Kuching! Sweet Sweet Mart

Does Sweet Factory still exist? I always felt like the luckiest kid when my parents would let me fill a plastic bag with shark gummies, jaw breakers, and Jelly Bellies. I was so excited to discover, on the very bottom level of a mall in Malaysia, this Sweet Factory-ish store called Sweet Sweet Mart.

 Not only did they have a wide selection of wrapped candy, they also had dried fruit,

nuts and chips, 

and wafers and cookies.

Hong had a difficult time choosing. 

 Mmmmm such a fun reminder of childhood!

Unique Treats- Nam Wan

I already talked a little bit here about the delights of nam wan. Last week I went to a place that specializes in it!

 This lady was amazing! The place was packed and she was able to remembered every order perfectly. .

There was so much to choose from! Along with little jellies made out of rice, there was also corn, sticky rice, tapioca, sweet potato, beans, coconut, lychee, lotus root, and many other things I didn't recognize.

I'm not much for corn or beans in my sweets, so I stuck to the colorful jellies and a bit of tapioca.

Unique Treats- Yogurt Cola Gum

It's normal to see strange flavors of drinks, chips and candy, but usually gum flavor is pretty standard- minty or fruity. So I was surprised to see this gum's flavor was neither mint nor fruit. When I first looked at it, I was a bit confused by the smiling popcorn on the left, but I soon realized that they are partially opened cups of yogurt. (Sorry if the wasabi pea background is distracting. Mmmmm...wasabi peas....)

The flavor was very similar to Vanilla Coke (ohhhhh man, I could go for a Vanilla Coke right now. With my wasabi peas.) and it  lasted about 10 seconds. Bubble blowing was a bit strenuous.

The most exciting part for me were these Thai comics on the wrappers. The jokes (as you would expect) are based exclusively on Thai culture and Thai language. Poor Hong had to wring the jokes dry in order to explain them to me, and even then I only really understood one of them!

Unique Treats- Khanom Khee

This snack has three interesting names:

Khee Nu - Mouse Poop
Khee Meeo - Cat Poop
Khee Muu- Pig Poop

Nope, not actually poop.

Despite the name, they're really quite good! Their consistancy is similar to a crunchy cheeto and they taste like caramel.

Unique Treats- Happy Pop

My students like to surprise me with interesting snacks. Here's one called "Happy Pop".

Colorful packaging, iffy ingredients, all signs point to 'excellent Asian treat'.

 

Inside the package was a lumpy lolly-pop and a blue plastic top.

 

 First impression.

 What ARE you? The best way I can describe it is a mix between a Tootsie Roll and a Sugar Daddy.

 

But check out that spinning top action!

BAM! Happy pop indeed!