Work Fuel: Japanese Hi-Chews

They say that snacking in between meals is a bad thing, that all the calories add up and show up on your waistline, but sometimes you just can't help it. Especially when you spend most of your days at work and your coworkers always bring in tempting treats that you just can't resist, and when you can't figure out why a stupid function in Excel isn't working, you can concentrate better by munching on some mind fuel.

I'd like to devote this post to a favorite new work-time candy of mine called Hi-chew, which is a chewy fruity snack sold by a Japanese firm called Morinaga & Co. It reminds me of a Starburst in terms of the taffy-like consistency and fruity flavors, but it tastes so much better. You know how sometimes when you stuff yourself with candy you feel really sick afterwards? Hi-chews don't leave you with that bad taste in your mouth. I don't know what it is, maybe the sugar or ingredients Morinaga uses is better quality or something, but it tastes more wholesome and substantial than a Starburst or Tootsie Roll (relatively speaking!).

Morinaga produces Hi-chews in all sorts of flavors, including Banana, Plum, Grape, Lemon, Muscat, Strawberry and Apple. I haven't tried them all, but I LOVE Grape and Green Apple. Plum was kinda disgusting, it almost felt like I was chewing on a flower candy, and I don't know about you, but flowers were made for decorating, not eating!

So where can you get these snacks? Any Asian grocery store in the city will carry them, as do those random delis like Cafe Duke or Pranzo. Even the convenience store at my work carries them, that's how in demand they are! But if you can't seem to find them, you can buy them at http://www.asianfoodgrocer.com/.

Also, this is just me sidetracking, but I remember back in high school my favorite snack ever was a candy sold by the French Club called Eiffel Bon Bons. It came in Raspberry, Strawberry, Apple, Cherry and Watermelon. The only downside I ever saw to graduating high school was never being able to buy Bon Bons ever again, because they don't sell these things in the stores!! Like, only the French Clubs in Orange County carried them, it was so weird! But I was surfing the web, and guess what?? You can buy them in bulk at http://www.foreign-candy.com/! In fact, I'm sure that's where all the French Clubs bought them from, I just didn't catch on to it until, I don't know, 6 years later...kinda sad but some people are slow. Sigh...the memories of those fruit taffy nuggets!