Snakku – May 2017 Review

Snakku goes back to celebrating individual cities this month, with a delightful tribute to Hiroshima!

Snakku is a monthly subscription that delivers traditional Japanese treats selected from local snack shops and curated around a theme.  They offer two types of subscriptions: a smaller Tasting Box with 5-7 snacks, and an expanded Signature Box with two pounds of snacks.

The Signature Box is available in 3 and 6 month prepaid plans with a slight discount, and has free international shipping.

The tasting box is available for $15.75/month including shipping, but it is still only available in the US.

This is a review of their Signature Box, which is $38.95/month including shipping.

This month’s furoshiki has a lovely Japanese maple leaf design!  It seems a little out of place for this time of year – more autumn than summer – but the colors are lovely and bright.

This month’s box celebrates the Western city of Hiroshima.  It has a rich history as a seat of economical power, and is well-known for the glorious castle it was built around.  In modern times its name has been inextricably linked to the WWII atomic bomb, but it remains a beautiful city with bright nightlife and a flourishing automobile industry.

The artwork on Snakku’s information cards is always so lovely.  This one features the floating torii arch located on the island of Miyajima, just off the coast of Hiroshima.  The card also gives important details about each snack, like allergen information.

Miso Scallion Senbei

This award-winning senbei (rice cracker) featuring Hokkaido scallion is made by artisans who have been running their store for 200 years!  It’s deliciously salty, and you can really taste the miso flavor.  They’re a good size too, and are perfect if you’re craving something savory.

Lemon Chocolate Cookie

Hiroshima lemons are famous for being less bitter and more citrusy, and this company has been making these cookies featuring Hiroshima lemons for over 100 years.  They have a fantastically buttery shortbread-like texture, with a smooth sweet lemon flavor.  I don’t taste much chocolate though, unless it’s white chocolate.

Sonomanma Lemon

These little slices of freeze-dried lemon peel also come from Hiroshima lemons, and are dusted with a light coating of sugar crystals.  I thought lemon peel would be bitter, but these are beautifully sweet, like candy!  They’re also quite chewy, with just a hint of sour tang.  These might be my favorite treat in the box!

Cheese Stuffed Senbei

These soy sauce senbei surround a rich Hokkaido cheese filling.  Snakku calls them “the perfect bar snack”, and I agree – they’re salty and crispy and would go great with alcohol.  The cheese filling is also a little buttery, like what you find in Ritz cracker sandwiches, but smoother!

Touyouka Manju

The Hiroshima-based snack shop Yamada-ya has been around since 1932.  The owner created this red-bean manju in 1954 for his university’s tea club.  It is stamped with his family crest.  The outside of the manju is moist and cakey, and the red bean filling is delicate and not as sweet as other red bean pastes I’ve tried.

Hiroshima Leaf Sable

These cookies are also created by Yamada-ya, and come in the shape of sable leaves, a tree unique to Hiroshima.  The leaves turn red in autumn and look like little hearts.  The cookies are delicately sweet and buttery, and would go well with tea.

Oyster Senbei

These senbei have a whole dried oyster in them!  Hiroshima is famous for its oysters, and while they don’t look very appetizing smashed into this senbei, they taste pretty delicious.  They lend a little saltiness and a hint of sea flavor to an otherwise bland senbei.  The cracker has a slightly chewy texture – not as much snap as I’m used to, but this is definitely a very unique snack!

Hon-wasabi Mix

This is a mix of seed-shaped rice crackers and peanuts lightly dusted in wasabi powder.  It’s crunchy and easy to snack on.  I do wish there was slightly more salt, but the wasabi flavor lends an interesting kick.

AmeYu

This company has been around since 1933, and this drink powder is their most famous product.  You mix the powder with hot water to create a ginger-infused malt syrup drink.  I’m not a big fan of ginger, so I haven’t tried this one yet, but I love that Snakku included such a unique treat.  They recommend making this if you’re feeling slightly under the weather and need a hot, calming drink.

Shakushi Senbei

Another treat by Yamada-ya, these ladle-shaped senbei are exclusively found at the Miyajima shrine!  The ladle at the shrine is said to bring good luck and prosperity to those who use it.  The senbei have a chewy, cake-like texture and a lightly sweet flavor.  The taste isn’t that unique, but the shape is so artfully crafted and the drawn design so detailed!

Overall, I love how well this box represented Hiroshima!  The snacks are all so unique, and very clearly hard to find, so A+ on the curation!  My favorites are definitely the lemon peel candy and the lemon cookie – Hiroshima lemons are simply amazing!  If you’re interested in learning about Japanese culture while eating your way through the cities, I recommend this box!

 

PR sample.  All opinions are my own, and no compensation was received for this review.  This post contains affiliate links.