Weekly Candy

WEEKLY CANDY: Sparkle Cherry Laffy Taffy

POSTED: Wednesday, January 12, 2011, 9:19 PM

Filed Under: Weekly Candy

Photo | Erin Finnerty

Once a week, Team Meal Ticket shares its latest sugar-laden fixations. Do not tell our dentist. IN QUESTION: Wonka's "stretchy & tangy" Sparkle Cherry Laffy Taffy is the cousin of the recently discontinued Wally Watermelon Laffy Taffy (the one with the "seeds," aka "choking hazards for small children"). Although D4L may have had you believing otherwise, there is nothing squishy or wiggly about Laffy Taffy. The mini version that sees a good run around Halloween is a ho-hum alternative to the full-size bar â with a consistency closer to an Abba Zabba and the potential for pulling fillings out your skull, the 1.5-ounce Laffy Taffy slab of Laffy Taffy is where it's at. AVAILABLE AT: Rite Aid at 17th and Chestnut has a good stock of Sparkle Cherry right now, but not in the candy aisle. Look under the registers and deal with the dirty looks from the lunchtime shoppers who think you're trying to cut the line. HOW MUCH DO WE TYPICALLY EAT IN ONE SITTING: Once upon a time there was a high school student who worked at a shop called Sweets from Heaven. For months, this student would show up to class with a stack of Wally Watermelons and chow down, calling it breakfast. (A gnarly case of the munchies may or may not have been involved.) Either way, this type of behavior is not for the sane, or the weak-toothed. There is no reason you should eat more than one full-size Laffy Taffy at a time. But at a mere 150 calories per bar and no real positive or negative nutritional value, we won't tell anyone if you sneak a few bites of a second one, wrap it up and keep it in your desk for the next day or three. FINER POINTS: Laffy Taffy lives up to its name by providing big-time "laffs" with jokes submitted by actual humans. ("Jasmine A." asks â Q: "What did one math book say to the other math book?" A: "I don't know about you, but I have a lot of problems!") For those delicate flowers who find taking a bite problematic, go ahead and smack that Laffy Taffy against a hard surface to break it into more manageable bites.

Laurel Rose Purdy

Posted 2011-01-12 17:24:03

GIRL! I guess I'm a delicate flower. My teeth are crying just reading this. But, anyway, can I have one?

Erin Finnerty

Posted 2011-01-13 07:22:26

As many as you want!!

Tweets that mention WEEKLY CANDY: Sparkle Cherry Laffy Taffy :: Meal Ticket :: Philadelphia City Paper -- Topsy.com

Posted 2011-01-12 16:58:39

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by brian. brian said: RT @mealticket: The triumphantly sugary return of WEEKLY CANDY! This time courtesy of @erinfinnerty: http://ow.ly/3CN1h [...]

Felicia D'Ambrosio

Posted 2011-01-14 10:51:50

Aw yeah, Erin on Meal Ticket?!~  Color me proud.

Erin Finnerty

Posted 2011-01-17 15:09:08

Thanks Flea, I'm proud of your pride in me! xx

Posted by Erin Finnerty @ 9:19 PM Permalink | Post a comment

WEEKLY CANDY: Rips

POSTED: Friday, December 17, 2010, 10:15 PM

Filed Under: Weekly Candy

Photo Drew Lazor

Once a week, Team Meal Ticket shares its latest sugar-laden fixations. Do not tell 0ur dentist. IN QUESTION: Rips! One of the most bad-for-your-teethiest sugary treats this side of cotton candy. Similar in appearance to Haribo's Fruity Pasta, Rips come in two flavors (strawberry and green apple) and aren't quite as sour as they may appear. They're also technically licorice, which is weird and a lot of people refuse to believe it. BELIEVE IT Y'ALL AVAILABLE AT: We buy Rips all over the place, but mainly at the 7-Eleven at 22nd and Lombard (they hang up by the counter near the pork rinds so you know they're good!) and the Rite-Aid at 23rd and Walnut. HOW MANY DO WE TYPICALLY EAT IN ONE SITTING: Entire bags of Rips have been consumed in one sitting at various points in our dark/checkered past, but that is not advisable. Eat less than that. FINER POINTS: Rips are a fine candy indeed, but one of the biggest reasons we like them so much is the boastful catchphrase emblazoned across the bag: "Innovation in Licorice." Rips are certainly more elaborate than, say, Twizzlers or those black licorice bites people who grew up during The Depression eat, but such sloganeering suggests that they're on par with heady discoveries like WiFi or that car camera that helps old people parallel park, and that in and of itself is hilarious. Rips = Kanye.

Tweets that mention WEEKLY CANDY: Rips :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper -- Topsy.com

Posted 2010-12-17 21:52:17

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by ranae smithen, Meal Ticket. Meal Ticket said: WEEKLY CANDY: @RIPSlicorice http://ow.ly/3r6zt [...]

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 10:15 PM Permalink | Post a comment

WEEKLY CANDY: Coconut Pocky

POSTED: Thursday, December 9, 2010, 11:07 PM

Filed Under: Weekly Candy

Photos | Drew Lazor

Once a week, Team Meal Ticket shares its latest sugar-laden fixations. Do not tell 0ur dentist. IN QUESTION: We've discussed Pocky before here on Meal Ticket in particular, Men's Pocky, which is for MEN (back off ladies!). But Coconut Pocky deserves its own shine. Crackery, not-so-sweet cookie sticks coated in toasted coconut bits and chocolate. The coconut haters in your life are gonna hate. Let them. More Cocopocks for you. AVAILABLE AT: Where the hell else? Hung Vuong Supermarket at 11th and Washington! Best candy aisle in the city, hands down. (See also the Cookie Crunch and Almond Pocky varieties, which are both killer but not quite as good as Coconut.) HOW MANY DO WE TYPICALLY EAT IN ONE SITTING?: Pocky usually comes in convenient individual packages containing four sticks. In a perfect world, we'd say that this is the ideal serving portion, but come on, you know we're ripping through multiple four-packs on the reg. What the hell else are we supposed to do when a Law & Order: SVU marathon is on, eat baby carrots? FINER POINTS: While higher-profile coconut-based treats such as Almond Joy and Mounds get most of the attention stateside, these Pocky deserve love because they don't overwhelm you with that gumming-up-your-teeth synthetic chewy coconut experience. They also make for a lovely swizzle stick in a glass of Dr. Pepper and bourbon.

ThadS

Posted 2010-12-10 11:37:30

When you want the best, get the salt pocky. 3rd and Oregon. Rock salt under chocolate. The best.

Suzy

Posted 2010-12-13 10:37:17

A mere 3 blocks away. I'm going today-soon-maybe before noon. I can't remember the last time I read about something and felt the need to have it this instantly.

thanks!

danya

Posted 2010-12-09 18:09:55

Coconut Pocky's are my favvvvvvvorite.

danya

Posted 2010-12-09 18:10:55

*Pockys

Apologies to apostrophe nazis (including myself). Got a bit too excited there.

Tweets that mention WEEKLY CANDY: Coconut Pocky :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper -- Topsy.com

Posted 2010-12-09 21:47:38

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by NIMBY EXPERTS, 4allcooking. 4allcooking said: WEEKLY CANDY: Coconut Pocky http://bit.ly/erPlag [...]

Michelle

Posted 2010-12-09 23:53:51

Coconut pocky tastes like the Girl Scout Samoa cookie minus the caramel.  Upon first read you may think this sounds preposterous, but it is mighty incredible.

Tweets that mention WEEKLY CANDY: Coconut Pocky :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper -- Topsy.com

Posted 2010-12-09 19:26:47

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mysteriously Unnamed and M Marisol, Mysteriously Unnamed. Mysteriously Unnamed said: WEEKLY CANDY: Coconut Pocky http://ow.ly/3mPcn [...]

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 11:07 PM Permalink | Post a comment

WEEKLY CANDY: Skwinkles Salsaghetti

POSTED: Thursday, November 18, 2010, 11:42 PM

Filed Under: Weekly Candy

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Once a week, Team Meal Ticket shares its latest sugar-laden fixations. Do not tell 0ur dentist. IN QUESTION: Like all the best things in life, Skwinkles Salsaghetti, which was endorsed by multiple commenters in a previous Weekly Candy installment, is weird and Mexican. The core of Salsaghetti are small chewy watermelon gummi strands (similar in size to Sour S'ghetti) dusted with chili and salt flecks. What really stands out about Salsaghetti, though, is the sauce that comes packaged along with the candy. It's a sticky/saline/OKitskindagross tamarind syrup you're meant to dress the watermelon 'ghetti with before eating. AVAILABLE AT: We've spotted Salsaghetti at all sorts of bodegas around town, but strangely enough, we copped this particular pack at the Best Buy on Columbus Avenue. Check out the weird labyrinthine walk to the registers there, dotted on every side with a surprisingly well-curated selection of snacks and sweet treats. They've got a lot of Mexi stuff. HOW MANY DO WE TYPICALLY EAT IN ONE SITTING: We made it through most of this pack, but dude ... the sauce ... the sauce. Not feeling the tamarind sauce. Y'all remember Boober's pickle car from Fraggle Rock? This stuff tastes like the pickle car's motor oil, if that makes any sense. Really into the Salsaghetti straws themselves, though, as they're a nice balance of fruity, salty and zingy. FINER POINTS: Not sure if we'd recommend consuming Salsaghetti the way it's meant to be consumed (with that godforsaken sauce), but if you're a curious candy consumer like we are, it's most definitely worth a single shot. Would eat the 'ghetti by itself any day, though.

Tweets that mention WEEKLY CANDY: Skwinkles Salsaghetti :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper -- Topsy.com

Posted 2010-11-19 01:40:00

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Pete LaVerghetta, ebenezer heng and Rebecca Williams, Rosemary Wickstrom. Rosemary Wickstrom said: WEEKLY CANDY: Skwinkles Salsaghetti :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog ...: IN QUESTION: Like all the best things in li... http://bit.ly/dxFgc8 [...]

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 11:42 PM Permalink | Post a comment

WEEKLY CANDY: Zours

POSTED: Wednesday, November 10, 2010, 10:08 PM

Filed Under: Weekly Candy

Photos | Drew Lazor

Once a week, Team Meal Ticket shares its latest sugar-laden fixations. Do not tell 0ur dentist. IN QUESTION: Our pick for the most slept-on sour candy on the market, Zours are the lip-puckering cousins of well-known Just Born products like Mike and Ikes and Hot Tamales. They feature the same size, shape and consistency as those super-sticky candy classics, but are dusted in magical sour powder and come in sour flavors (green apple, watermelon, lemon, cherry and our fave, the does-not-occur-in-nature blue raspberry). Added appeal is derived from the box art, which features anthropomorphic Zours tripping face after eating bites of fruit. Lemme get some of that apple, I'm going to see The Wall later! AVAILABLE AT: For some reason, Zours are hard to find and it's bullshit! But we've discovered that the Rite Aid at 23rd and Walnut is reliable place to cop. HOW MANY DO WE TYPICALLY EAT IN ONE SITTING: The entire box, real talk. FINER POINTS: Perhaps this is just us on our Rain Man grind, but we very much enjoy ripping open a bag of Zours, categorizing the individual candies by color and then methodically eating them in various two-at-once color combinations (blue raspberry and watermelon together is the jam!). Please tell us that someone out there does this too.

Anthony Sica

Posted 2010-11-10 19:14:25

I love Zours. You can also find them at the Walgreens at the Quartermaster Plaza in South Philly and on Broad and Snyder.

pozloves

Posted 2010-11-10 21:26:24

Many people think they have STD and directly go to online STD services like ** STDpal.com ***  without having the test. They do not want to go to the hospital due to the social stigma attached to it. This may help them a lot. Not sure this phone test will make those niche sites' members increase or decrease.

Juliana Reyes

Posted 2010-11-10 23:54:58

noooo way, i haven't been able to find these since i was in middle school. i thought they discontinued them.

Steph

Posted 2010-11-11 10:08:52

The Walgreens at 9th & Market often has big boxes of them in the 3 for $3 bin. I'm a little freaked out that we have the same taste for sour candy!

Mike H

Posted 2010-11-11 10:41:11

Idea for a future Weekly Candy: "Super Cola" the Japanese hard sucking candy with the sour outside

Rob Z

Posted 2010-11-11 11:26:38

Love Zours! (And yes, I pair up colors on all the Mike and Ike flavors!)

Ben Kessler

Posted 2010-11-11 13:01:57

Zours are so bangarang. I eat them pretty often. Know what's another slept on candy? Sixlets.

Meal Ticket’s 2010 in Pictures: November :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2011-01-02 20:10:07

[...] - WEEKLY CANDY: Zours [10nov10] [...]

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 10:08 PM Permalink | Post a comment

WEEKLY CANDY: Hello Panda

POSTED: Wednesday, November 3, 2010, 8:18 PM

Filed Under: Weekly Candy

Photo | Juliana Reyes

Once a week, Team Meal Ticket shares its latest sugar-laden fixations. Do not tell 0ur dentist.

IN QUESTION: Hello Panda is produced by Meiji Seika, the Japanese candy geniuses behind many a whimsical snack-gem like Choco Baby and previous Weekly Candy star Yan Yan. The candy's light shortbread shell protects a creamy, near-decadent filling. The chocolate fudge is our favorite, though the milk and strawberry cream variety are pretty enjoyable too. We've heard rumors of peanut butter cream filling but have yet to find them. Anyone down to investigate? AVAILABLE AT: Your Asian candy go-to, Hung Vuong Supermarket (Wing Phat Plaza, 11th and Washington). You can even get 'em in bulk there. You know, just in case you want to stock up for a crisis of some sort. HOW MANY DO WE TYPICALLY EAT IN ONE SITTING?: A whole box is usually a bit much for one person, though it's easy to lose control since they're so bite-sized. But do share, or else you might start to get that sickly feeling--the little pandas are surprisingly rich. FINER POINTS: To be honest we don't usually pay attention to the cute little panda sketches on each biscuit (kind of how, when eating fruit snacks, we don't bother to inspect each character before we devour it whole), but Meiji seems quite proud of the "New Sports Printing!" on each biscuit. So the Hello Panda experience can be educational, too, wherein you can learn how a panda spikes a volleyball or how it wields a sabre (very well, thank you).

Ticket Stubs: Meal Ticket Weekly Recap, Nov. 1-6 :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2010-11-08 08:32:24

[...] Juliana Reyes sets her Weekly Candy sights on the crunchy and adorable Hello Panda. [...]

Chris

Posted 2010-11-06 00:36:24

great article! i love these snacks!

Tweets that mention WEEKLY CANDY: Hello Panda :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper -- Topsy.com

Posted 2010-11-03 17:08:05

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by ranae smithen, Meal Ticket. Meal Ticket said: It's time for Weekly Candy! http://tinyurl.com/233qsym [...]

Tweets that mention WEEKLY CANDY: Hello Panda :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper -- Topsy.com

Posted 2010-11-03 16:51:38

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Chics & Chocolate, DarkNSweet Chocolate. DarkNSweet Chocolate said: Dark Choc WEEKLY CANDY: Hello Panda http://bit.ly/bW3nW5 [...]

Charlie

Posted 2010-11-03 15:28:07

pandas are a great treat. really informative article!

sara

Posted 2010-11-03 15:34:00

I stock up on these AND Men's Pocky (dark chocolate) when at Hung Vuong, always.

Posted by Juliana Reyes @ 8:18 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Weekly Candy: Sour Patch Xploderz

POSTED: Thursday, October 21, 2010, 6:15 PM

Filed Under: Weekly Candy

Photo | Adam Erace

Once a week, Team Meal Ticket shares its latest sugar-laden fixations. Do not tell our dentist.

IN QUESTION: Its no secret Sour Patch Kids is the Official Candy of Meal Ticket®. (Did you know they started out as Mars Men in the height of the '70s UFO craze, and were the first candy to use sour sand coating?) Since our love for SPK is well-documented, we figured new gel-injected Sour Patch Xploderz would be an easy win for the Cadbury Adams candy company. With flavors like Raspberry Lemonade Rush and madcap disregard for spelling, how could we not be instantly addicted? Alas, they kinda taste like gumdrops and dont so much xplode as ooze, the like centers of the Freshen Up gum your grandmom used to carry around. And no sour sand at the bottom of the bag! Blasphemy!

Photos | Adam Erace

AVAILABLE AT: Scoop Xploderz at the (currently supersized for Halloween) candy section at Target on Mifflin and Water. HOW MUCH DO WE TYPICALLY EAT IN ONE SITTING?: While we do a 3.2 on a whole bag of Sour Patch Kids, Xploderz lacks the tang that keeps the palate refreshed and ready for more. Still, we suggest trying to polish off the whole bag. Stored in the cabinet for a week, the leftover Xploderz had all xploded, seeping Grape Berry Surge and Apple Strawberry Burst like puss from an obstinate wound. FINER POINTS: What a tragic disappointment. But at least Sour Patch Candy Canes are right around the corner.

Michelle

Posted 2010-10-21 13:24:49

I love the weekly candy feature even though I don't really like candy

Posted by Adam Erace @ 6:15 PM Permalink | Post a comment

WEEKLY CANDY: Haribo Sour S'ghetti

POSTED: Thursday, October 14, 2010, 8:15 PM

Filed Under: Weekly Candy

Photo | Drew Lazor

Once a week, Team Meal Ticket shares its latest sugar-laden fixations. Do not tell our dentist. IN QUESTION: Combining three of our favorite things (pasta, sourness and endearing toddler-like mispronunciation), Sour S'ghetti is, in our fructose-addled opinion, candy giant Haribo's finest product. Featuring the ancient, 100 percent natural flavors of "blue," "red" and "green" (a very accurate representation of what you get in the Italian motherland indeed), a sack of Double S is a fine sack indeed. (Do NOT confuse it with Haribo's Fruity Pasta, which is also good but not on the same level.) AVAILABLE AT: Just like last week, you can cop a bag at Food & Friends at 20th and Spruce. HOW MUCH DO WE TYPICALLY EAT IN ONE SITTING?: We've been known to annihilate an entire sack of S'ghetti in a single sitting. It's not a game! Its small slivered size allows for easy multi-color grabbage. You know you did good when the sour sugar is all over your couch post destruction session. FINER POINTS: For what it's worth, our first exposure to Sour S'ghetti came at a friend's apartment several years ago. Some straggly-haired, completely drugged out of his gourd acquaintance of an acquaintance showed up while everyone was watching TV, spotted a bag of S'ghetti somewhere on the premises and proceeded to stuff its entire contents into his quivering E-tard mouth while making noises like "mmmaauhhhhhmm." We watched this happen with great bemusement and slight fear. How this candy-bogarting, brain-damaged hippie managed not to ruin Sour S'ghetti for us, we'll never know. If you're out there, Sour S'ghetti druggie guy, we implore you to come forward and apologize for not sharing.

WEEKLY CANDY: Skwinkles Salsaghetti :: Meal Ticket :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2010-11-18 18:42:43

[...] Like all the best things in life, Skwinkles Salsaghetti, which was endorsed by multiple commenters in a previous Weekly Candy installment, is weird and Mexican. The core of Salsaghetti are small chewy watermelon gummi strands (similar in [...]

leah

Posted 2010-10-14 22:04:51

mmm, Haribo goodness!

if you want some more candy spaghetti fun, you should hit up a bodega for Salsagheti - http://www.candywarehouse.com/salsaghetti.html  kind of awesome... kind of delicious... definitely gets points for coming with sauce!

Ticket Stubs: Meal Ticket Weekly Recap, Oct. 11-15 :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2010-10-18 11:04:26

[...] we drink an illuminated Asahi?• Tonight: "An orgy of drunken deliciousness" at CapoPENN• WEEKLY CANDY: Haribo Sour S'ghetti• Sunday: Second Annual Farmhouse Ale Dinner at South Philly Tap Room• Nov. 14: Pumpkin [...]

juliana

Posted 2010-10-15 15:47:24

completely agree about s'ghetti > fruity pasta. does anyone know where to obtain haribo gummi cars? i've only ever had them in the philippines (and even there they were hard to find) -- but something about them made them infinitely better than gummi worms. i think it was their thickness.

Kibby

Posted 2010-10-15 08:48:05

Leah! I have also suggested Salsaghetti for this feature! I am a big fan of the packaging and while I find the accompanying sauce to be disgusting I do love the option of putting sauce on your candy.  
Also, Drew- I had completely forgotten about the drug addict dude that ate all of my Sour S'ghetti and I'm not too pleased about being reminded of that event.  It was traumatic.

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 8:15 PM Permalink | 1 comment

WEEKLY CANDY: Chocolove's Almond and Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Bar

POSTED: Wednesday, October 6, 2010, 9:11 PM

Filed Under: Weekly Candy

Photos | Drew Lazor

Once a week, Team Meal Ticket shares its latest sugar-laden fixations. Do not tell 0ur dentist. IN QUESTION: We've already fussed over the Chocolove brand's chili/cherry bar, but this one has got to be their absolute best. It's nothing crazy, either: The awesome off-sweet dark chocolate (55 percent cocoa). The crunchy almond shards. The screw-my-blood-pressure amount of drool-inducing sea salt worked into every bite. This candy bar is amazing! AVAILABLE AT: We cop these things regularly at Food & Friends Neighborhood Market on the corner of 20th and Spruce. Nice selection there. HOW MANY DO WE TYPICALLY EAT IN ONE SITTING?: One tops, usually a half. Quit calling us fat! YOU are fat. FINER POINTS: There are quite a few salty or otherwise bacon-imbued chocolate bars out there on the candy market, but Chocolove just straight nails it. Like all good chocolate products, it's at its best straight out of the freezer, a storage strategy that also prevents you from eating it too fast (throw it in there real deep behind a bunch of frozen peas and pot pies and Fla-vor-Ices and make it really hard to reach DIET TACTIC!). It's also awesome if you smash it up into tiny pieces to top ice cream or sorbet.

poncho

Posted 2010-10-07 12:44:11

Why are you guys talking about towels?

danya

Posted 2010-10-07 14:08:53

Sorry. 'Preciate Adam playing along ;) Who knows where towel jokes could lead.

Recurring South Park joke: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NO8lnC7u3w

imelda

Posted 2010-10-22 13:10:50

This chocolate bar is heaven on earth. There is a bookstore that is slow stocking it and i have warned them that i will be purchasing it by the box so they might think about ordering 2 boxes--one for me, the other for the rest of their customers. Oh yes, i love this stuff!

Felicia D'Ambrosio

Posted 2010-10-07 09:44:05

@Adam -- that's Drew's kitchen table, not a paper towel. It is so funky.

@Drew -- bunnies in paper cups.

danya

Posted 2010-10-06 21:36:46

No, you're fat. I mean, you're a towel! Much worse.

poncho

Posted 2010-10-06 16:15:19

Chocolove Almonds & Sea Salt in Dark Chocolate is not one the best candy bars in the world, it is THE BEST candy bar in the world!!!!

adam

Posted 2010-10-07 01:14:21

Forget the chocolate, how bout those paper towels!

Ticket Stubs: Meal Ticket Weekly Recap, Oct. 4-8 :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2010-10-11 13:27:56

[...] Chocolove’s almond/dark/chocolate/sea salt bar gets the Weekly Candy treatment. [...]

Foodadelphia

Posted 2010-10-06 16:55:04

This. Is. My. Favorite!

Drew Lazor

Posted 2010-10-07 01:29:15

I don't get it

Denise Hardy

Posted 2010-11-24 17:50:24

If God had meant us to be thin... He would NOT have created chocolate. Thanks for the great post!

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 9:11 PM Permalink | Post a comment

WEEKLY CANDY: Yan Yan

POSTED: Wednesday, September 29, 2010, 9:35 PM

Filed Under: Weekly Candy

Photos | Drew Lazor

Once a week, Team Meal Ticket shares its latest sugar-laden fixations. Do not tell 0ur dentist. IN QUESTION: Yan Yan is the brand name of a Japanese line of snacks that consist of crunchy, slightly sweet "biscuit sticks" packaged with a Dunkaroo-esque frosting dip. Flavors include vanilla, chocolate, strawberry or "yogurt." Staying cognizant of the number of sticks to ensure even frosting distribution, as well as rationing the frosting to protect from the dreaded "all sticks, no dip" problem, is a serious fat man's thinking man's game. AVAILABLE AT: The amazing candy aisle at Hung Vuong Supermarket (Wing Phat Plaza, 11th and Washington), the little candy shop on the parking-lot side of Viet Huong (also in Wing Phat Plaza), and pretty much any store where fine fish sauces are sold. HOW MANY DO WE TYPICALLY EAT IN ONE SITTING?: Try to keep it one package if we're not sharing, but sometimes it becomes a two-fer situation. The sticks are so damn crunchy, can't help it. FINER POINTS: Yan Yan makes for a great late-night or midday snack but by far the most awesome aspect here are the bizarre animal-themed sayings printed on each biscuit stick. Many make general sense ("Duck: Go For A Swim," "Octopus: Lucky Number 8") or are informative ("Giraffe: Tallest Mammal"), but most are either weird and cryptic ("Fox: Beware of Lies") or just apropos of absolutely nothing ("Stag Beetle: Love It").

juliana

Posted 2010-09-30 01:06:23

my cousin's AIM screenname is yanyanfrosting1. stag beetle. love it.

WEEKLY CANDY: Hello Panda :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2010-11-03 15:18:14

[...] candy geniuses behind many a whimsical snack-gem like Choco Baby and previous Weekly Candy star Yan Yan. The candy’s light shortbread shell protects a creamy, near-decadent filling. The chocolate [...]

Jackie

Posted 2010-10-01 11:02:31

This might be my favorite feature to date. I love Yan Yans! Strawberry is the best and no they never give enough frosting!

I nominate pocky or hi-chew for next week!

Brian

Posted 2010-09-29 19:19:28

In Japanese mythology, foxes are the ultimate trickters, which explains "Fox: Beware of Lies." I'm just as lost with Stag Beetle though.

WEEKLY CANDY: Meiji Chocorooms :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2011-01-28 13:40:18

[...] comes to dunking cookies into a vat of chocolate frosting, these little toadstools are kind of like pre-dipped Yan Yan. I think of it as built-in portion control. Meiji is a mainstream candy brand in Japan, producing [...]

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 9:35 PM Permalink | Post a comment

1 | 2 | 3

Now Serving: Lil' Pop Shop
Notes from the Weekend: June 17
Rock Star cheese dinner at Di Bruno's
Happy National Martini Day!
Afternoon Snacks: Party Pizza, Empellon joins tumblr, Giant bibimbap (!), Snickerdoodle cobbler
Vetri opening in the Navy Yard, plus a nod to Le Bec
Dolcissimo! Pastry classes with Le Virtu's Angela Ranalli
The Lite Choice Opens Flagship Store on 16th Street between Walnut & Locust
Gone Fishin'
Free stuff for Father's Day

About this blog

Founded in October 2008, Meal Ticket is a City Paper blog about food, drink and assorted other things that make you go mmm. We do recipes, interviews, restaurant news, commentary and much more. We don't do restaurant reviews here — those are handled in print, mostly by our critic (and Meal Ticket contributor) Adam Erace. Got a tip, question, thought or concern? Just want to say hello? Please shoot a note to caroline@citypaper.net.

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