Cici Aloe Drink (?)

Well, after the last entry, I thought I needed more of a challenge, and I found it in an aloe flavored snack-in-a-pouch. It winningly has Jay Chou on the package, who my girls assure me is the current heart-throb in China and beyond. I asked Allyne what it tasted like, and then stopped listening as I put the straw in my mouth. I took a long sip and..Whoa! Those were chunks! My eyes got big and Allyne laughed at me, "Mom, I just told you it had jelly chunks." Turns out it isn't even actually green, but it's from a green plant, in a green package, and I think I kind of turned green trying it. That qualifies it as a green snack right there.

Kiwi and Aloe Yogurt

I've always shunned green colored foods, unless they look like they just grew out of the ground. I remember as a kid being sorely disappointed in mint-chip ice cream (I think I cried) and avoiding green KoolAid at birthday parties. Green candy and Jello were other's I've stayed away from, as I've found the "apple" and "lime" flavors to be inedible. Fortunately, artificial green foods were few and far between, so it wasn't hard to avoid them.

Well, no more. After my last post, I realized how many green snacks there are here in China. I could avoid them as I always have, there are so many others to try, but I think it is time I face my fear of "green" and review some of the several green-colored snacks I've noticed on the shelves here. So next, I've tried a green yogurt, kiwi and aloe flavored (it was even in English so no guessing this time).

Normally, aloe is associated with medicinal or cosmetic purposes, so I was wary of this one. What does aloe even smell like? It just doesn't seem like a food. I'm kind of neutral on kiwis, and combined with what seems like a non-food flavor, I really didn't expect much from this one. But, to be honest, it wasn't that bad. It had a good amount of kiwi chunks, not too big, in it, and I really couldn't detect what was supposed to taste like aloe, reinforcing my colorless and flavorless opinion of it. I probably just liked it because I love the not-too-sweet, full-fat Chinese yogurt, and pretty much any flavor I've tried so far I've liked okay. So maybe this one was too easy. We'll see about the others...

The Snack of the Unknown Name

We have some really worrisome snacks on deck, so let's go with a good one while we get our courage up. These are candied walnuts covered in sesame seeds, and they are seriously tasty! We may buy some more so that we can cleanse our palates after some of the nasty ones.

Caplico Ice Cream Cone Cookies

I had to buy these, since they look just like little ice cream cones. The vanilla one tasted exactly like cream-filled wafer cookies. The green one I assume was supposed to be mint, but it really didn't taste like it. Actually, it tasted a bit like fish. Ew.

Potepo potato sticks

These sticks taste exactly like a buttered baked potato, except crispy and in a stick form. It's kind of disturbing, really, yet they are oddly addicting.

House of steamed potato

These are crackers, that taste like Pringles. But better, really. I'm glad the Chinese share my obsession with potatoes. I just wish they also shared my obsession with cheese.

Finger Licking Braised Pork Flavor

Oh, I love the name of this one. The Chinese are obsessed with KFC, so I'm sure that's why the "finger licking" part comes into play, but braised pork? I had to buy this one. In homage to Don's previous post, this is the one that is reminiscent of Violet Beauregarde and the three-course-meal chewing gum; it tastes like an entire Chinese meal in a chip. Which is a little disconcerting. It does, however, lead to the obvious, and no doubt forthcoming, chip creation: Finger Licking Braised Pork and Blueberry Flavor. If it's good enough for Violet...

Even Emma won't eat them

Yes, you read the package right. Blueberries are great in some things... muffins, pancakes, straight into your mouth, etc. Blueberries are not so great in other things... like potato chips.

We already have blueberry issues in our home. If we ever let Emma get to the package, she eats them all before anyone else gets a chance. It is a really obnoxious aberration in her otherwise unselfish nature. We have tried to remind her of Violet's fate in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but it has no effect (I'm making light of this, but it has been a real family fight. In an effort to enforce real-world consequences for her impulsiveness, we once made her go to church with a stomachache after eating a pound of blueberries that no one else got to eat in muffins).

The good news is that they really do taste like potatoes and blueberries (slightly salty). That is also the bad news. Perhaps we can use them as some sort of aversion therapy for Emma by forcing her to eat the whole bag. For now, we have the rest of the unfinished package (minus about 10 chips) in the cupboard. Even she won't eat them.

Italian Red Meat Flavor Chips

The Chinese love potato chips. At least based on the number of chip varieties, one would have to come to that conclusion. As I also have a weakness for all things potato, I will be reviewing as many types of potato chips as I can find. And there are many.

Here's one to start with: Lay's Italian Red Meat Flavor Chips

First, what exactly is Italian Red Meat? Not sure about that, nor am I certain I know what is in the bowl on the label. Is it pasta sauce? Minestrone? If you look closely you can see one rotini in the bowl. So it must be soup. Right?

The chips themselves are indeed red and do have a slightly meaty flavor, not unlike barbecue flavor chips, however I think these are sweeter, thanks to the aspartame. I don't detect what would identify them as "Italian" at all, but maybe it is the hint of tomato in the mix. So I guess this was not at all Italian, marginally meaty, and definitely red.

What are these?

These little fellas look like miniature dinner rolls. Maybe they are supposed to be served with bite sized meatloaf. Actually, the taste is more like Kix cereal. The kid on the package shows up on all kinds of products, and obviously he wants you to be happy in your snacking. Sometimes he is on dairy products, so maybe this package really is a tiny serving of breakfast cereal, and we are dumb foreigners for eating it plain.