Botan Rice Candy

I first discovered Botan Rice Candy at Epcot Center as a kid. I then didn't see it again for years, until I came across it in an Asian grocery store in Cambridge. I've since seen it off and on, and I usually buy a pack or two when I do see it, as I did at World Market in Evanston during my recent trip to Chicago.

Botan Rice Candy is a Japanese candy with a soft, chewy texture similar to that of kids' bubble gums like Bubbalicious or Hubba Bubba. Except, of course, it's not gum, so it melts in your mouth after a few chews. The flavor is citrusy and sweet, though not excessively. It also has the added fun of a rice paper wrapper that looks like plastic or cellophane but dissolves quickly in your mouth. (Note: This is inside the actual plastic wrapper on each piece.) And, it comes with a free children's sticker. Who could ask for more?

Macapuno ensaymada

Today, I had a chance to taste a dessert from the Philippines, a sweet roll with coconut filling called macapuno ensaymada. It's a little hard to describe, but basically, imagine a sweet challah or other egg bread filled with pieces of coconut in some sort of gelatinous suspension. It tasted better than it sounds, although not as good as I'd hoped. I found the treat in a Filipino grocery store next door to a Filipino restaurant down in Braintree or Quincy. A Filipino friend took us down there on our way to Ikea.

Although it was interesting to try the macapuno, I was happier with the other item I purchased, Yan Yan, which I've had many times before and never tire of. Insert crunchy stick in creamy chocolate, remove, insert into mouth, enjoy.