Posting a bunch of different things.

Chinese hawthorn sweets

This one mixes strawberry with hawthorn, and it was pretty good. In real life it’s darker than the picture on the bag, so it doesn’t look appetizing at all – but it tastes fine. Then again, packaging in China is basically a work of fiction by default, so it’s best not to trust it too much… still, it tastes good, so no complaints.

Hawthorn discs

It’s the same hawthorn sweet sliced thin into little discs, and it’s easy to snack on. This one doesn’t look all that appetizing in person either, though.

Beni Haruka chips

Frying a sweet potato that sweet does make for a good chip, but eat too many and it starts to feel heavy. It’s a limited item you can only buy in winter.

Ise lobster salt flavor

I have no idea whether there’s any real spiny lobster in there, but it didn’t taste bad. The problem is how little you get – tip the bag back once and it’s gone. Inflation in Japan is turning into a serious problem.

Potato chips seasoned with nothing but salt

Something felt missing. A bit of a wasted purchase.

Tomato & basil potato chips

They’re just okay.

Chainsaw Man gummies

Chainsaw Man was at peak popularity around then, so these weren’t easy to get hold of. As for the taste, I couldn’t really tell you.

Kobe Chardonnay cheese dessert

Cheese Dessert is good to begin with, and this one was nice and fresh-tasting too. Nicely done.

Atarime shichimi mayo flavor

A dried-squid potato chip came out last year and it was fantastic, and now it’s back as a proper product. The atarime flavor has been dialed down, though, so it doesn’t live up to the cult classic I remember. If this is all we get, why bother?

Lobster butter

I bought it at Kaldi, but it doesn’t taste of lobster at all, so it’s a miss. Kaldi really is quite the lottery.

Biang biang noodles

FamilyMart is selling Chinese biang biang noodles. I tried them and they were pretty good. That’s a decent job of recreating them, I’d say.

Biang biang noodles

Throw it together without much care and this is what you get – and the noodles are properly chewy. They really nailed it.

Donbei Complete Meal curry udon

I’m not sure it really qualifies as a complete meal, but it’s perfectly edible. Given the price, though, I don’t see a reason to have it again.

Cod roe butter potato chips

Not great. Anything with tarako in it ought to taste good, but this one is just sweet.

Kappa Ebisen in seaweed salt and smoked cheese flavor

Perfectly fine, nothing more than that.

Krazy Salt nuts

Nuts that put some thought into the salt, though there isn’t a lot in the bag. They’re fine with a drink, but not something I’d go out of my way for.

“Golden Flesh” potato chips

Chips made from potatoes grown on the company’s own farm, and these were really good.

Niche Rich

It’s supposed to be ajillo flavor, but it’s just so-so.

Yoichi and Miyagikyo back in stock

They’re slowly starting to appear on the shelves again.

Bruichladdich highball

Bruichladdich is unremarkable, but it’s an easy-drinking style.

Saburomaru Distillery’s Smoky Highball, Spanish Oak Finish

Saburomaru really does taste like they threw in every bit of peat they had – even Laphroaig would struggle to go this far. It feels completely deliberate, and it hit my tastes so squarely that I loved it. It’s about as close as a can gets to a highball a bartender mixes for you.

Country-style okaki

Perfectly ordinary.

Torii Sauce kaki no tane

This is a flavor I love, though the price seems to creep up a little every time it comes back. It’s so addictive that I don’t stock up on it – if I buy a lot I’ll finish it in no time.

The lineup at the liquor shop

Unlike an ordinary supermarket, they stock all sorts of unusual things. Even I was tempted by the Hennessy x LeBron James collaboration.

Mori Izo, Murao, Mao

The prices here aren’t bad either, though you can sometimes get them a little cheaper online.

Mont-Perat

I never expected Mont-Perat to take off like this. Whether it warranted a full-on Drops of God collaboration is another question.

Poroshiri

A limited-edition chip, and it was decent. There are a lot of chips made from potato varieties bred specifically for chips these days, and I think they’re pretty good.

An assortment of rye breads

You can get all kinds of rye bread online, and this sort of thing really is good for you. I buy it often.

Shin Ramyun

I brought these to Japan as a gift, but nobody would touch them because they were too spicy, so I ended up eating them myself.

High Protein

There’s no shortage of options when it comes to healthy breads. In the end they all taste much the same, though, so I think the move is to buy whichever gives you the most for your money and put some thought into what you put on top.

Mala peanuts

FamilyMart’s mala peanuts are a favorite of mine, though finishing a whole bag does get spicy. I have them now and then, but I always end up polishing off the bag in one sitting, so I’ve started staying away.

Potato chips, Otaku no Mayo flavor

The mayo is surprisingly tangy, and there’s a peppery kick on top of it, which cuts through the greasiness of the chips. Really quite good.

This is getting long, so it continues in Part 2.

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