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My mother-in-law is in town for the week and made a special request for pho. So I took her to Hmart to pick up ingredients for it. I visit this giant Korean grocery store at least once a month to restock my Vietnamese pantry staples, so I forget what a culture shock it can be.
After we got everything off our list, my mother-in-law and I split up to wander around Hmart. My favorite foods to study there are the snacks. Even without tasting them, the packaging is so fun and different from American snacks.
Take these GGE Wheat Crackers in various flavors. I’ve never seen these before but the “international” characters are super cutesy. It’s basically the same figure in different clothes, hat, and facial hair. If an American company tried this, we’d call them out for being racist.
I’ve seen both of these before but have never purchased them. The Banana Kick Banana Snack (with artificial flavor) is hilarious. The banana is wearing socks and shoes and dressed kind of like Curious George’s Man in the Yellow Hat.
Of course you can’t go wrong with a giant Pocky display. Strangely enough, there were no banana pocky in this display even though it was sitting on the big yellow box. The black box with green othe far left is green tea pocky. I forgot to look at what flavor that light blue box is. We love Pocky around here. My favorite are the almond crush Pocky.
I recently turned the kids onto ChocoPies, which are very similar to southern moon pies. They’re basically a cookie sandwich with marshmallow in the middle and the entire thing is dipped in chocolate. I’m not sure what makes these Hello Kitty chocopies except the box is pink and she’s on it.
These really confuse me. They look like corn flakes, but I think they’re a savory snack. The sign calls them Indian Bob. This would also be considered totally racist if an American company made them.
Last but not least are these really awesome sodas, Ramune. Inside the top is a little glass marble that you push into the drink. That causes some some sort of reaction that carbonates the soda. It’s a fun party trick! The kids love it, but that’s because Ramune is very sweet. These are some new to me flavors.
Next time I’m at Hmart, I’m going to try one of these snacks.
Which one should taste test?
My husband loves those banana snacks. They are kind of like puffy cheetos.
My recent post Pain Demands to Be Felt
Puffy sweet cheetos? Hmmm. Maybe it's worth a try.
Two HMarts are about to open in my area. Can't wait to try these fun snacks!