Haldiram’s makes a lot of snacks, one of them being a variety of chikki flavors. I suppose chikki is pretty similar to peanut brittle, though I have not had much of the latter in my lifetime and expect there might be even more sugar content than in chikki. Think a hard/snappy square of nuts and caramelized sugar binding things together.

The absolute best flavor in this variety pack is the sesame flavor, hands down. I would actually love trying my hand at making chikki someday because of this snack purchase. Second best is the one with rose petals in it. Bottom of the heap is the peanut-heavy version (I’m sorry, peanuts, but you are just not a premium nut).

Right before the pandemic hit, my partner, a few friends, and I went to visit India. We stayed with his parents for awhile and were absolutely spoiled with home-made food, then went touring around the Golden Triangle. His parents packed a bunch of snacks for us, most of which I do not remember precisely, though I did enjoy Kurkure Masala Munch. These are exactly like Cheetos in format, just with a masala spice blend.

I do not know what “now tastier” on the packages means: perhaps more spice dust?

These corn chips are the definition of “just okay”. They’re basically giant corn flakes, but they have that distinctive corn-y flavor I often taste in Japanese snacks (Crown C Corn Chips are Korean). Almost as if someone added “essence of corn on the cob”. Anyway, these are fine, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to seek them out.

In comparison to the Vidal Gummy Spicy Mangos, these are perhaps a little too spicy. I would also consider them fairly sticky, more like uncoated jellies than gummies. My main gripe with these gummies is that there are too many orange-flavored candies in the bag. Orange is typically at the bottom of the flavor barrel to me. Give me more peach!

I first got these on a whim when picking out bulk candies at a local candy store. They’re so good! The gummies look like mangos. They taste like mangos. They have just the right level of spice: enough to make itself known, not so much that you can’t eat a shameful amount of these in one afternoon.

It’s hard to describe, but there’s also a part of the gummy that has a slightly different texture from the rest of it, almost softer and squishier, which makes this even more fun to eat.

Somewhere between a 2- and 3-star candy. The flavor is good but stunningly sweet; I can only eat one at a time. Maybe that’s a good thing.

I bought these on a whim while checking out District H, which appears to be a subsidiary of H Mart. I had no idea what to expect based on the little cubes on the front of the package. These ended up being something like a blown-up version of a rice-based cereal, coated in a thin layer of powder that has a subtly sweet taste. These melt in your mouth, and I’m realizing from this whole snack journey that I seem to enjoy melt-in-your-mouth snacks where that is unexpected.

Despite having had the grape and apple flavors of Pureral gummies before and really enjoying them (the grape flavor used in Japanese snacks is so good!), I would rate this “two strawberries” flavor as just ok. Somehow it tasted a little more chemical-y to me, maybe a little more matte. How does something taste “matte”? I have no clue.

This might have been a limited edition flavor, because it’s no longer on the site I bought it from, nor on the official Kabaya product page.

Delicata appears to be an in-house chocolate brand for the grocery chain Albert Heijn. It seems almost as though this particular bar is not made anymore—I can’t find it online at any rate—but my it was delicious. This was my first time trying ruby chocolate, which is sort of dusky pink chocolate made apparently from the ruby cocoa bean. It is fantastic, especially when studded with fruit as this bar was.

Once upon a time I bought a blackcurrant-flavored soda in the U.K., and it was delicious, and I have never found it again. The Ribena blackcurrant soft drink I have found too sickly sweet; in a drink format, blackcurrant really needs carbonation to lift that sweet flavor. As far as the flat fruit drink goes, I ended up mixing that with some sparkling water and it turned out better. I still dream of you, true blackcurrant soda.