Mexipan Snacks!
Tortilla chips. Barbeque. Chocolate. No, not all three at the same time. Calm down. Just two out of the three at a time… You know you’re curious. Semi-related video inside. Basically, I am completely baffled by the state of Mexican food in Japan (henceforth referred to as Mexipan food). Normally I’m reporting about the Japanese style of the Mexican food in my area, when it’s available. Today, I about died when I found these snacks on the shelf at the “Culture Shop” wannabe convenience-store-cum-bookshop. This is what passes for Mexican here? It reminds me of the Dunkaroos that I used to swoon over. Unfortunately, it is a far cry from real Mexican snacks. (Admittedly, those little oven baked things that pass as Mexican in the states are equally off the mark.) It’s basically a container of mini tortilla chips (which actually taste of corn!) and a sauce of some kind. I bought both the barbeque and the chocolate ones. The barbeque one needs some serious work. The sauce is too fluid, not nearly viscous enough to be held on the chip. The chocolate was actually pretty good. It shocked me that Japan – the country of people who freak out when I suggest that they try eating a Wendy’s Frosty with an order of french fries instead of a spoon – would embrace the salty and sweet combination. I am, however, glad. All of this is beside the point, though. At the end of the day, these snacks are most assuredly not Mexican food.
I actually had some real Mexican food while I was in Osaka, on the way home from Kobe. Stephanie and Wendy took me to a place near Shinsaibashi. It was awesome. I had the beef fajitas. It was awesome. The margarita was pretty small, but… It was awesome. Here’s a very quick video showing our enthusiasm. I think I sound scary at the end…but I swear I haven’t edited the audio. It just got picked up funny. I don’t yell in restaurants…
