YBC Vanilla Sandwich

 

 If it weren't for the letters YBC, I would have
never known what these are called

The Attraction

These cookies / crackers remind me very much or these Japanese Ritz flavored cookies, I've had before, but there's no sign of "Ritz" or "Nabisco" on the packaging, so when these became a new resident on the shelves of the grocery store I frequent, I wondered if they were as good. You know what I must do. "Must" be the operable word. 

The Review:
This is a mystery. I started seeing these YBC crackers everywhere where I used to see the Ritz Custard Crackers I reviewed previously. What was odd was that it wasn't like they were competing for customers because seemingly one week the Ritz versions of the crackers were there and the next week, these YBC versions of the same type of cookies seem to take it's place. I've never seen a store have both and as of recent, I've only seen these. No more of the Ritz versions.Are these knockoffs? Did Nabisco yank their name off the product? Maybe I will never know unless I'm in Japan...and as much as I want to know the dillyo, that's a long way to go to get to the bottom of this snacking situation.

Don't call me the "R" word

As you may have already noticed, the packaging is very similar, but will it taste the same? I've had the custard-flavored version before of these (or the original Ritz version) and was rather fond of it, but this product just produced more questions; would it taste as good? Is custard and vanilla flavors that different? If this was a competitor trying to create a similar product, would it taste inferior? Worst yet, if these were the new "Ritz" sandwich, did they lose the recipe as well as the name? All of this could be solved with a bite.

Sweet and salty goodness

Like the Nabisco version, each package comes with two individually wrapped rolls of cookies / crackers. I pull out a "sandwich" and dig in.

Then all of a sudden, it's like a movie. The savory cracker flavor of a Ritz hits my tough first and as I pull away, the crisp, slightly dull snap of the cracker screams out, "Hey, I'm a Ritz, remember me!?"

As the familiar Ritz cracker movie plays out, there is a surprise twist to this snack I've eaten dozens of times; there is a sweet cream component that cuts-in between the tango my taste buds are having with this savory cracker.

"How rude?!", instinctively I first think, almost like a reflex, however like a smooth foreign spy, it woos me and convinces me it means no harm and rather......it's better this way.....and you know what...he wouldn't be totally wrong.

The savory flavor of the crackers sandwiching the sweet vanilla cream in between compliments each other rather than competing for flavor real estate. A flavor tango indeed.

The Sweet:
These things are amazingly tasty. Scratch both the savory and sweet itch at the same time.

The Bitter:
Umm...so do these replace the Ritz version or are these a knockoff?

Conclusion:
I really enjoy these crackers, but it bugs me that I can't tell if these have replaced the Ritz version I've seen before or are these an impostor, albeit a tasty one at that.

Either way, should I come across these, I will have to proceed with caution as I've become all to aware of how quickly a package of these can disappear when within my possession.

Video of the Week

I'm not even this cool now.

I really hate when in the movies they do that cliche thing where older white people pretend to be into hip hop like here and here. In the case of this week's video, I don't think he's pretending. He looks to be living the lifestyle.

Hangzhou Dingyuan Food 3+2 Lemon Flavor Biscuits

It's like the Big Mac of Cream Cookies

The Attraction:
How do you improve upon a successful formula? How about more! That's the theory here I think with the 3+2 Biscuits by Hangzhou Dingyuan Food. They've taken a popular item, crackers with a cream filling between them and added a third cracker and another layer of cream. Will this be too much of a good thing? I had to find out...

The Review
Lemon flavored crackers are popular in Asia. This might be the 4th or 5th version I've seen of a product like this. I've had several of them, but this one stood out cause of the 3 cracker "gimmick". OK, it may have suckered me it to try, but how are the actual results?

Will this be too dry?

Sure enough, as I opened the package, there was a lemon aroma wafting out. That's a good start. The crackers or biscuits are laid on a plastic tray. I quickly pull one out and take a look. As advertised, it's 3 crackers sandwiched with 2 layers of cream. (I know I said that early, but the package was all in Chinese and I assumed that's what 3+2 meant, but I wasn't really sure til I set eyes on the real thing.

I take a bite and several chews in, the lemon flavor of the cream comes through. I initially worried that with three layers of cracker to flavor, that the lemon cream would either not be strong enough or not enough would be applied to carry the snack. My concerns we unfounded in this case. These suckers are as tasty as any other lemon sandwich cookies!

Sweet lemon cream! Come to daddy!

The Sweet:

There's enough cream in these biscuits to balance out the crackers. The lemon flavor is as good as any other lemon cream filling.

The Bitter:
It's gimmicky, but it's hard to knock it since that was how they drew me in.

Conclusion:
I had some doubts on this one. I've had some conventional lemon flavored cookies in which they've skimped on the cream and the result was a mouth full of dry crackers with a momentary cream reprieve, then back to dry cracker-ville. In this case, even with the addition of a third cracker, 3+2 manages to pull it off with a flavorful and generous amount of cream to carry you through each bite. They also over a ton of assorted flavors such as Blueberry, Tomato(?) and Taro. In the case of their lemon flavored cream offering, 3+2 equals happy snacking.

Video of the Week
Ever wonder how Grindr works? Me neither, but our friend Conan O'Brien sits down with his pal Billy and sets up a profile on this gay dating app to see how quickly he can reel in the dates...

What man could resist this?

FF Co Durian Flavored Cracker

How bad could it be?

The Attraction:
Several months ago, my pal Grace asks me to review a durian flavored snack, as she has never had a durian before in her life. Up to this point, I haven't been able to find anything that looked remotely appealing and didn't come in a huge bag in case it was awful. Wait no more! Enter Fashion Food Co'S Durian Flavored Crackers!

Looks innocent, doesn't it?

The Review
I have had a mixed history with the much maligned fruit, the Durian. The first time I had it was almost 20 years ago with my Grandmother in Atlanta. She loved durians, but they were hard to come by in Sweden, where she normally resides. So, my beloved Uncle George bought her a durian to enjoy while we were visiting him. Up to that point, I had had a durian either, but my Grandmother recruited me to help hack it open to get to the edible portion of the fruit. As I took a butcher knife to this sucker and cracked it open, the smell that durian produces is like no other. It's best described as something severely rotten. Despite that, my Grandmother dove right in and enjoyed it. She convinced me to try some too...and surprisingly, I liked it! It reminded me a bit of a creamy mango at the time.

Fast forward to a few years back when I was at a random wedding with Ivy in Taiwan and at the sign-in table was a seemingly innocent looking piece of durian flavored hard candy sitting in a sea of assorted treats. "I'll give that a try.", I thought. About 2 minutes into it, I had to spit it out cause the taste made me nauseous.

Which was my "real" feeling about durian?

As I cautiously opened the bag of crackers, the signature rotten smell of the durian was present. They captured the essence so well, that the deep whiff I took was like an uppercut to my face. "That's just the smell", I kept telling myself. "It'll taste better than that, just like it did in Atlanta", I thought. I dig in and like any respectable cracker, there is a good crunch and there is a sweetness that helps nullify some of that putrid smell. It reminded me of a Kellogg's Corn Pop, minus some of the sweetness. Still, that smell...argh. I realized it was too late for me. I had already developed a bad neural association with that smell and about 2 pieces in, I had to stop as my stomach begin to turn from the stench.

Durian, au natural

The Sweet:

I suppose if you liked the flavor of durian, this would work for you. After the smell of the durian passed, the cracker had a pleasant sweet taste to it. This product does a good job of capturing that durian essence (maybe too good of a job for me).

The Bitter:
It taste like durian! It's not a fair review because that's what it's suppose to taste like, but for me, it's too big of a hurdle for me to overcome.

"shudder"

Conclusion:
I have no complaints about this product, other than it taste exactly as advertised. Unfortunately, for me, it's a flavor I don't enjoy or rather, a smell I want to puke at the very thought of smelling again.

If you enjoy durian, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by these crackers, but if you don't, stay far away! This item is for a very specific audience and not for the faint of heart.

Video of the Week
This video is on a topic near and dear to my heart. I first tried a bidet in Japan about 8 years ago. It was magical. I recommend you try one too, but don't just take my word for it. Let these people share their first experience with you.

Her "B" face

Wheat Thins Zesty Salsa

Just how "zesty" is zesty? 

The Attraction:
I love Wheat Thins! My pal Phil introduced it to me over 15 years ago. I never thought to try it as it struck me as some sort of health food "thing" way back when.(that should give you an idea of how things have changed over the years). I've been keeping it pretty simple and avoiding many of the new flavors that Wheat Thins have been offering, but when I saw a "two for" deal at the supermarket, I thought it was a fine time to live a little, take a walk on the wild side, fly without a net....OK, you get the idea.

The Review
I take a deep whiff as I tear open the bag within the Wheat Thins box and sure enough, there is a smell of salsa in there. I'm amazed at how Nabisco was able to capture the smell of salsa on a cracker. I take a bite and I wasn't sure what to expect; does "zesty" imply hot? A strong flavor of some sort? As I work my way through my first chip, it reminds me of a Taco Bell hard shell taco, but not just the shell, the whole taco, with sauce! I take a few more chips and an air of familiarity strikes me. It takes a few more pieces after that before I can place it; it also taste like a mild Cool Ranch Dorito!

Looks the same, but do I taste good?

The Sweet:
The flavor is great! Think a Taco Bell hard shell taco crossed with a Cool Ranch Dorito (minus some salt) and that's what this Wheat Thin tastes like. Incidentally, I like Cool Ranch Doritos and Taco Bell, in case you couldn't tell. I think I just showed my hand...

The Bitter:
Nothing that jumps out at me. Perhaps a clearer idea of what the "zesty" part is in "Zesty Salsa". I get the salsa part clearly, the zesty part, not so much. It's not spicy (which I actually would have liked, but I understand why they didn't tack that on), and the flavor doesn't particularly have a strong "kick" to it. Salsa: check. Zesty: MIA. To add to the confusion, there is also a Ranch flavored Wheat Thin. If this taste like Cool Ranch to me, what the heck will that taste like?

"Guess where you are going"

Conclusion:
Nabisco does a fine job on this flavor variation of one of their snack standards, Wheat Thins. In a crowded snack aisle, it manages to carve out a specific flavor without going way outside of the "flavor" box. In fact, I enjoyed this Zesty Salsa flavor so much, it has opened my mind up to try their other Wheat Thins flavor variations. Perhaps Ranch so I can distinguish the two or Spicy Buffalo so I can get that spicy kick I was wanting with this product. I feel like that's exactly what Nabisco wants! Well played, Wheat Thins people, well played.

Video of the Week
Working on finding a good one...

Nabisco Cream Sandwiches

Ritz? What's a Ritz?

The Attraction:
After finding the Ritz Custard Sandwich so delectable a few weeks ago, I figured this "sister" or "cousin" item (cause it's not a Ritz cracker), was worth tasting. I like lemon, I like Ritz crackers, this sounds like a slam dunk, I'm thinking. Let's find out...

The Review
Much like the Ritz Custard Sandwich, the Nabisco Lemon Pack Cream Sandwich comes in two neatly arranged rows of crackers, but unlike the Custard Sandwich, these aren't legit Ritz crackers because.......they aren't round! Shape aside, they are everything else a Ritz cracker is; crisp buttery cracker with signature bits of salt. They even have the same type of holes. Not sure why they decided to change the shape of the cracker and not use the Ritz name, but I suspect they may have a similar product in the market or they are not allowed to market Ritz crackers with lemon in them. All just speculation, but I can't image why else they would switch it up. OK, time to eat one of these suckers.

The first bite is no different than biting into a Ritz cracker, but about 2-3 chews in, the lemon cream hits your lounge and quickly transforms your normal Ritz cracker eating experience into a night out on the town. As like the Ritz Custard Sandwich, the sweet cream plays the perfect spoil to the cracker's salty constitution, with a lemony twist. These dang things are so good! Why don't they sell these in snack aisles everywhere?!

See the family resemblance?

The Sweet:
Nabisco does it again with this variation of their "not-Ritz" cracker sandwich snack. The sweet lemon cream flavor is a nice compliment to the saltiness of the cracker and throws a welcomed monkey wrench in what can be a very straight flavor. The cream with lemon flavor adds a complexity, not just taste-wise, but also textually. It also provides a nice cleansing finish on your palate to brace yourself for yet another lemon cream sandwich.

It's what on the inside that matters! (sometimes)

The Bitter:
Not much to complain about here. Just find a place that carries these babies and you are golden. I'm a fan of lemon-flavored cookies, so I wouldn't have mind a bit more lemon flavor, however that may have compromised that delicate balance between the saltiness and sweetness.

Conclusion:
There are many other lemon-cream flavored snack cookies / crackers on the market. What sets this product apart is that most other products partner up the cream with an already sweet cookie or a neutral flavored cracker. The addition of all those things that are a Ritz cracker, in a not Ritz shaped cracker sandwich gives it layers of flavors to keep you interested.

Now for the million dollar question; do I prefer the custard or the lemon variation? It's tough, they are very similar in flavor and textually they are identical. The lemon is fairly subtle, which makes it harder to distinguish from the custard variety.You can't go wrong with either one, but for me, it's custard by a nose.

Video of the Week
Do you like pizza? No, you think you like pizza. Dan Janssen, from Maryland, now he likes pizza. He likes it so much that he has almost been eating nothing else but pizza for the last 25 years. This clip is brought to you by the fun folks over at Vice.

"I wonder what I want for breakfast, lunch and dinner?"

Ritz Custard Sandwich

What open package?

The Attraction:
Following my long standing interest in regional variations, I recently saw these at a different Asian market than the usual (apparently my normal grocery store doesn't stock these). How interesting; I'm not a super huge fan of the Ritz crackers, however delicious I remember them being back in the day, but the custard twist caught my eye (and the little lady's too). It was unanimous, this little treasure was coming home with us tonight.

The Review
Of all the pairings that come to mind when I think of Ritz crackers, custard would be near the very bottom of the list, yet for some reason Nabisco felt like it was a worthwhile paring (at least for the Asian markets). There's got to be something to it, I thought.

When I take the first sandwich out, I immediately recognize the characteristic golden round color and little bits of salt crystals, except this time, there is a layer of custard sandwiched between two pieces. With my first bite, the memories come rushing back; the crisp snap, the saltiness of said crystals, the heavenly buttery flavor, but then there's an unexpected twist in this seemingly familiar salivary tale. A wave of sweetness to counter the saltiness of the cracker itself comes crashing through my taste buds and has me begin to question everything I knew about Ritz crackers. How could a taste once so familiar to me now be turned on it's head and come out on the other side with something so unexpectedly good? It's only a matter of time before one of the 2 individually wrapped packages are devoured in an attempt to understand what I had experience with the previous piece or maybe these damn things are just that delicious.

 Same, but very different!

The Sweet:
Like other not so obvious parings to me (take sea salt and chocolate, for example) this one, however unlikely, works well. At first, the saltiness of the cracker seems to be on the verge of overpowering the sweetness of the custard, but the custard fights it's way through to help balance out this snack. I liken the effect similar to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich; the saltiness of the peanut butter is cut by the sweetness of the jelly and keeps the other flavor in check. Same thing here with the Ritz custard sandwich....and it's done deliciously so.

I'm not your Daddy's Ritz Cracker

The Bitter:
Flavor-wise, there really isn't. However, as are many snacks imported from Japan, the portions are smaller. (each package comes with about 16 crackers). For about $3 a pack, it's not super pricey, but it's not priced like a "normal" box of Ritz crackers. You may also have to search high and low to find a grocer that stocks this item.

Conclusion:
In case you haven't figured it out, I really enjoyed this item. The complexity of the salty, then sweet will keep your taste-buds from getting bored and will keep you coming back for more. Just be sure to stock up on these when you come across them.

Video of the Week
Ever wonder what regional variations there are in other McDonald's around the world? Well, wonder no more! Our friends over at Buzzfeed has done all the legwork for you. I might just avoid a few places after seeing this list.

I wonder if I can get this in Chinatown?