Everyone knows that the Japanese are masters when it comes to absurd, over-the-top food creations. After all, they’re the ones that brought us fizzy candy served in mini-toilets, eel-flavoured energy drinks, “kick-in-the-nuts” spicy Doritos and other weird and wonderful delights ranging from the delicious, to the incredible and the downright inedible.
759 Stores or “759 O-Shin House” as its name translates, are almost as ubiquitous as 7-Elevens in this city. With dozens of branches scattered around the city, 759 Stores – which has also expanded to outlets specialising in everything from pet food, to coffee, to wonton noodles – offer weird and wonderful Japanese-imported snacks aplenty. For the sake of journalism, we enlisted a group of adventurous friends to review the wackiest, and quirkiest treats that 759 has to offer.
Aguri Grilled Squid (HKD22.9 for one piece)
Packaging: Generally, we’re not a fan of grilled squid. One look at this vacuum-packed, slightly alien-looking specimen had us wondering if it belonged in a supermarket, or in a laboratory.
Taste: The grilled squid delivers a smoky fishy flavour with a sweet, candied glazing. Sadly, it had a soft texture and lacked the firm consistency we were expecting. Further to our disappointment, there was a trail of odourific, unpleasantly fishy goop that lingered on our hands afterwards. One of our more generous tasters said that she might take this on a camping trip. We couldn’t imagine eating a shrink-wrapped grilled squid as a snack – no matter how convenient its packaging is.
Verdict: A failed science experiment rather than a juicy seafood snack.
Stars: 1/5
Hase Clam & Cheese (HKD21.5 for five pieces)
We’re cheese-obsessed. Hard, soft, gooey, stinky, stringy, deep-fried, baked, with rind or without – we’re all over it. The main source of excitement about this soft cheese and dried clam combo was its promise to deliver our cheese fix. The dried clam would be an added plus.
Packaging: The bite-sized poppers made for a good snacking experience, although admittedly, the packaging was a little hard to open.
Taste: It was an oddly satisfying treat. The salty, brininess of the dried clam worked surprisingly well with the soft cream cheese. Sure, they look a bit dodgy; we wouldn’t vouch for the freshness of the dried clams either, but they’re okay.
Verdict: Bite-sized seafood snacks that might be mistaken for your dog’s treats. But, CHEESE.
Stars: 2/5
Tohato Caramel Corn, Salty Vanilla Flavour (HKD7.9 for 77 grams)
Most Hong Kong kids grow up with some variation of a puffed corn snack as a staple in their diet. Generally lighter than their potato or rice counterparts, they can be a good, easy choice for day trips, parties and movie nights.
Packaging: We liked the fun, happy packaging. The sky blue and smiley face combo promised a good time – definitely one for the kids (or kids at heart).
Taste: In terms of flavour, there was a powdery milk-like sweetness with a good hint of vanilla and caramel aromas. Also there was a nice crunchy texture that ended up dissolving on our tongues.
Verdict: Definitely ones to eat by the fistful, although you might get sick of them if they’re consumed to excess.
Stars: 3/5
Hai Tai Fried Rice Snacks (HKD11.8 for 110 grams)
Packaging: The first thing we noticed on the package was a picture of flaming-red churro-inspired rice snacks next to a bowl of tteokbokki, Korean rice cakes covered with hot, sweet, red chili sauce. “This one’s got a kick!,” we thought.
Taste: In reality, what we got was a nice hard crunch but these were far sweeter than we imagined – in a caramelised, corn-syrupy way, and only the slightest whiff of the spice and piquancy that we had expected.
Verdict: A sweet corn snack that alas, was all bark but no bite. We felt let down by this one.
Stars: 2/5
Ogasaki Sakura No Dessert (HKD14.9 for 285 grams)
Packaging: We were fascinated by this one – a cherry blossom flavoured jelly pudding that requires assembling. First, you add the rosy pink Sakura jelly pieces, followed by the evaporated milk syrup and lastly, red bean paste – natch. The plastic utensil they provided was fidgety, making it difficult to scoop up the pudding.
Taste: It was an interesting experiment, but the jelly pieces lacked firmness and we didn’t detect any floral aromas at all. The evaporated milk provided no surprises, while the red bean paste was on the sweet side. Whoever named this “Sakura no dessert” wasn’t kidding.
Verdict: All in all, this was an average snack that wasn’t all that remarkable.
Stars: 1/5
Lion Banapple Gummy (HKD10.5 for 40 grams)
Packaging: We sniggered at the name of this snack. Lion Banapple Gummy sounded like the name of a Japanese cartoon character. Still, the banana and apple flavour combo had me feeling curious. The gummies themselves were cream-coloured banana-like sweets that reminded us slightly of worm larvae. Despite how they looked, we attacked these bad boys with gusto. And they were amazing!
Taste: Like Willy Wonka’s flavour-changing chewing gum, our confused tastebuds kept sending us different signals. One minute we were having banana-flavoured candy. The next it turned into apple. Then back to banana. Then back to apple! Given that banana-flavoured anything is generally overpowering, it was balanced out nicely by the mild sweetness of the apple.
Verdict: Delightful, baffling and easily the most pleasing of the bunch – get it?
Stars: 5/5
759-brand Purple Potato Flavoured Egg Roll (HKD16 for 145 grams)
While 759 offers a huge range of Japanese snacks, there are also some good old fashioned Hong Kong bites thrown in for good measure. Egg rolls are one of Hong Kong’s most famous – and most loved – homegrown treats. The best ones are buttery-sweet and firm to the touch, but give away easily into a deliciously crumbly and flakey mess once you bite into them, finally dissolving on your tongue.
Packaging: Nothing remarkable.
Taste: These egg rolls are taking things to the next level with the addition of sweet potato. The rolls were perfectly eggy and buttery without being overly sweet – which is always a plus. Each roll – about the size of an average hand – was substantial. The only problem was that there was no hint of yam or sweet potato in the rolls.
Verdict: A winner – great to enjoy with your afternoon milk tea.
Stars: 5/5
Hatakousen Maccha Ramune, (HKD11.8 for a 200-millilitre bottle)
It seems like you can find matcha-flavoured everything these days.The delicate, smoky tea aroma does match(a) well with sugary treats like ice cream, chocolate and biscuits. But soda? For the uninitiated, ramune – or marble soda – is brand of carbonated soft drink invented by a Scottish pharmacist in Kobe to prevent cholera. Who knew?
Packaging: After an intense struggle trying to dislodge the marble from its opening, we managed to get the bottle open and to glug down the mildly sweet and tangy soda.
Taste: Surprisingly, the smoky, green tea flavour was strong but worked really well. Definitely one for a hot day!
Verdict: Matcha, the flavour du jour, works in ramune form!
Stars: 4/5
Now excuse us as we go take some antacids and calm our bewildered and disgruntled stomachs. What weird snacks have you tried from 789? Tag us on Instagram!
Got a tip? Send it to us at hongkong@coconuts.co
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