Welcome back to the NYC Konbini Kitchen! After indulging in the sweets, it’s time to dive into The Savory Side of Japanese Snack Culture.
Searching for the Ultimate Umami Potato Chip
Let’s be honest: sometimes there’s nothing that hits the spot better than salty junk food, even if it leaves you thirsty afterwards! Today, we are exploring some of the most popular and creative savory snacks, focusing heavily on iconic Japanese potato chips.
We’ll be tasting well-known flavors like Calbee Pizza and Hapi Yami Tsuki corn, but we’re also revisiting the infamous Honey Butter chips—a snack made famous by the mobile game Mystic Messenger.
Join us as we explore these umami-packed treats, all sourced from our local NYC konbini stops!
Jagabee: Crispy Texture and Lightly Salted Perfection
Jagabee Lightly Salted Fry Cut Potato Crisps: Excellent flavor – I’ve already eaten two bags of these at this point.
The appearance and taste are like those of French fries you’d get at a fast food restaurant. The inside of the crisps has a thick, almost overbaked potato taste and texture.
The fries themselves are pretty hard and carry a strong russet potato flavor and are slightly salty (as the name denotes). These kind of remind me of how Lay’s potato chips used to taste back in the day, before the formula changed and they got weird.
Minimal oily aftertaste on the Jagabee crisps.
Tasting the Trend: Calbee Honey Butter Potato Chips
I love these chips. I tried them years ago when Mystic Messenger was popular, and ironically hated them.
That sickeningly sweet honey tinged margarine smell when you first open the bag is a little brutal. The first chip doesn’t taste like much despite the overwhelming smell, just a very subtle honey and butter-like flavor.
So, maybe the recipe was toned down? The Shiawase butter flavor of butter, honey, parsley and mascapone cheese works really well. (Or my taste buds changed…don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing, haha.)
It was overpowering years ago, and I believe I may have tried a different brand (Hattai?) at first. Not as bad now, as butter and salt seem to go well on chips just as they do regular potatoes.
The second chip was surprisingly enjoyable after this revelation. I definitely attribute this to a palette change I may have experienced after experiencing and developing a liking to so many traditional Japanese foods and snacks that can be considered acquired tastes.
At this point, I don’t even use soy sauce anymore on white rice or mixed fried rice like I used to growing up, after the social engineering of disapproving stares when eating bento.
I think these random green specks on the chips are parsley flavoring. (Or at least I hope it is, haha.)
Hapi Yami Tsuki Corn and Calbee Pizza Potato Chips
Hapi Yami Tsuki Corn Snacks: These little corn snacks smell a lot like corn, reminding me of how Frito-Lay used to smell back in the day (haven’t eaten those in years) – and they look puffy.
Very soft with a spicy, garlic-like taste, as if all of the seasoning were placed on the top, similar to a Dorito despite the tops being bare. Maybe the spice powder is a tannish-brown like the snacks?
Airy with a corny aftertaste. It doesn’t taste like fresh corn, but rather has an artificial taste.
Overall: enjoyable, but I don’t know if I’d purposefully seek this one out again. It’s nothing special, probably best for mindless eating while watching movies or an anime.
Calbee Melty Cheese Pizza Potato Chips: Think pizza-flavored Pringles, but a little bit worse, with a somewhat stale pizza flavor. Maybe it’s because I’m from New York, but I find that “pizza-flavored” anything, like chips or even pretzels, never comes close to the real thing.
If anything, it always tastes like an artificial imitation of a bad Italian spice combo that makes Ellio’s pizza taste legendary.
For the record, they’re not bad – I just don’t like the taste of artificial pizza things, it seems. You may like it if you enjoy such things.
Have you tried any of these Japanese chips before? If so, what is your favorite snack?
Leave your thoughts in the comment section below, I’d love to hear from you! Also be sure to follow us for more Japanese Snack reviews!
☆ In Asian Spaces ☆ Ephesians 6:12 ☆
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