Best Snacks From Around the World

While being an English teacher in a South Korea, I've met people from all over the world who are or were teachers living here for a short time, travelers, exchange students, business people, etc. While meeting those people, you get familiar with all different kinds of snacks and sweets that you've never had while in the U.S. I've made a short list of different sorts of tasty ones that I've had from other countries:

Australia

Tim Tam's

You gotta love the description on Wikipedia. Tim Tam's are two malted biscuits (cookies) separated by chocolate cream filling coated by a thin layer of textured chocolate. Now I don't know if that makes you hungry but it should! I love the country filling and the decadence of chocolate in this snack. I'll judge anyone who doesn't like these! The various flavors include dark chocolate, white chocoate, dark chocolate mint, caramel, and choc (chocolate) orange.

Canada

Maple cream cookies

The filling is of the cookie is made with real Canadian maple syrup which is sandwiched between two shortbread cookies. One of my weaknesses is maple syrup, so these are like heaven to me. These are absolutely amazing and Barak Obama even bought these as souvenirs when he visited Canada.

England

Jaffa Cafes

They're named after Jaffa oranges and have been in the U.K. since 1927. I tried these 5 years ago when I went to London for the first time. I couldn't believe what I was missing out when I tried one. They're one of the most delicious snacks I've ever had. It's a cookie that is has a spongy base (Genoise style to be exact) with orange flavored jam and a chocolate base. How can you not like it?? And you can find them in any convenience store in England. The U.S. is missing out on this treasure.

Digestives

My second favorite snack that comes from England is the brand Digestives. Interestingly enough, these snacks were invented by two Scottish doctors in 1839 to aid in digestion because they were made of sodium bicarbonate when they first came out. The original ones are made of wheat flour, malt extract, and sugar. The better ones have a chocolate layer on top. They're great with coffee. Mmm good!

Japan

Crisp Choco

These gems have been in Japan since 1978. These are like rice crispy treats but with a chocolate flavor and a bit crunchier. They're 8 small pizza shaped wedges of chocolate flakes held together by even more chocolate. I can eat so many of these at one time. They're that good! They're wonderful with a cold glass of milk.

Sapporo Ichiban (Beef) Ramen

Korea has decent ramen noodles but I have yet to find any ramen noodles that are as tasty as the Sapporo Ichiban brand. I also believe that ramen noodles in Tokyo are much better than the ones in Seoul. They're so good that you can buy them at Walmart or on Amazon.com.

Kaki No Tane

Translated as persimmon (kane) seeds (tane), they're slightly spicy because they contain some chili powder and usually include peanuts. They're very crunchy and tasty. They're a bar snack and usually served with beer.

Wasabi Peas

I'm not a fan of peas but this snack is great. They're crunchy with a spicy kick due to the wasabi flavoring. This snack is underrated but I can find them at the Asian stores in L.A. The great thing is that they have a lot of fiber and protein. The bad thing is that they have a lot of calories like most snacks do. Just like Kaki No Tane, they're a bar snack or great with beer.

South Korea

Almond Pepero

The Japan/Korea rivalry lives on with this snack. Pocky (the Japanese version) came first in 1966. The original Pepero was a carbon copy of Pocky and began to be sold in 1983 by Lotte (located in Japan), which is run by a Korean man that lives in Japan half of the year and Korea half of the year. However, Pepero has the edge when it comes to the almond flavored ones. These are addictive and I can easily eat a small box within a few minutes. The almond peperos come in a green box whereas the regular peperos come in a red one, just like Pocky.

Ghana Chocolate

Koreans actually do a pretty job when it comes to chocolate but in my humble opinion, Ghana is the best Korean chocolate. It's very rich and very sweet. You can get the dark chocolate version, milk chocolate, or extra mild one. Lotte started marketing Ghana in Japan in 1964 and in Korea in 1975.

Nongshim Shrimp snacks

Nonghsim is the leader in the Korean food industry and has since September 1965. They made a great product with these shrimp snacks. They're crunchy and have a mild shrimp flavor. These are great with beer and/or when you're watching a sporting event.

Chocolate Rice Cake Pies

From the picture you're probably thinking that these chocolate rice cake pies look disgusting. That was my initial assumption. But once I tried them, I was surprised at how good they were. The chewiness combined with the chocolate flavor actually was a great match and I ate about three of them before I told myself that I had to stop eating any more. They even make a banana flavored one which you can see in this video.

Nongshim Onion Rings

Nonghsim advertises this product by saying that they add fiber to this snack and that it's very popular among Korean women. Well, I definitely know that it's popular since I saw this snack when I first arrived in Korea in 2003. And people still buy them when they have parties. That's because they're very crunchy, taste like fast food onion rings, and last longer!

Mong Shel Cream Cakes

The most popular Korean cake snack is Korean Choco Pies but I think they're the most popular because the government gives them to Korean soldiers during their time in military service. There's a lot of history when it comes to Choco Pies but they pale in comparison to this delicious item. Lotte makes a wonderful product called Mong Shel Cream Cakes, which melt in your mouth and are 10 times better than the regular choco pies. Take my word for it. You won't be disappointed!


Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

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