Ho Ho Mei Pineapple Bun

The logo says it all, I think

Yes, I am back! More on where I've been later. Let's just get to the reviews, shall we?

The Attraction

Several years back, I was visiting the in-laws in Taiwan when we happened upon a stall in a Taipei night market with a long line for it. I had no idea what the people were on the queue for, but I was intrigued. With so many stalls in so many night markets, for Taiwanese people to line up and wait for something, it had to be something special, so without even knowing what it was, we jump into the line. (Spoiler alert!) Little did I know that decision would result in me discovering one of my favorite night market items.

The Review:
Taiwan is really well known for it's night markets. With so much variety and at such inexpensive pricing, it's really tough not to love it. From sweet to savory treats to a variety of fruits, soups and sometimes even clothing, night markets have something for everyone. Personally, they had me once I knew they had a variety of food vendors, many of which serve Taiwanese comfort foods that you cannot get anywhere else.

Now, I can't say for sure that the Pineapple bun originated in Taiwan, but I will say that Ho Ho Mei has just about perfected it.

I have loved pineapple buns or bolo baos from since when my Mom would get me some from Chinatown here in New York. Their sweet crunchy topping on a soft fluffy bun proved to be a simple, yet tasty combo to me. Since then, I've had many pineapple buns (not actually pineapple flavored, just named that based on the pineapple-like texture of the sweet topping) in my day, but what is it about Ho Ho Mei's version of bolo baos that made people line up and convert me to a lifelong fan?

I look like a regular pineapple bun...

To start, the bun itself is fresh. Seemingly made the same day. In most cases, bakeries in NY are also fresh and made the same day, but somehow Ho Ho Mei's bun seem softer and fluffier. That was a distinct difference when I took my first bite. It felt like it was melting in my mouth. How often have you had a pastry do that?

The crunchy sweet topping is standard faire, good, but indistinguishable from other pineapple buns I've had, but when it's placed on top of such a stellar bun, it seems to enhance the overall experience. Speaking of enhancements...

...until you look under my pineapple hood

Although Ho Ho Mei offers the plain bolo bao, their real bread and butter (bad pun) is when they place a cold, big pat of butter into the warm pineapple bun. The contrast between the warm, soft bun against the cold, hard butter creates a strangely satisfying eating experience. The butter adds both a flavor as well as a textural dimension to this already enjoyable snack. It works and it works big.


The Sweet:
What isn't great about this bun? Soft, not too sweet, the contrast between warm bun and cold butter works unexpectedly well.

The Bitter:
Only available in Taiwan!

Conclusion:
I know what you might be thinking; what stops me from just buying a pineapple bun and placing a big pat of cold butter in between it on my own? Well, it just so happens that there is a place here locally in NY that offer a warm pineapple bun with a cold pat of butter in between. After coming back from Taiwan, I was really missing this snack, so I tracked down a place that seemingly had a similar product. I was excited to try it and had high hopes, but it was very ordinary. So ordinary that I had to face the truth; there are magic in those Ho Ho Mei pineapple buns.

Video of the Week

I thought I would get bored, but I watched the whole thing

People have been asking me what I've been doing since I've been gone so long. (No one has asked me that.) Well, some of that time was spent watching videos like these that you don't learn much from, yet are still entertaining. Who knew something so simply could be so fun? Leave it to the Japanese to find strange and interesting ideas.

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.

Persimmon (Fuyu)

Don't call me a tomato!

The Attraction

I've resisted this fruit for many, many years, but after a bagful landed on my desk, I couldn't avoid it any longer.

The Review:
It's a new year and I thought what a wonderful way to ring it in on Sneakasnack by reviewing something healthy, like a fruit. The bigger question is if this is a tasty fruit or a
"healthy" fruit that taste as such. (if you know what I mean).

My Mom loves persimmons, but I never really thought about trying it. I think subconsciously it looks like a tomato to me and back in the day I was not a big tomato fan. Therefore, it must taste bad if it looks like a tomato, right?

Fast forward 30 something years and I had a former coworker offer me a bunch that she received from her parents in DC. She told me her parents would send her a box-load because they have a persimmon tree and it would grow too many for them. I casually said, "Sure, of course", not really thinking she would follow up and give some to me. 2 days later there was a bag of about 20 persimmons on my desk. Her generosity put me in a jam. Now what? I can give them to my Mom! Problem is, many were already ripe and I wouldn't see her until 5 days later. Some of the persimmons wouldn't make it.

Damn this "hate-to-waste-food" mentality. I was backed into a corner. I should at least taste one before tossing out the over-ripened ones, don't you think? I owe my co-worker and the persimmons at least that much, no? Enter my snack review...

Persimmon varieties

At first, I had no idea how to eat it. Can you eat the skin? Is there a pit? How can you tell if it's ripe? After having to Google all these things like some sort of fruit barbarian, I had my answers. Yes, you can eat the skin, but I elected to peel it anyway. There's no pit in the Fuyu type persimmon I had, but some do have them. Lastly, you can eat Fuyu persimmon's while they are firm, but some choose to eat them when they are a bit softer. Good thing was I didn't need to wait for the softer part. These babies were ready to go.

Personally prepared by Chef Paul

I pick one up and try not to destroy it as I attempted to remove the outside skin with a peeler. With moderate success, due to it's ripeness, I was ready to go in. I wasn't too excited as the mushiness of the one I had as it further reminded me of a tomato.

As I bring a piece to my mouth, I can smell the sweetness of it. Not strong, nor familiar, but a sweetness. I take it in and surprisingly to me, there's not much tomato likeness at all.

It's sweet and at first and it reminded me of a really sweet mango, but that still wasn't quite accurate. After having a few more bites, perhaps a juicy sweet potato, minus the graininess might be more on target. Texture-wise, the outside is like a papaya, but the interior has these chewy gel sacks in them. I know that may not sound super appetizing, but the contrast works really well. Having several more bites, I not only found myself enjoying that chewiness, but looking forward to it.

This really isn't like a tomato at all!

The Sweet:
Great "sweet potato" like flavor with a chewy gel surprise!

The Bitter:
Only available certain times of the year (mostly Fall) and it took some time for me to prep. (Remove the top greenery, peel, then cut into pieces)

Conclusion:
I was ready to not like this fruit at all. Maybe "not like" is putting it lightly. I was looking at this fruit through "tomato-tinted" glasses and avoided it for many years.

Boy, what I have been missing out on.

Since discovering persimmons, there is hardly a time that I've seen them and not bought any or think to myself if I had any left at home. I couldn't think of a stronger endorsement.

For those of you who are tired of having the "typical" fruits, give persimmons a shot. You might find that eating healthy has never tasted so good.

Video of the Week

What is that vase made out of?

I don't like to see people fail, unless it's something with bad intentions behind it. In this case, perhaps some planning or testing may have been a good idea before you try to put on a show for your superiors. Loss of faith in the Iranian Army, however new found belief in the quality of their vases.