Munchies smackdown

7 May 2015 4:54pm

Munchies smackdown: Japanese soda

We’re pulling the ring on some Japanese Sangaria brand soda cans. Read on to find out about the fizz…

Munchies smackdown: Japanese soda Source: SBS / SBS Food

We’re not awarding winners this week because the drinks proved very polarising. But one thing we can all agree on is that these cans definitely look more exciting than they taste, after a few gulps, we wanted to rinse our mouths out with tomato juice or vegetal to take that cloying sweetness away.

Sangaria drink number one: Maybe a lemonade? Thirsts quenched: -2
We couldn’t be sure of the flavour here, there wasn’t a picture of lemon but there was citric acid in the ingredients, so we assume a lemonade-y intention. But if that was the intention it wasn’t achieved. The range of flavour overshot lemonade and landed somewhere between Windex and Alka-Seltzer.

Sangaria drink number two: Melon. Thirsts quenched 0.5
Everyone was scared of the melon, and everyone was pleasantly surprised. The melon was spritzy and fun. It tasted like mild Midori, minus the booze. But it was so terribly sweet no one could manage more than a mouthful or two. Perhaps if there was vodka…

Sangaria drink number three: Apple. Thirsts quenched 1
This was an apple poppa (juice box) masquerading as a soda. There was no effervescence. We’ve seen more bubbles in a cup of tea! It had a pleasant apple flavour that reminded us of preschool nap time, though. But again, the sweetness hurt.

Sangaria drink number four: Grape. Thirsts quenched -4
Someone figured out how to liquefy Hubba-Bubba and then sold it to the good people at Sangaria to put in this can. It comes out looking like dirty black market Coca-Cola, but without the fizz. It is so exactly the flavour of grape bubblegum that you find yourself trying to chew it as it sloshes around your mouth. It’s a spit, don’t swallow situation.

7 May 2015 3:56pm

Munchies smackdown: Fiery chips

We’re feeling the burn and plunging our greedy little hands into four types of heat from the Blair’s Death Rain potato chip range. Read on to hear about the pain.

Munchies smackdown: Fiery chips Source: SBS / SBS Food

Winner: Jalapeno Cheddar, rating: Medium hot
These orange-fingertip-staining chips were the clear winner, delivering very minimal pain for happy cheesy gains. A good amount of cheese and a slow burn had us going back for more, and more.

Runner up: Buffalo Wings, rating: Medium hot
There was a danger the chicken flavour would be overshadowed by heat here, but there’s a good lingering barbecued chook on the palate. Another slow-burner, but pleasantly warm rather than painful.

Ouch: Jolokia Pepper, rating: WTF?!
Also known as the ghost pepper, the jolokia has a legit Scoville rating of 1,041,427, in other words, extremely *expletive* hot. There is a very distant smokiness in these chips, but the burn is so pervasive it hardly seems worth persisting. They also come in a much smaller packet, and we can’t help but wonder if this is because one really shouldn’t assault their gut with too many.

Ouch but ordinary: Habanero Pepper, rating: OMG!
The habanero is another exceptionally hot pepper, weighing in on the Scoville scale at 100,000–350,000. And while these chips certainly set things on fire, there isn’t much of a flavour to compensate. As one staffer astutely pointed out, these are the chips for the tight-arse party host, because one packet goes a loooong way.

30 Apr 2015 4:38pm

Instant ramen run

We're slurping our way through some rather rambunctious packet-ramen flavours, representing the cheesy, creamy, peanuty, and tiny.

Ramen noodles Source: SBS / SBS Food

There was no clearly triumphant noodle in our midst, but what they lacked up for in unity, they sure made up for in irregularity - and powdered flavour enhancers.

Mayo-beam instant noodles:
Setting aside all styrofoam snobbery, we decided to get squirty. Our mayonnaise “beam” (Kewpie, of course) was less impressive than the pack’s, but we attribute that to a lack of latticing practice. Taste-wise, no more mayo is needed! Like a noodley carbonara, the creaminess just worked. Dried cabbage specks swelled to life-size vegetable proportions, and the salty soy cut through the mayo’s sweet tang. Maybe all we needed was a mayo-beam to bring us down to earth.

Hankow Peanut Butter Noodle:
The ultimate in lazy-teen meals, these peanut butter noodles get pleasantly thick and saucy, but the vigorous mixing needed to achieve this may lose some less-hardy teenagers along the way. Those that stick it out are rewarded with a subtly peanuty, spicy-hot jumble of dark noodles. You'll carry a not-altogether-awful reminder of the meal with you for a few hours later on your breath.

Tokyo Noodle Mini Instant Noodle (chicken flavour):
Obviously, these are super-cute. But that's not all we're about when we're choosing our noodle. The small packs are a perfect teacup-size snack, fill 'er up with water and you have yourself a noodle-heavy cuppa. But we recommend eating these crunchy guys sans hot water, just as they are. They have a pleasing burnt-bits-on-the-bottom-of-the-pan taste. Not a lot of chicken coming through here.

Paldon Fun & Yum Cheese Ramen: For fans of plastic cheese flavour. Don’t be put off by the magma orange cheese powder. This created an addictive (albeit creamy brown) slurry that coated the palate long after the last noodle was slurped. Comfort on par with mac ’n’ cheese in a box. Definitely a once-a-month, not an everyday-eating, number.

23 Apr 2015 3:19pm

Calpis consumables

We’re trialling two variations of the Japanese beverage, Calpis.

Calpis products Source: SBS / SBS Food

If you don’t know what Calpis is, you may know it by the name Calpico. The un-carbonated soft drink goes by this name in the US because, well let’s face it, we all know what Calpis sounds like when you say it fast. The drink was originally designed as a health drink after founder Kaiun Mishima found Mongolians drinking cultured milk on his travels. Today, though, its sell as a healthy beverage is a dubious proposition. Regardless, we took it out for a spin, read on for our reviews.

Calpis water: Well, we have to say that ‘water’ is a somewhat erroneous description here. Sugary, vaguely lactic and despite its ‘Happy Refresh’ claims, this Calpis water left us parched. One taker even reported a sugar rush that far exceeded that of Coke. It’s not that it tastes bad, we quite enjoyed it (think watery Yakult), but this lactic acid drink is no thirst-quencher. We can imagine in working quite well in a sake-based cocktail.

Calpis jelly tubes: These tubes have an unnerving texture for those uninitiated in Asian jellied offerings. Runny and a little gloopy, you really need to suck to coax out the mixture. The packaging and the consistency of the product also reminded us of things unspeakable. Nonetheless, once these barriers were overcome the flavour is quite enjoyable for about three mouthfuls, after that, the sugar! The sugar! OMG the sugar! Make it stop.

16 Apr 2015 4:22pm

Matcha time

In our quest for the best munchies, we're chowing down on matcha (green tea) sweets.

Matcha time Source: SBS / SBS Food

Winner: The ultimate matcha treat comes dressed with no frills. This bland-looking green plastic wrapper houses the complex and delicious flavours of a full-sized matcha latte. Delicious!

Second place: Matcha-flavoured Pretz are about as exciting as bread sticks... tiny baby-sized bread sticks. As much as I love a good bread stick, I couldn't help but find myself wondering why the good company of Glico Japanese Snack thought bread sticks were the best way to accentuate the tastes of very fine green tea.

Just the worst: Don't be fooled by Nestle. This "matcha" flavoured KitKat is nothing but sugar and green food colouring! And it barely sizes up next to a real KitKat. For shame Nestle, for shame...

2 Apr 2015 2:30pm

Funked-out fruit chews

This week we're munching on some seriously funked-out fruit chews. Some are good, some are really not, read on to find out the winner and losers.

Fruit chews Source: SBS / SBS Food

Winner: Coming in at first place today is the sour-sweet Mangorind from Japanese chain Daiso. These soft, vaguely gritty tamarind and mango chews are such a hot-ticket item at Daiso that they often run out of stock, so buy up big when you catch them. It’s a shame about the medical supplies-looking packaging, though.

Second place: These mysterious, greyish straps have a not-too-subtle pickled tea leaf flavour and an unnervingly salty finish that lingers long after you’ve swilled litres of liquids in an effort to be free of it. Don’t be taken in by the pretty, pink packaging, these are less enjoyable than whiplash.

Just the worst: One team member was excited to give these preserved plums she remembered from her childhood a go. As it turns out, nostalgia is a powerful memory cleanser. If you don’t mind sucking on grandma’s mothball-infused cardigan, then you might enjoy these black nuggets of palate abuse. A very, very acquired taste.

2 Apr 2014 12:49pm

Crazy chips: part one

Today, we’re ripping into some crazy-flavoured chips.

Source: SBS / SBS Food

Winner: The Japanese wasabi corn was the clear star in our round-up. Perhaps due to the familiar Cheetos shape and texture. They’re like foam worms doused in wasabi powder. Addictive and strangely comforting.

Runner-up: ‘Non-fry’ was the only English on this packet so we had to determine the contents based on the pictures. From the sumo wrestler and the moss or seaweed covered rocks, we weren’t entirely sure, but they we’re pretty good! Square, salty pillows of indeterminable flavour.

Third place: We held high hopes for these Taiwanese crab-shaped crisps, but their crabbiness was somewhat disappointing. They lacked the pungency of a prawn cracker and, despite the packaging, weren’t actually pink. But they were incredible easy to scoff down, even with their tiny claws.

Loser: The wooden spoon goes to the SnowPea Crisps today, despite the happy pea character pointing to their ‘original’ status. As our assistant editor quite rightly pointed out, “no one wants to eat tinned peas in a chip.”

Munchies smackdown

We have the munchies at SBS Food HQ, so each Friday, we’ll be road-testing some of the more unusual snacks from Australia and the world.

Munchies smackdown: Japanese soda

Munchies smackdown: Fiery chips

Instant ramen run

Calpis consumables

Matcha time

Funked-out fruit chews

Crazy chips: part one

previous

1of1

next

Munchies smackdown

We have the munchies at SBS Food HQ, so each Friday, we’ll be road-testing some of the more unusual snacks from Australia and the world.

Munchies smackdown: Japanese soda

Munchies smackdown: Fiery chips

Instant ramen run

Calpis consumables

Matcha time

Funked-out fruit chews

Crazy chips: part one

previous

1of1

next

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