, sugar-free green tea in a flip-top soda can. Take that, Arizona Tea Company!
Review: Actually, since there was but one can here, I haven't tried this one yet. Luckily, I'm thirsty right now from all those mooncakes and roasted peas, so no time like the present.... *pop* *sip* Yep, it's green tea! Good stuff, although a tad sweeter might not be unwelcome.
Item: Freeze Extra Coffee with Milk
Concept: Another canned cold beverage, based in this case on Thai iced coffee.
Review: As a long-time Thai iced coffee addict, I have found my new god. Thank you.
Item: Golden Fuji Chocolate Stick Biscuits
Concept: Individually wrapped (natch) pretzel-log-sized sweet biscuits, dipped in chocolate. In other words, the Gigantor Mutant Pocky from Planet Q.
Review: I actually went about this one the wrong way at first. Following the Pocky similarity, I simply started munching away, and found the biscuit-to-chocolate ratio to be too high. Then I realized: don't think "Pocky," think "cookie." So I tried it with a big glass of milk, with occasional dunking. Score!
Item: Bamboo House Coffee Mousse Jelly
Concept: Coffee Jell-O. You heard me.
Review: This one I had some misgivings about, especially in light of my recent discovery of the failed Coffee Jell-O campaign of the early 20th century in the U.S. (Seriously.) But I gave it a try...and am damn glad I did. The cups are layered to resemble cappuccino, sort of: a translucent brown layer on the bottom, topped with a milky something-or-other. What surprised me, though, was how refreshing it is—just sweet enough, not at all mawkish or heavy. In short, damned lovely. A+++++ WOULD EAT AGAIN
Item: Yatelan Ramen Noodles
Concept: The ramen noodles known and loved by undergrads everywhere, only much more studly. Three flavors presented: Beef, Beef and Tomato, and Spicy Thai.
Review: Pending. This is tomorrow's lunch. Watch this space.
issendai kindly and generously gifted the household with a king's ransom in Good Food. With the exception of a few familiar goodies, such as caramel apples, cider donuts, pecan divinity and a few hits off her Goo Goo Cluster stash, most of what she delivered were Asian delicacies, unavailable in Glens Falls and heretofore unfamiliar to me. Since then, thanks to about 36 hours of fairly constant grazing and sampling, I am now prepared to present my reviews:Item: Cocon Mixed Pudding
Concept: The comfortable middle ground between pudding and gelatin, presented in individually wrapped shot glass-sized plastic cups, and available in several fruit flavors ranging from strawberry to lychee. No spoon necessary—just peel off the top, give it a squeeze, and knock it back.
Review: Very pleasant. Quite a bit closer to Jell-O than classic pudding, except for its milky pastel colors, and just exotic enough to get your attention. If I could figure out how to make them, I'd be adding vodka and peddling them in college bars. Thumbs up.
Item: Nori Maki Arare (Rice Crackers with Seaweed)
Concept: Pretty self-explanatory: crispy little glutinous rice sticks, each wrapped in dried nori.
Review: Like sushi, only crunchy (which, I hasten to add, is a good thing). Salty, savory, appealing, and addictive as hell. (And until someone around here starts selling those nori-wrapped triangular rice snack packets, these are the next-best thing.)
Item: Crispiroll (Peanut flavor)
Concept: Individually wrapped crisp tuille cookies with a creme filling.
Review: My first bite nagged at me for about ten minutes as I tried to place the flavor, when it hit me: homemade peanut butter cookies, dead-bang perfect. Ohhh, yes.
Item: Peony Mark White Lotus Seed Paste Mooncake
Concept: Thick, golden, silver-dollar-sized lotus-flavored snack cakes. Individually wrapped and sold in a gorgeous reusable tin.
Review: Very, very rich and decadent. This was my first encounter with lotus-flavored anything, strangely enough, and I have to say that it's a bit of an acquired taste. Then again, considering that I'm eating yet another one as I type this, it didn't take me long to acquire it at all, did it? Yum. (And I am so keeping the tin.)
Item: Kasugai Mango Gummy
Concept: They're gummies. They're mango-flavored. They're mango-flavored gummies. Geez, do Asian marketers individually wrap everything?
Review: The first one I cracked open, and not likely to last long. Softer than the gummi bears you're used to, and strictly circular in shape, but oh, so happy.
Item: Kasugai Roasted Green Peas
Concept: Your basic green peas, roasted until crunchy and bagged like potato chips. Two varieties presented: Hot (the wasabi peas that are all the rage in the U.S. at about double the price) and the milder Regular.
Review: *crunch* *munch* *gulp* *snarf* What? Oh, the review. Not now, I'm busy... *munch* *slurp* *little pink hearts over the eyes* *crunch*
Item: Pokka Japanese Green Tea
Concept: Cold, sugar-free green tea in a flip-top soda can. Take that, Arizona Tea Company!
Review: Actually, since there was but one can here, I haven't tried this one yet. Luckily, I'm thirsty right now from all those mooncakes and roasted peas, so no time like the present.... *pop* *sip* Yep, it's green tea! Good stuff, although a tad sweeter might not be unwelcome.
Item: Freeze Extra Coffee with Milk
Concept: Another canned cold beverage, based in this case on Thai iced coffee.
Review: As a long-time Thai iced coffee addict, I have found my new god. Thank you.
Item: Golden Fuji Chocolate Stick Biscuits
Concept: Individually wrapped (natch) pretzel-log-sized sweet biscuits, dipped in chocolate. In other words, the Gigantor Mutant Pocky from Planet Q.
Review: I actually went about this one the wrong way at first. Following the Pocky similarity, I simply started munching away, and found the biscuit-to-chocolate ratio to be too high. Then I realized: don't think "Pocky," think "cookie." So I tried it with a big glass of milk, with occasional dunking. Score!
Item: Bamboo House Coffee Mousse Jelly
Concept: Coffee Jell-O. You heard me.
Review: This one I had some misgivings about, especially in light of my recent discovery of the failed Coffee Jell-O campaign of the early 20th century in the U.S. (Seriously.) But I gave it a try...and am damn glad I did. The cups are layered to resemble cappuccino, sort of: a translucent brown layer on the bottom, topped with a milky something-or-other. What surprised me, though, was how refreshing it is—just sweet enough, not at all mawkish or heavy. In short, damned lovely. A+++++ WOULD EAT AGAIN
Item: Yatelan Ramen Noodles
Concept: The ramen noodles known and loved by undergrads everywhere, only much more studly. Three flavors presented: Beef, Beef and Tomato, and Spicy Thai.
Review: Pending. This is tomorrow's lunch. Watch this space.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-25 02:45 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-26 02:13 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-25 03:04 am (UTC)I've had only a couple of these. I shall have to snoop the Asian markets etc here for at least the Thai Coffee.
Now if I could just get the Thai Tea inna can.....
(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-26 02:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-28 04:27 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-25 08:47 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-26 02:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-25 03:49 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-26 02:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-26 02:13 am (UTC)Have a care with the "spicy Thai" ramen. Asians don't mess around with the "spicy" label; if it says it's spicy, it's spicy for them. Figure out which packet has the hot spices in it and remember that you don't have to add the whole thing.
*grin* Glad you like the food! Shall I find you some of the Japanese coffee jellos that come with their own tiny cups of half-and-half for topping?
(no subject)
Date: 2007-09-26 02:19 pm (UTC)*looks down at computer desk wastebasket* Ahem. Yes, well. *opens yet another mango gummy*
Have a care with the "spicy Thai" ramen.
Thanks for the heads-up. Although even without the warning, I might still be okay. My first wife used to cook for a Thai cafeteria, and if I could survive that....
Shall I find you some of the Japanese coffee jellos that come with their own tiny cups of half-and-half for topping?
Do they seriously have those? Wow.