Good news.  We've just added several flavors of Lotte Pepero to our international snack store.  They all look so yummy and it was a hard choice choosing just one flavor to review here on our blog.  So how did we decide to review the Lotte Pepero Double Dip Milk & White Chocolate?  Easy, we went with the Pepero with the most chocolate!

Before we jump into our review, we should take a moment to talk about Pepero.  If you've never heard of Pepero but think it looks oddly familiar you may be thinking of the Japanese Pocky.  These tasty treats are nearly identical but are in no way related to each other.  Pocky is the older of the two which was established in the 1960s.  Pepero (owned by Korean Brand Lotte) didn't come along until the 1980s.  They are both cookie sticks dipped in a variety of chocolate and toppings.  We plan to do a direct comparison of the two in the near future here on our blog.  Let's take a closer look at Lotte Pepero Milk & White Chocolate dipped cookies. 

We love the packaging.  It looks very classy and extra tempting.  The outside box is well done and features gold foil and tons of tasty chocolate.  Inside we found two separate bags, each containing 5 cookie sticks.  Again, well designed packaging and ideal since you may want to break up the portion and take your time devouring them. So do they taste as good as they look?

Before we decided to do our review we did a little research.  The following that Pepero has on social media and other outlets is strong.  So we had high expectations. I think the faithful followers have led us to a slight disappointment. The Lotte Pepero Double Dip Milk & White Chocolate is enjoyable. They are good, but not phenomenal.  This may be the charm of this snack though.  A simple, straight-forward snack that's pleasant and tasty.  So there you have it.  Check out our current selection of Korean Cookies. We will ship them to you no matter where you live.  As always, keep on snacking world!

We know it's been too long since we've posted here on our international snack blog.  What's been the hold up?  Well we've added tons of new snacks from around the world, so much of our time has been spent on writing descriptions and other tasks that come with running a successful online store.  So enough excuses, let's get on with our snack review.

For those who have followed along over the years, you might be wondering why we are reviewing Lotte Happy Promise Custard Cakes again.  Well, we've just added Orion Custard Soft Cup Cakes to our inventory of Korean snacks and we thought it would be fun to compare the two.  Lotte and Orion are the two biggest brands out of South Korea so we genuinely want to know which custard cake is better. Our review panel tonight consists of myself (a 33 year old American-ish male) and our Director of Taste (my 13 year old American son).

So our first comparison is the packaging.  The Orion Custard Soft Cup Cakes have recently gone through a design update and that is what initially caught my attention.  Personally I like the new package.  It's fun, shows the product, and has a cool retro flair to it.  My son however prefers the Happy Promise Custard Cake packaging.  He said "it's simple and clean."  I am more visual, so to me showing the actual product was a big bonus.  However, with two reviewers - this one is a draw.

Well these are custard cakes, so let's compare the custards first.  Orion Custard Soft Cup Cake had less filling.   It was however, creamier and better tasting.  The Lotte Happy Promise Custard Cake had ample filling and we did appreciate that, however it was less flavorful. Both of us agree, round 2 goes to Orion.

So now onto the cake portion of this Korean Snack.  They are cakes after all!  Like the last category, this one was unanimous as well.  We both preferred the Lotte cake.  Orion is correct by calling their version soft.  It was soft, and moist considering it's a mass produced packaged cake.  The Lotte version was airy and light.  The cake was also sweeter and just overall more pleasant.  So round 3 clearly goes to Lotte.

So if you've been keeping up with the several sentences above you know at this point we are at a draw.  Now saying they are equal is a cop out and we won't have it. So we decided to declare a winner even though it's pretty much a tie.  What is our favorite Korean custard cake?  We have to go with the Lotte Happy Promise Custard Cake.  What do you think? We love to have other weight in below.  Lucky for you, World of Snacks offers both of these yummy cakes for sale in our international snack store with shipping here in the US and around the globe.  Keep in snacking world!

Taiwan is the latest country to be added to our growing list of destinations.  This makes the 28th country for World of Snacks to sample treats from.  Our goal is to locate the very best candy, cookies, chocolates, gummies, and cakes from all around the world.   Once we find them, we will offer these international snacks for sale online in the US with shipping to pretty much everywhere.   On January 1st we will officially launch our foreign snack store and at that time we will be stocking snacks from England.  After that, every month we will add a new country to our store and of course restock our inventory for all countries offered.  Now on with the review!

The snack going under review today is produced by a company called Choice Finee, Inc and they have offices in both the US and Taiwan.  With a strong US base I suspect this treat may not be a truly authentic Taiwanese snack.  Instead I feel it may be made for the US market.  We’ve run into this once before with Eiffel Bon Bon’s.  Also the company’s slogan is “New and innovative products for desserts and specialty drinks.” So, this may not be a snack at all.  It may just be a desert toping!  Lets take a look at Rainbow Mochi from Taiwan and see what we can find out.

Our Rainbow Mochi comes in a light blue package and reads Mochi, Crafted with Korean Formula.  There are two playful child-like cartoons, one with a hammer, and a clear heart shaped window with some foreign writing.  Sadly I am not sure what it reads.  Inside you can see a ton of the Mochi in a variety of colors, in fact a rainbow of colors.  There is also a partition breaking this 10oz snacks into three sections.  

At the start of our taste test of the Rainbow Mochi from Taiwan, our testers were still unsure of exactly what Mochi was.  We dove in anyway!  Rainbow Mochi taste like very fruity small marshmallows.  They almost have a fluffy soft gum consistency, so we could tell they were not actual marshmallows.   All testers involved did like the treat, but we are not sure if it can stand on it’s own.  That brings us back to the feeling that Mochi is a topping of some sort.  After a little more research, we did confirm our suspicions.  Mochi is often put on ice cream and used as an ingredient in other snacks.  Also interesting side note, this snack that reads Korean formula and is made in Taiwan, is really a Japanese treat!

Will World of Snacks stock this mystery of a desert topping (or ingredient) in our online snack store?  No, Rainbow Mochi from Taiwan will not be offered for sale, unless we find a true authentic version from one of the countries in question.  To stay up to date with our progress and receive a coupon the launch of our store be sure to leave your details to the right.

Buckle up snack fans, we are flying into Asia today to review a Korean Snack for our international snack blog.  Last time we reviewed a snack from South Korea we took at look at Nongshim Shrimp Flavored Crackers.  Our review of that snack was one of our first salty snack reviews.  This review is our first sweet snack from Korea and we are looking forward to it!

Upon opening the package we discovered a small light colored cake that looks a little similar to miniature muffin.  Lucky our test group only consisted of two tasters, this Korean snack is not meant to be shared. To peak inside prior to the test we broke our Lotte Custard Cream Cake in half.  The cream was not as smooth as I would assume but the cake was moist and had a pleasant texture.  The flavor was more mild than I anticipated but it was very welcomed.  The cake is not overpowering and neither is the filling.  The overall flavor was very subdued but we both found the snack very enjoyable.  It did hint to the flavor of a Hostess Twinkie but seemed a little more grown up.  Although our 10 year old Director of Taste enjoyed it as much as I did.

Will World of Snacks incorporate Lotte Custard Cream Cakes into our regular inventory when we launch our international snack store later this year?  Chances are you will be able to purchase this Korean/Japanese snack on a regular basis.  To be notified of our grand opening be sure to leave your details to the right.  Keep on snacking!

Recently a majority of our taste tests have been focused on sweet snacks.  That may mostly be my fault because I have a strong sweet tooth and crave sugar often.  One of our avid followers thought we were not going to carry salty snacks and chips.  Not too worry, we have you covered.  World of Snacks will stock all types of treats and we will definitely sell a variety of chips.  Now on to our first sugarless product review!

Today our Global Snack Blog heads to Korea!  We are taking a look at Nongshim Shrimp Flavored Crackers.  Nongshim is Korea’s top manufacturer of instant noodles and also produces a variety of snacks, rice products, fruit juices, and bottle water.  The company has long standing roots in Korea that date back to 1965.  Currently they are in 80 or so international markets but are not widely distributed by major grocers in the in United States.

Nongshim Shrimp Flavored Crackers are one of the most recognizable and loved snack foods from Korea.   The use of the term “cracker” is not the traditional word used state side.  In the US market these would be classified as a chip.  They resemble long narrow ribbed French fries and are made from flour and ground up shrimp.  The texture is light and crunchy.  The package is bright red, shinny, and is very noticeable.  Now onto the taste test!

Upon opening the Nongshim Shrimp Flavored Crackers you are immediately aware this is no normal U.S. chip.  You get a whiff of the ocean immediately.  Living just off the Gulf of Mexico we were familiar with the smell but I can imagine it may not be so familiar or as pleasing to others.  Needless to say it had a fishy hint to it.  The bag was filled fairly and the product was aesthetically pleasing.  The texture in my mouth felt right but the flavor was a little off.  Our panel of snack enthusiasts all thought it lacked a shrimp punch. This may be because the shrimp are ground into the batter of the treat and not simply seasoned like many others.  The outer seasoning was simply a light salting.  At first I personally wasn’t a fan of these shrimp flavored crackers but I continued to eat them to prepare our review and they slowly grew on me.  The other tasters agreed that they are addicting and everyone else liked them from the start.  Our 10 year old Director of Taste was the biggest fan and plans to take the remaining with him to school tomorrow to share with his friends.  

Will World of Snacks sell Nongshim Shrimp Flavored Crackers?  How could we not?  Being among the most recognizable and familiar brands in Korea we would be doing many snack enthusiast an injustice by not stocking them.  They are also addicting, so we know our customers will be back for more!