Eat snacks. Mostly candy. Almost too much.

Recent Snack Reviews

An individually wrapped gummy labelled "Hot fruits: peach". There is an illustration of a peach on it.
Fine

Hot Chili Fruit Gummies

Candy from Pakistan

Rating:
3 out of 5 stars
Source:

Universal Yums

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!

Written on Apr 27, 2022

A red bag of Vidal brand Spicy Mango Gummies. The gummies are shaped like mangos and are the right orange color!
Fave!!

Vidal Gummy Spicy Mangos

Candy from Spain

Rating:
5 out of 5 stars
Source:

Sweet Mickey’s in Seattle, WA. Also available on Universal Yums.

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.

Written on Apr 27, 2022

A small wrapped candy labeled "Frugeli" with an illustration of a pomegranate
Fine

Frugeli Pomegranate Jelly Candy

Candy from Greece

Rating:
3 out of 5 stars
Source:

Universal Yums

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.

Written on Apr 27, 2022

Two bags labeled "rice snack" with a pile of cubes stacked on a plate on the bags. Behind the bags are a pile of the individual rice snacks.
Fave!!

C & Me – Rice Snack 우리쌀 인절미

Rice & Corn from South Korea

Rating:
5 out of 5 stars
Source:

District H in Seattle, WA

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.

Written on Apr 10, 2022

A sealed bag of gummies with two big beautiful strawberries on the front
Fine

Kabaya Pureral Gummy - Two Strawberries

Candy from Japan

Rating:
3 out of 5 stars
Source:

Japan Candy Store

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.

Written on Mar 16, 2022

A chocolate bar called "ruby rood fruit", with packaging that boasts cut-paper abstract shapes in pink, red, and green.
Fave!!

Delicata Chocolate Happiness – Ruby Rood Fruit chocolate bar

Candy from Netherlands

Rating:
5 out of 5 stars
Source:

At an Albert Heijn grocery store in Amsterdam

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.

Written on Mar 05, 2022

?
Fave!!

Blackcurrant soda

Drinks from United Kingdom

Rating:
5 out of 5 stars
Source:

A British convenience store

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.

Written on Mar 05, 2022

A red bag of wine gums, which are gummies with the names of different types of alcoholic beverages stamped on them
Fine

Maynards Wine Gums

Candy from United Kingdom

Rating:
3 out of 5 stars
Source:

Most likely first purchased from a grocery store in Seattle, WA

Wine gums would not be the first British gummy I would reach for, but every so often I’ll be in the mood for a gum or two. Wine gums are a little bit harder of a texture, not so devilish as Jujubees but just dangerous-feeling enough to want to eat carefully. For whatever reason they have the names of different wine-adjacent beverages stamped on the gummies. People aren’t quite sure why they’re called wine gums.

Written on Mar 05, 2022

A yellow bag of Bassets Jelly Babies. There are happy, jumpy baby figures on the front in orange, red, and green
Yum!

Bassetts Jelly Babies

Candy from United Kingdom

Rating:
4 out of 5 stars
Source:

Probably at Rocket Fizz in Seattle, WA (now defunct)

When I purchased a bag of these, someone asked me if I watched Dr. Who. No??? Are Jelly Babies a big thing on Dr. Who? I have no idea. All I know is I love these squishy, powder-coated little guys. They are best fresh, when the squish factor is amped to 11. Black currant is the best flavor, followed by whatever the white one is.

Written on Mar 05, 2022

A single-serving tube or sleeve of candy called Fruit Pastilles. The packaging is green and there are some puck-shaped candies illustrated on the package.
Yum!

Rowntrees Fruit Pastilles

Candy from United Kingdom

Rating:
4 out of 5 stars
Source:

Probably first picked these up in a convenience store in Nottingham, U.K.

These are the first British candies I was enthusiastic about. They’re chewy little pucks with a sort of bumpy surface texture for the sugar. As with all British candies (in my opinion), the black currant flavor is the best.

Written on Mar 05, 2022