Got candy?

Every time I have gone to china town after a meal or before, I have made a stop at "Aji Ichiban", a small candy store in the middle of china-town square. At Aji Ichiban there are tons and tons of various dried fruits, meats, fish, and candies. I have yet to try them all but I have my favorites such as, the Koala's march cookies that are filled with either chocolate, white chocolate, or strawberry. Another is Dried hawthorne disks which are flattened out circles made from hawthorne that have a tangy sweetness that I love. Amongst the various dried meats look out for their pork chops which are like a sweet chewy... well pork chop. Plain dried mango, this is one of the most delicious things out there in my opinion, sweet not messy and strait up delicious. Usually whenever I go there new things are there and some things are gone. But Aji Ichiban is definitley a great place to go after having a good meal in china town to go get some snacks to bring home .

Aji Ichiban 2117-A S. Chinaplace You can find a link to their site (english) here- www.ajiichiban.com.hk/eng/index.php

Astro Zombie wrote:Another is Dried hawthorne disks which are flattened out circles made from hawthorne that have a tangy sweetness that I love.

I bought two little cylinders of this candy and found they had a pleasant, kind of plummy falvor. I enjoy this little franchise -- their candy has a lot of unusual flavors and I like it that you can purchase just about any quanitity you like (sometimes I just get a few pieces of things just to try them out).

Just stay away from the dried fish "candy".
{shudder}

johnny wrote:Just stay away from the dried fish "candy".
{shudder}

johnny, have you ever tried the dried fish candy? You might be surprised. Some of it is not at all sweet -- more salty. I must admit, though, that I have a tendency to get stuff here (like the many types of licorice) that others find revolting.

Hammond

Ichiban is a regular stop for us as well. Every time I go I'm struck by the odd and to my eye downright weird stuff out in the bins. Even a quick visit will reveal just how different and even alien the Japanese concept of yummy snacks can be from our own. Dried fish in myriad forms, candied jellyfish strips, pickled sour fruits of various kinds and sweetened seaweed all share shelf space with dayglo marshmallows, gummi pizzas and durian lollipops. Dried, fried and petrified cuttlefish seem to play a big role and is often packaged in handy little packets featuring smiling little children "perfect for school or home". I've tried quite a few of these tidbits as many are offered on little plates for sampling. Some are surprisingly good. Many (most?) are just surprising... as in "How could anybody actually like that stuff? I would agree the Hawthorne wafers are pretty good. Despite the weird factor my kids always seem to find something to take home. Definitely worth a visit.

David Hammond wrote:

johnny wrote:Just stay away from the dried fish "candy".
{shudder}

johnny, have you ever tried the dried fish candy? You might be surprised. Some of it is not at all sweet -- more salty.

Hammond

Oh yes. It is one of the worst things I will admit to putting in my mouth.

I have tried the fish candies before but, I do not remember what they tasted like I'lll be sure to bring back some the next time I stop by. I've noticed that with some of the japanese fish candies they have the sweet n' salty thing going for them as in these little crabs. I think that havea pretty good f lavor aside from the crunchy shell

I dunno, something about candy with eyes ....

The fish stuff is more like a sweet salty snack than candy. I do like the various forms

some other mentions:
Plaa haeng
see here

also here

I do like the crab too! (this pic from a Pgh source)

Yes, soon ill be going to mitsuya plaza hopefully to get some of those ill look for the ones that say "LETS PARTY" on them