Confessions of a Grocery Store Addict

Grocery Stores are on the top of my to-go list when I am in a new place. I love going through rows and rows of goodies and reading through labels of snacks, cookies, and what-have-you's hoping to stumble upon discounts and promo packs. There is something soothing about walking through the aisles, comparing price points, imagining the food that one can make from these items. Or if you're like me, walking off the day's stress at the grocery shop and finally settling on a bag of one's favorite snack and a yummy fizzy drink called Ambasa. For me, the bigger the grocery store, the better.


In UK, I lived in a building with a giant ASDA shop on the ground floor. ASDA is Britain's Walmart. It is owned by Walmart Corporation, same cheap everyday prices, only a different name :-). After work, I often dropped by ASDA and walked through the aisles, checking out items, thinking of meals to make out of the produce on sale. Back then, I still cooked and baked regularly and brought packed lunches to work, so I
had an excuse to splurge on groceries.


I now live in Seoul where it is far more cheaper to buy lunches than cook for one. Most of the time, we eat dinner at the office canteen (it's free :-)) so I have no reason to stock up on food. The only staples in my ref are yoghurt, eggs, celery (I love munching on celery sticks!), butter and a variety of juices.

It still hasn't stopped me from passing by the grocery stores daily :-) There are two small groceries within walking distance from my flat. Another, bigger grocery, Homeplus, is a train station away. A few days a week, I go down at the station near Homeplus and roam around the endless rows of products. Homeplus has a handful of British/European goodies because of its tie-up with Tesco (a British grocery chain like ASDA) and has a wider selection of goodies than the two groceries that are nearer my place, so more often than not, this is where I buy my groceries.


I guess you're wondering, if I don't buy food for my meals at all since I eat at the office most days what do I get from trawling through these groceries' aisles?

I don't really know :-). I suppose the sale hunter in me is always on the lookout for product sales. I bought cans of caramel-flavored coffee even when I don't personally drink coffee because they were 50% off! I buy Choco Pies when they are on sale even when I don't really like them. Plus I love checking the spices and seasonings area. Looking for hard to find spices ~ perilla seeds, thyme, coriander.Amd yes, if I see some new spice I like, I buy them. Thankfully, my younger brother is more passionate in cooking (and eating!) than I am, so I send my purchases out to him and my mother in Pinas in the hope that he'll be able to use them in his cooking.


I am happiest though when I am able to score goodies, usually snacks and chocs, that are new to me. Mostly, I get them from the periodic Snack Sales at Shinsegae or Lotte, two chi-chi stores with a lot of foreign, premium goodies. These goodies are often overpriced but during the snack sales, the prices are often slashed with 20-60% discounts, so this is the time I pounce :-)


Here are a few of my latest snack buys from my trips through grocery aisles. Most of the goodies here, I sent to Pinas for my mom and brother since I can't really tolerate too much sugar intake or wheat products. Still, the fun of scoring these good buys was more than enough for the deal hunter in me :-)

Good Finds: Uncle Al's Peanut Butter Cremes~ yummy! Also the Muesli Cookies! Trolli's Chocolate -filled Banana candies were too sweet for me. The rest, I have sent to Pinas for the family :-)

Ambasa: my favorite carbonated drink. It is described as a milk-based soft drink. If you ask me how to describe it, it's like Yakult in softdrink form.

Hello Kitty Cream Sandwiches: bought them for my nieces :-)

Fan Cookies from Spain, aptly (and uncreatively) named as Fan&Choc ;-)

Hawaiian Host's Macadamia Nut Crunch Singles Pack~this is my favorite from Hawaiian Host. Reminds me of Nestle Crunch:-)

Chocolate Chip Cookies from Poland: Good but a bit too sweet for me. The slight tartness of the dried fruits balances the creamy sweetness of the chocs a bit. But I like my cookies more buttery than sweet.

Blueberry and Banana-flavored Milk: yummy but a bit expensive at 1,200 won (about 50 pesos) for a small bottle.

Popcorners ~ these are basically made from popcorn and nothing else. Just popcorn in chips form.
Great for someone like me who wants chips but can't eat too much wheat-based snacks.

These are the most buttery, yummiest chocolate chip cookies I've tried to date. Unlike most chocochip cookies that are either chewy or crispy, these ones are shortbread based, so they're very buttery and flaky. And yep, they're made in France.

The Coconut Cookie Post

Just like the first time, the delight begins with breaking wide the aluminum package encasing these precious nibbles. There's a hit of something familiar, something of home. If I close my eyes, I could picture my late lola at the stove top, turning cocomilk into oil and those brown, nubby bits of deliciousness I so loved as a kid.

The smell is the essence of coconut. The kind of aroma one gets by reducing pure unadulterated coconut cream into coconut oil and latik.

Last week, I saw this cookie pack at the grocery, but I stopped myself from buying one. See, all the stuff I've tried from this brand (DARE) have been fantastic. I even dared to declare one variant as the Best Cookies Ever! But this other variant of what is supposedly the ultimate cookie line, this one's different. It was coconut flavored, and I hesitated because, hell, this is a flavor Dare can easily screw up. I have never tasted coconut biscuits worthy of their label. That and because I am from the Philippines, where the flavor of coconut is so familiar, so ingrained.

Coconut is our country's version of the giving tree--each part is used for something --for firewood, for baskets, for soap, for food. So for a Canadian based company to offer a coconut flavored cookie, well, it's almost blasphemous, something I viewed with suspicion. How can a country where there are no coconuts produce something deliciously coconutty?

But last Monday, on the grocery aisle, these coconut cookies were on sale. The prices were slashed by half! A box of cookies for merely 50 pesos! I could not fight the urge and got myself a box.

Describing the texture which is a lovely in-between state of crumbly, buttery yet chewy, and the pleasure of inhaling the scent of pure coco essence are not enough to do justice to this cookie's beauty.

One bite and the first thing that popped in my mind was, OMG, it's like eating Macapuno in cookie form! I don't know how they distilled the flavor of full-on natural coconut, how they blended it with cream and milk to get that almost macapuno pastillas-like flavor of the creme filling, I just know that these cookies are amazing. Truly, deliriously delicious.

If you ask me now which one I'll choose -- the Maple Creme or the Coconut Creme, I'll get the latter. Because while the Maple Creme is exquisite. It is still sweet. Whereas my Coconut Cremes are a touch shy of being considered sweet as per my tastebuds. Instead of sugar, what dominates is a creamy, coconut flavor.

I could never have imagined myself singing praises for a Coconut Cookie made by a manufacturer in Canada (where there are no coconuts!) but maybe because back then, I have yet to try these Dare Ultimate Cookies.

Now, all I want is to try the other Ultimate Cookies! Only question is, will the Chocolate, Blueberry, or Raspberry flavors of the Dare Ultimate Cookie line ever reach Seoul? :-(


P.S. A confession: the box you're seeing, the one in the photo above. Well, this was not the box I bought last Monday. When I opened and tasted the cookie, the monster in me growled. And I finished the box of eight coconut creme cookies in one sitting. *glutton*

It helped though because now I know that my delirious joy caused by eating this coconut cookies was not a fluke: Last night, I bought two more boxes of these Coconut cookies, opened one and wham! It is still, to my mind, like eating a luscious macapuno pastillas, in cookie form.

DARE: Best Cookies Ever

Screw Oreos and Choco Chip cookies. At least for me, these are the best cookies ever:

The experience begins when you open the package. That scent – sweet, musky, slightly buttery hits you head on. It is the unmistakable sweet essence of real Canadian maple. I pick a cookie:

A beautiful, ornate, lightly yellow maple leaf shaped cookie.

The cookie itself is a bit of a paradox: Its texture is similar to a shortbread, buttery and crumbly, and yet it is not grainy and is moist enough that it’s softer than normal cream cookies such as Oreos. And yep, the maple flavor is baked in the cookie –soft, lingering and not too sweet.

And just like Oreos, the best part is in the middle. The filling:

The maple flavored, golden brown crème is sweet but not sickeningly so. How do I describe the deliciousness of eating this? It’s just, well, maple love. I used to associate maple with nothing but pancakes (maple syrup,yes?) but a bite of this cookie has made me a convert. Maple is best in cookies, Dare Cookies to be exact.

These Ultimate Maple Creme Cookies are made by a company in Canada called Dare. It does make sense, since Maple is Canada’s most famous embelm and symbol, so they ought to know how to make amazing goodies from one of their famous products, aight?

I’ll say it again, Screw Chips Ahoy, Famous Amos, or even Pepperidge Farm. There's nothing like Dare Maple Cremes. Even though they are pretty expensive in Seoul and are pretty hard to get outside of Canada. A seven piece cookie pack here normally sells for about 2,200 KRW (100 pesos). But last week, Kim’s Club, a grocery near my flat held a sale of Dare Cookies at 50% off! The catch is that the cookies are expiring by mid-August. But I don’t care haha. I know that the four boxes of cookies I bought will barely last me until next week. I just ate the one whole box at the office yesterday, nibbling my precious maple cookies during my mini-breaks from work.

Dare makes a variety of Ultimate Crème cookies but the only variants I’ve seen aside from the Maple ones are Coconut and Lemon. I also bought the Lemon Cremes which were on sale too and just like the Maple ones, these are brimming with bright lemon flavor --- tart and sweet and deliciously citrusy.

If you ever come across these cookies, grab them. I dare say, you’ll love them too!

A BAGFUL OF CHOCS

Lucky I dropped by the food section of AK Plaza today! I do not normally buy stuffs here because, well, AK PLAZA being really chi-chi has prices that are steeper than the big Korean supermarts. But I was looking for a particular kind of Campbells Soup (Chunky Chicken and Veggies) and I have seen some at this shop a few weeks ago so off I went.

Well, what do you know, there was a Chocolate Sale in the food section of the mall!
On sale were mostly European and US brands -- Guylian, Cote D’or, Lindt, Mozart, Hawaian Host and a few Korean chocs. Most chocs were at 30-50% off! Of course the catch was that the products are expiring in October 2011. But heck, I don't think my choco haul will last me till August haha, so I bought a few of the chocs I really loved. **It was an exercise in restraint, if I may say so**

I got myself these for my stocks:

(Prices are as converted from won to Pesos. These are ballpark figures not the exact converted prices.)

GoLightly Gluten Free and Sugar Free Butterscotch Candy – On Sale for PHP 100.00 per bag.

Guylian Belgian Extra Dark SeaShells ( Pack of 6 Personal Boxes) – On Sale for PHP 400.00
Each personal box has 6 extra dark chocolate seashells

Hawaiian Host Macnut Crunch – On Sale for PHP 250.00
18 pieces of chocolate covered Macadamias and crisped rice.

And my most favorite purchase of the day, something you don’t normally see in Seoul:

Lindt LINDOR Stracciatella 200g Box – On Sale for PHP 300.00
This is Lindt’s take on Cookies and Cream. White Chocolate Shell covering white chocolate and rick cocoa pieces. There were also Lindt Lindor Dark and Milk, but I decided to buy this because it’s not always an easy variant to get here or even in Dutyfree shops.

This is Not Chocolate

Yes, it has that dark, unmistakably smooth finish. It has that umami taste. But look closely and believe me when I say that this is not chocolate.

This is Black Food and yes, this is not chocolate. Thing is, that’s a good thing. Because it might prove to be even better than Chocs.

Today, I stumbled upon this crazy little NOT CHOCOLATE box in the midst of the Chocolate Sale in chi-chi AK Plaza. (And yes, of course I bought myself some chocolate goodies too, but that’s going to be on the next Choco Porn Post).

This Black Bean Bars are made purely of black soy beans and rice puffs. Think Nestle Crunch but instead of chocolate, you have that silky smooth, very subtly sweet velvety black bean flavor enrobing those tiny little rice puffs.

A box of five Black Bean bars cost about PHP 85.00. Pretty cheap, I guess, mainly because they’re still introducing the product to the Korean market.

My take: Because I prefer distinct flavors over sweetness, I am smitten by this Black Bean Bar. It is perfect for those who cannot tolerate sugar in big doses as this has very little sugar added. Plus of course, the health benefits of black soy beans: low glycemic index (i.e. will not make you crave for sugar), helps prevent cardiovascular disease (as per Korean reseach results), rich in antioxidants and reduces risks in certain cancer. This is a perfect non-treat on days when one wants something that's both sweet and healthy.

Summer and My Stash of Korean Ice Cream

There is something wrong here. It seems that the weather gods have skipped spring for summer in Seoul. Except for a week of Cherry blossom (and death) extravaganza, all is not well. We have lost spring for summer.

The temperature is slowly climbing into the 20s and it is not even June! Ay, El Nino, is that you?

So what to do, what to do? Aside from bringing out the trusty electric fans from the closet (unless of course you are rich and can afford to turn on your AC the whole day!) there is nothing more indicative that summer is here than a sudden sale on ice cream!

I was out early today at my neighborhood grocery, and there it was, a 60% off on an assortment of frozen goodies. So being the gullible shopper that I am (and yes, frankly, I love Korean ice creams!), I picked a few of my favorite frozen delights. I hope these will last me a week! All the flavors I picked up are stuffs I have tried before and liked.

Clockwise from top left : Red Bean Ice Cream covered in white candy shell, Sweet Corn Ice Cream, Watermelon Ice Lolly, Sweet Potato Popsicle and Walnut Mochi Ice Cream.

I am not a lover of chocolate in ice cream haha, which is why there is no chocolate flavored ice goody here. Also, why settle for boring chocolate when you have such zany range of flavors to choose from? ☺ Don’t you just love the crazy and unusual flavors these Korean ice cream makers think of?

Sweet Potato Ice Cream -- I love! But then, I love anything sweet potato. Yep, I am a lover of kamote.*grins*

Sweet Corn Ice – enclosed in a sweet corn waffle thing, this is not too sweet.

Red Bean ice cream – the most traditional among my ice cream stash. If you love anything red bean (like me) you’ll like this creamy ice cream.

Walnut Mochi – Two pieces of walnut ice cream with walnut bits enclosed in real mochi. Pretty satisfying, though I have to admit that the real thing does not really look anything like the mochi in the label. ☺

Red Watermelon Lolly – Just a hint of sweetness here but a strong watermelon flavor and nibs of sweet red bean candies (the “seeds” in the ice cream). Very light and refreshing.

So that’s my recent bit on ice cream. Do you love ice cream too? I know, people would tell us to stay away from sweet indulgences such as ice cream. But sometimes we do need some, aight? Because sometimes, I do think it is so true, that indeed,

Ice cream is happiness condensed. ~Jessi Lane Adams

Sugar n' Spice and Everything Nice = TOPOKKI!

I love Topokki! In fact, I almost always alternate this with kimbap for my afternoon snack at our office caf.

What is Topokki? It’s basically fat tubes of rice cakes and fish cakes in a sweet, spicy red sauce. Add a hardboiled egg and it’s the perfect merienda for me. ☺

Topokki is such a common streetfood in Seoul that most street corners have at least one vendor selling topokki and other usual streetfoods such as odeng (boiled seafood cakes to be eaten with soup) or fried stuffs.

It is the one Korean snack that I love and can eat almost everyday. And because Koreans have a penchant for turning everything they love into junkfoods, is it any wonder that we have Topoki “chips”?

(Or for that matter, Curry Curls, which I also love!)

This is my favorite brand of Topoki Curls. It’s by Kim’s Club. Some Topoki Curls are pretty sweet, so sweet that the hot pepper kick is lost. But this brand has more heat than sweetness! Which is just the way I like it!

To be honest about it, it doesn’t really taste too much as the real topokki, it lacks the slightly seafood-y taste but it’s sweet, extremely crunchy and really spicy! The perfect combination for addicting snack foods for me.

Oh and because I took a picture of my stash of junkfood for the weekend, and since I am too lazy to post them in another entry, haha, here are my favorite junkfoods in Korea:

Melon Popsicle – tastes like honeydew melon + milk.Really creamy with no artificial aftertaste!

Rich Potato Chips- my second ultimate favorite potato chips ( next to Ruffles Texas Style BBQ Chips!). It’s actually labeled as Cheese flavored, but you can't detect the cheese, instead it tastes as if it has been fried in Butter. Really rich and full of umami!

Market-O Real Chocolate Choco Crispy – Basically these are almond toffee chips coated in dark chocolate. The toffee is surprisingly salty, which bodes well with the deep flavor of the chocolate. The good thing about this Crispy Chocolate is that the chocs are in bite-sized individual wrappers. A box contains about 16 bitesizes which, I have to admit, I finished in a day haha!


These are my fave chichirya in Seoul, what’s your ultimate comfort (junk)food?