Ah, Daiso. Rows and rows of neatly organized tools, decorations and other paraphernalia – all for $2. Amongst their wide array of household items and more, Daiso is well-stocked with a myriad of Japanese snacks! And as you know, where there is food, there is FATClub.
So, I went down, threw a lot of snacks in a basket and cried as my wallet went through a weight-loss program.
Before we start, let me just say that due to budget and stomach constraints, I could not try literally everything, so if I missed out your favourite snack, comment below and maybe there will be a part two to this article… Also, all the snacks are not halal-certified and some do contain pork products, so apologies to our Muslim readers. With that out of the way, let’s begin!
Here are the top 7 snacks at Daiso
#1 Riska Corn Potage Puffs
Coming in proud at number one is Daiso's Potage Puffs! This is a personal favourite.
Potage (I am still not sure how to pronounce this) is basically a really thick soup, just like the texture of clam chowder. Hence, when I saw this in Daiso, I wondered, how on earth would one get the taste of corn potage When you open the packet, you're immediately hit with the smell of... corn soup? What?
The puffs taste just like those cans of corn soup (or even better I would say), sweet and savory with a strong corn flavor. They're even speckled with flecks of parsley and you can actually taste the herb. The puff itself is a great vehicle for the corn flavor - its light and airy texture balances the strong taste, giving a nice crunch and then disintegrating quickly in your mouth. I love these because they're so addictive and I don't feel gross and heavy after finishing a whole bag of these. If you're one for slightly sweet snacks, I highly recommend these. If you hate corn, then this might not be the one for you because the corn flavor is (deliciously) intense!
#2 Hammer On Pretzel: Black Pepper
The black pepper taste doesn't actually seem strong at first but it definitely builds up well. And if you get a piece that is really well-coated, hoo boy is it a punch of flavor. The taste of black pepper lingers on your tongue, mingling with the taste of good ol' MSG. The pretzel itself is crunchy and delicious, the texture isn't super bready and dry like some pretzel snacks are. The size of the pieces are perfectly bite-sized and super easy to just pop into your mouth. These come in many different flavors as well, cheddar, honey and more. These snacks are the perfect addictive snack for me - salty, crunchy and MSG.
#3 Harvest Thins: Sesame Flavor
These are thin (hah) biscuits that have a sweet and salty flavor. As the biscuits are thin, they don't feel so starchy and are a lot lighter than normal biscuits. The biscuits have a buttery sweetness combined with hint of sesame (yes I have a thing for sesame). They also have little sugar crystals on them so watch out for crumbs! I think these would go really well with a hot cup of coffee or tea - its lightness would balance the thick flavor of coffee and its sweet saltiness would complement the smoothness of tea. The biscuits come individually packed (plus point!) with each bag containing eight packs of four biscuits. These come in many different flavors like butter toast and almond caramel and I am excited to try them all. One day...
#4 Happy Turn Rice Crackers
These rice crackers taste exactly like a super intense Wang Wang! Crunchy rice crackers coated in a salty powder, these have a stronger, more intense flavor compared to the original Wang Wang. While these were a tad too strong for me, they are delicious and a good alternative if you find the Wang Wang crackers too bland. The cracker itself has a good texture and carries the flavor well. The powder does stick to your fingers a bit so if you're one of those finger-lickers, congratulations you found the goldmine.
#5 Meiji Grape Gummy
So this gummy was actually recommended to me by a lot of people and I can see why. The gummy is nice and soft with a sweet (artificial) grape flavor. With its size, it is much chewier than the small gummy bears I'm used, creating a satisfying (you can even say fruitful) chewy experience. Personally, I like eating gummies when I'm studying because it keeps my mouth busy and I won't feel the need to snack further.
The bag is resealable, which is a good choice of packaging for sweets seeing as how most (normal) people don't just continuously pop candy into their mouths. However, for $2 there aren't a lot of gummies (the photo above is most of it), which is a pity. Despite that, if you like the cloying sweetness of artificial grape and a good chew, these gummies are super addictive.
#6 Kari Kari Takosen
These are crackers that taste just like the dark sauce drizzled on top of takoyaki. If you're not sure how takoyaki sauce tastes like, its a heavy mix of sour, sweet and salty, with a slight pungency that comes with Worcestershire sauce. The crackers replicate the sauce delightfully, creating a delicious savory experience when you first pop these in your mouth. The reason why these crackers aren't higher on the list is because the cracker itself is not as impressive. The cracker doesn't have a very nice texture, its not very airy or crunchy. Furthermore, the taste of the takoyaki sauce can get a bit jelat (tiring, cloying, too much) after a while. So, 6th place it is.
#7 Ginbis Asparagus Biscuits
I picked these up thinking that these would have some sort of unique, veggie flavor but after reading the ingredient list, these actually do not contain any asparagus. At all. The word "asparagus" simply refers to its shape. I have to admit, I was slightly disappointed. However, disappointment aside, these biscuits are still a nice snack.
These crunchy biscuit sticks have a bready, dense texture, similar to the Mitsuya Tasty biscuit sticks. These have black sesame seeds dotting them, offering a slight hint of nuttiness amidst the starch. While I would have preferred a stronger sesame flavor, these are still a good snack if you are craving something starchy and slightly salty.
Alright, that's the end of the list. Daiso is honestly chock full with many weird snacks in many different flavours so it's a good, cheap way to try some flavours unique to Japan like takoyaki sauce, corn potage (I know it didn't originate from Japan but have you seen soup flavoured foods elsewhere?) and more. All the snacks mentioned in this article were bought from the one in IMM which is a pretty large outlet, so smaller outlets may not have the same variety of snacks.
Unfortunately, I couldn't try every snack and sweet in Daiso so if I missed your favorite snack, comment below and let us know!
P.S We have another article about food from Daiso coming up soon, stay tuned!
B.L.
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