Mom and I are always looking for new things to try for our Bite of the Week posts, but this week we were stumped ... until we got to the international food aisle at Stop & Shop. A few weeks ago, we saw a Japanese cookie-type dessert called Yan Yan ($1.19). We joked about buying this if we were ever at a loss for a Bite. Yesterday, after spotting it in the aisle, Mom decided that we should buy it. Soon after the Yan Yan went into the shopping cart, it was followed by other treats from every featured ethnicity: Portuguese Maria cookies ($1.09), Galaxy and Bounty bars from the UK ($1.89 and $1.69), Madeleines from Canada ($2.99), vanilla tea biscuits from Israel ($.59), mango cookies from Turkey ($.79), and orange soda from Mexico ($.99). We even found Puerto Rican flan in the freezer section ($1.99)! All excited with our crazy new foods, we couldn't wait to get them home and try them. Here are our thoughts on each one:
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THE VERDICT:
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JAPANESE Yan Yan: Both Mom and I enjoyed these cookies. Mom said that they reminded her of Dunkaroos because of the frosting-like dip in which to coat the cookies. The cookies themselves were fresh and crisp, and the strawberry frosting was sweet and tasty. Each cookie had strange sayings on them, such as "Horse Gallop Away" and "Octopus Lucky Number Eight." Those crazy Japanese!
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CANADIAN Madeleines: Mom was looking forward to trying these tea cakes the most. Through the bag, they looked moist and felt soft. However, upon tasting them, they turned out to be dry. Very dry. Actually, a glass of milk is mandatory if you even want to swallow these cakes. The taste, however, was very good. There was a slight lemon flavor that was very pleasant. Thank God, because the cake was stuck to the roof of our mouths for a long time.
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TURKISH Cookies: These mango sandwich cookies were the ones that Mom was the most leery about tasting. Mango? Not for Mama. However, what a nice surprise! The outside cookie was crisp and tasty, and the adequate amount of mango filling was sweet and fruity. They were really good.
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UNITED KINGDOM Chocolate Bars: The Bounty bar is the UK version of a Mounds bar. It was very dense with moist coconut filling and had a thick, dark chocolate coating. It was really delicious. The Galaxy bar was very similar to a Cadbury Caramello bar. This bar had more of a milk chocolate coating with a sweet caramel filling. Both bars were very tasty.
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PUERTO RICAN Flan: Coming three-to-a-pack, these personal flans were excellent. It really made for a different dessert. It had a sweet caramel sauce on the bottom, while the custard flan in the middle was cool and tasty. They can be eaten right out of the freezer, and each flan was the perfect serving size for one person.
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MEXICAN Soda: The orange-flavored soda had a mild taste. It was slightly sweet and didn't seem to be as carbonated as American soda. We really enjoyed this sugary drink.
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JEWISH Tea Biscuits: These cookies would be great with a nice cup of tea (maybe that's why they're called tea biscuits). They have a very light texture, were slightly crisp, and had a mildly sweet taste (we chose the vanilla cookies). We both enjoyed them.
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PORTUGUESE Cookies: A little firmer and heavier than the Jewish tea biscuits, the popular Maria cookies are plain, crisp, and found in almost every Portuguese person's home. They are great with morning coffee or afternoon tea. Beware - they are addictive! Like Lay's Potato Chips, you can't eat just one.
