Sometimes I fear that I'm reviewing far too many of the same types of foods. That is, I buy things which are featured in flavors that I favor rather than branching out too much into new territory. In particular, I live in a country which is a seafood and fish lovers paradise and I tend to shy away from snacks featuring these flavors. Buying this product has shown me why I should keep my focus narrow on things which are in the mainstream of what I enjoy rather than try and branch out.
The truth is that I bought this sembei by mistake at Family Mart convenience store while hurriedly shopping. I had been in the same store the previous week and had noted that there was an umeboshi (pickled plum) variety of sembei on display and figured I'd pick it up some other time if the mood struck me. I saw the colors on the bag and the price and size (105 yen/$1.17 and 32 grams/1.1 oz.) and just grabbed it quickly and checked out. It wasn't until I got home that I realized that I'd mistakenly bought marinated pollock roe (mentai) mayonnaise sembei rather the pickled plum.
My previous experience with mentai-flavored snacks came with the Yaokin variety pack, and I didn't like the mentai stick in it then. This sembei had the potential to be slightly more appealing because it's higher quality and is a mix of both fish and mayo flavors, but I didn't have high hopes.
The crackers smell fishy and like mayo. The first taste is mainly of the mayo and a little heat. After that, you're hit with the fish flavor and that's where it leaves me flat. The crackers are beautifully seasoned with three levels of flavor and they are fresh and crispy. Despite how well-made they are, I can't rate them high because I just don't like fishy flavors. I will slowly finish the bag because 2/3 of the experience is pretty appealing to me, but I can't say I'd buy them again. If you like spicy fish flavors and mayonnaise, I can't recommend strongly enough that you try these.
Clearly, buying something which is not within my range of preferrred flavors isn't a very good idea. The fact that these I can't possibly find fault with these aside from the fishiness shows that I can't give a reasonably objective rating when something involves a flavoring I don't care for.
product URL on the company site: here.
This post was meant for me, right? Mentai and Mayo.. my fav on toast from the bakery.. YUMMERS..
ReplyDeleteWow, I had no idea. I do know that many of my students love that combo! :-)
ReplyDeleteI didn't like the mentai yaokin either, I'm just not a mentai fan. If I couldn't read the label, as they are rather orange, I would have assumed they were spicy rather than fishy. They are so bright! :)
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