More Asian Snacks

On a recent trip to C-Mart in Chinatown, I found some Asian snack cakes that I don't usually see at the Hong Kong Supermarket in Brighton. The first two snacks pictured below are from C-Mart and the last one (actually 2 different cookies but the same brand) is from Hong Kong Supermarket. These snacks are also from 3 different countries (Taiwan, Thailand, and Japan).

Green Tea Cakes

These cakes from Taiwan are actually quite small in volume but they are dense. They're not heavy but they're dense enough that you don't need a huge portion. This type of cake comes in different flavors and I think there are other brands too. I chose this one just because I hadn't had a green tea flavored cake in a long time. For $2.29, you get 8 cakes. The size of the box is misleading because a lot of it is filled with the plastic tray. Nice presentation though. It's worth a try but probably not something you'd load up the shopping cart with on a regular basis.

Green Tea Cakes from Taiwan

EURO Custard Cake

For $2.18, you get 6 individually-wrapped cakes. Actually most Asian snack cakes come packaged that way, for some reason. These are from Thailand. I chose these because I got hooked on those Korean Orion cakes and knew that they were about to sell out of those at Hong Kong supermarket! So, I wondered if these might be a good substitute. Honestly, the custard tastes more like custard in these EURO cakes. The Orion custard cakes have a filling that tastes more like cream, which is also good but not really custard. I really liked these and would get them if I can't find the Orion cakes. However, these are a bit pricier per cake than the Orion cakes, but not by a lot. 

EURO Custard Cake from Thailand

Japanese Cookies

The last snack selections are Japanese cookies, in Chocolate Cream and Tiramisu flavors. These were $1.99 a package of 8 cookies each, I think. The package is also misleading because there is a plastic tray inside that prevents the cookies from breaking. These are very easy to gobble up quickly because each cookie is actually quite small and very tasty. As the pictures on the packages would suggest, they go well with coffee or tea. However, the fillings are not runny, as the pictures might suggest. They're still tasty though. As with most Japanese sweets, they're very well made but very small. So, it's not the biggest bang for the buck but a tasty snack nonetheless.

Asian Markets - a poor student's friend

In most large cities, there is at least one large Asian market that has a huge variety of products that you won't find at the other supermarkets, where anything that's remotely "ethnic" is premium priced. At the Asian markets, you can save a lot of money and have the opportunity to try new foods. In Boston area, there are plenty of stores with products from all over the world. There's an Indian store named "Shalimar" in Cambridge, a Korean store (forgot the name) near MIT, and Hong Kong Supermarket (formerly "Super 88") in Allston. At HK supermarket, you will find more than just Chinese products. They have Japanese curry and a small selection of Korean and other Japanese products. Their produce and meat sections are probably a lot more diverse and perhaps exotic than what you'd see in an American supermarket.

The fun part about going to HK supermarket is that they also have a food court attached to it, called "Super 88 Connection". I also noticed that they have a new Japanese restaurant there that serves rice (curry rice and "don") and ramen dishes but no sushi. The food court includes a Thai place, a Korean booth, an Indian booth, and a variety of Chinese booths. Dim sum chef has a pretty good selection of dim sum and they have pictures of the dishes on their menu, in case you don't know what they look like. They cook everything fresh, so you might have to wait about 5 to 10 minutes for your food. Fresh is good. Kantin is the place that has the roasted animals hanging in the window. Their menu is pretty long and has every Hong Kong style and Chinese-American style dish that you can imagine. That's the place I go to when I am very hungry.

Here is a selection of things I bought on a recent trip to HK supermarket:

1. Yeo's soy milk is made with Canadian soybeans. It comes in sweetened and unsweetened versions. The sweetened one can be a little too sweet so the unsweetened one can be used to make your drink less sweet by mixing it 50-50. The regular price is $1.29 for a 1 L box and goes on sale for about $1 now and then. It definitely tastes different from the stuff made by Silk or 8th Continent.

Yeo's soymilk - made with Canadian soybeans!

2. Shrimp flavored chips. These come in regular and wasabi flavors. Since they're baked, they're a little healthier than potato chips.

Wasabi flavored shrimp chips

3. Braised beef and wonton noodle soup (from Kantin, Super 88 Connection). If you get this to go, they will give you the soup part in one container and the rest of it in another container. This is so the noodles don't get too soggy and mushy by the time you get home. This is an awesome dish. Look for the booth with the roasted ducks hanging in the window. If you're coming from the supermarket, turn left after you go through the door that connects the supermarket to the food court. The booth is on the left.

Deconstructed Braised Beef and Wonton Noodle Soup

Braised Beef and Wonton Noodle Soup