Long Day...

I started work today at 8am and worked through lunch until about 4:30pm.
I was crawling around under dirty old desks and running back and forth
from the warehouse to the server room all day.  I'm glad its over.

After work, I went back to Uwajimaya to take advantage of their 10% off sale.
I purchased 8 drinks and 3 snacks to review.  After Uwajimaya I found my
way to a Thai place down by the Space Needle.  I don't even remember
what it was called.  I did however snap this photo of some strange graffiti
on the wall in the men's room.  It was drawn with pencil and I liked it for
some wierd reason....probably because it is really wierd.

The Thai place was good, I had a nice warm pot of Jasmine Tea, and hot bowl of
Tom Yum, and a properly prepard Pad Se-EW.




After eating I returned back to the hotel to rest and review the various Asian beverages and snacks.





OK, let's get started.  The first drink I tried is quite possibly the strangest drink I have ever come
across.  Its called Ramune.  After you remove the plastic wrapper around the top, you come to
a stopping point as another green cap like device comes loose.  I have to say, this is the only
bottle of soft drink that has ever made me think.  I actually had to read the directions (see below)
before I figured out what the deal was. 


The best part about the instructions, is that even if you are an adult, it still says
to "Ask and adult to open the bottle for you".  Too bad for me there was no adult
around to ask, so I had to figure it out myself.


So in the top of the bottle is this "marble".


I soon figured out that the little green cap thingy can be popped out out to reveal a
"hammer" of sorts that is placed on top of the bottle, and then slammed down
HARD to shoot the marble into the bottle.  FREAKISH!


After the slamming, the marble shoots down and is stopped by
the neck of the bottle.



Once slammed in, the marble begins to generate carbonation bubbles
around it, and you are ready to enjoy your bizarro Japanese pop.  The
flavor is sweet, and reminds me mostly of the clear (white) flavor of
Life Savers, which happens to be my favorite flavor of Life Savers. I
suppose it is a sweet, artificial coconut flavor???

OK, moving on.  Here we have some strawberry Calpico.  It basically
tastes like extra sweet, slightly watered down, strawberry Quik.  If I
was a 12 year old Japanese girl or Linda, I would probably like it.



This one has my favorite packaging and name of all of the drinks
I bought.  I don't know why, but I think its funny.  Its basically just  an
orange juice/Tang type of drink...



Next up is some Junsui Ringo...also known as apple juice.



This next one is called Sweet Kiss and is just a soda pop
that is basically a decent cross between 7up and Mountain Dew.
Nothing special.


Gokuri: A small bottle of Grapefruit Juice, just like it says.
No surprise here.


This next one is a favorite.  Its your standard run-of-the-mill
Japanese coffee drink, and it is really good.  I like the Japanese
coffee drinks better than the American ones.  They have a smoother
flavor and taste less milky, making them "lighter" I guess.  This
drink is also made by Sangaria, like the wierd-ass marble drink...



OK, the last drink is some Asahi Mitsuya.  Asahi also makes my
favorite Japanese beer.  Mitsuya actually tastes very similar to the
Ramune, but it has more carbonation and is a little sweeter/richer.
Again, I guess this is coconut flavor, but I really can't put my
finger on it...or tongue rather.



Now, let's eat.  First up are some Lotte Chocolate Pies. Alot better
than I thought they would be.  They are light and fluffy and flakey and
quite tastey.  Basically sweet flakey crackers with a little chocolate
inbetween the layers. The packaging with the squirrels was what
attracted me to it.



Here is a close-up in the box.  The squirrel on the left looks
pretty pissed off while the one on the right is happy and singing.
I wish I could read it. 



Choco Boy: A chocolate covered cracker shaped like a Shitake mushroom. Go figure.
Why don't we have cookies shaped like broccoli and cauliflower dipped in chocolate in the US?
I think its a great idea.  Your parents always want you to eat your veggies, and this is the ultimate
in defiance.  "HAVE FUN WITH YOUR FRIEND CHOCO BOY!"  And yes, they are very tastey.


Last but not least we have Parrot Coffee Milk Biscuits.  When I bought them, I didn't know if
they taste like coffee, or are simply meant to be dipped in coffee or milk but taste like something else.
To my delight, they actually taste like coffee and are wicked good.  What the Parrot has to do
with anything is beyond me, but I think it is just the brand I guess...


So that's it. Tomorrow I go to the reptile show and then to Portland.  :)