Appetizer: Tanghulu – I remember riding in the passenger seat of my aunt’s bicycle across the streets of China. There were vendors selling tanghulu, a candied hawthorn fruit (now modernized to strawberries and other fruits). The fruit was freshly made, warm and gooey, with sugar that had crystallized and hardened. It remains one of my favorite candies to this day.
Appetizer: Oreos – I lived in China until I was three, bouncing between my aunts' homes. I remember watching a commercial for Oreos one summer day. A girl comes home from school, walks into a hot dining room, and is served a cold glass of milk with Oreos. The ad made the cookies look so appetizing that I asked my aunt to get them at the grocery store. I was spoiled at the time, so I always got what I wanted. I used to love the filling, but now I'm more of a fan of the cookie.
Appetizer: Chocolate Mushrooms – After moving to America, around age 6, I began exploring American snacks. My sweet tooth really kicked in here. I’d go to Chinese supermarkets like Jusgo or 99 Ranch with my mom, and she’d let me pick whatever I wanted. I always chose these little chocolate mushrooms with a cracker stem. The packaging was bright yellow, featuring a candyland-style character, and I remember it vividly.
Entree: Lollipop from a Specific American Brand I Don't Recall– Around age 8, I went with my parents to Walmart, and I would always see bright-colored lollipops with neon swirls at the checkout. They came in flavors like banana, fruit punch, cotton candy, and others, but I never actually tried them. I admired them from afar, even though they were only 99 cents each.
Entree: Chocolate Coins – In fourth grade, I had a kind and fun bus driver who would bring little treats for us, like rubber bouncy balls and chocolate coins. He always made the bus ride enjoyable. Unfortunately, school administration found out and fired him, but I still think about him fondly. There just aren’t enough bus drivers like him.
Entree: Hostess Cupcakes – I never actually tried these, but I would always see them everywhere—at HEB, Kroger, CVS, and even gas stations. Similar to the lollipops, they were always around, and I was curious about them. I was a huge fan of Donettes, but Hostess Cupcakes never crossed my path. I still haven’t tried them to this day.
Entree: Tri-Tiered Chocolate Pudding with Strawberry Filling – During my cousin's wedding, she had these amazing tri-tiered chocolate puddings with strawberry filling. I had one every day that week. She had so much candy lying around in giant trash bags that I ended up snacking on them. It was such a great time, especially since I got red pocket money, even though I wasn’t the one getting married!
Dessert: Konpeito – In 7th grade, I was exchanging gifts with a friend, and she wanted these cute star-shaped candies called konpeito. I thought they were just sugar and food coloring, so I got them for her along with some other items. On the day of the exchange, I received a Ziploc bag filled with leftover sour gummy worms that she had eaten, with some of her hair mixed in. It was a shocking and gross moment that ended our friendship, and I don’t think I’ll ever try konpeito.
Dessert: Gummy Bears – During the year 2021, when COVID began, one of my friends gave me 12 bags of Haribo gummy bears. I loved them at first, but over time, I got sick of them. They were always stale and hard, even when unopened. The pineapple flavor was my favorite, though. Eventually, I moved on to better things.
Dessert: Lava Cake – Last year, while doomscrolling on TikTok, I saw a video of a lava cake, and it made my mouth water. I knew I had to try it, and now it’s one of my favorite desserts. There’s something about the warm, molten center that makes it irresistible.
xoxo, martinellisparklingapplejuice
ps. this is the "Non-Coherent Version of What I Just Said"
1. tanghulu -> i remember riding in my passenger seat of my aunts bicycle across the streets of china and there would be these vendors between roads selling tang hulu, a candied hawthorn fruit (now modernixed to strabwrrties etc.) and they were freshley made so the fruit was still warm and gooey while the sugar was crystalized and hardened. its still one of my favorite candies to this day
2. oreos -> i was living in china till i was 3. but up until then i was bouncing around my aunts’ homes and there was this one day where i was watchign tv and an ad was running for oreos and it looked so good (it was like during a summer day and it was burning hot during the ad. then this young girl gets home from school after walking in the burning heat and sits at the dining table. her mom serves her a cold glass of milk and some oreo cookies. it looked so appetizing that i asked my aunt if we could go get some at the grocery store. i was really spoiled at the time, so everything i asked for, they got. i used to like the filling, but now im more of a oreo cookie person.
3. chocolate mushrooms -> i had moved back to america and was trying out a bunch of american snacks. so i was about 6 at the time. i always had a sweet tooth but this was really when it activated seriously. i would go to the grocery store , either jusgo or 99 ranch, both chinese supermarkets that i grew up going to. id always go with my mom after she finished work and she’d like me choose anything i wanted so id always get these little milk chocolate mushrooms with a cracker attatched to it as the stem. i still remmeber the wrapping vividly. it had this little chocolate man running across what looked like candy land and the packaging was this bright yellow.
4. this one lollipop from this specific american brand that i cant remmeber the name of. -> i was about 8 during this period. id go to walmart sometimes with my parents when i was younger, and when we’d checkout, id always see these bright colored lollipops with neon swirls, which looking back, were definitely radioactive. they came in all sorts of flavors, like banana, fruit punch, cotton candy, or some other interesting flavor, but i never ended up ever trying them. i just remember always admiring them from afar. they were also 99 cents each.
5. chocolate coins -> i would take the bus every morning and afternnoon when i was in elementary school and in fourth grade, i had a really really kind bus driver. he’d always talk to us and play music for us to bop to. he’d also sometimes bring little gadgets for us to have, like those rubber bouncy balls that you used to get when you sucked at the scammy arcade games. but anyway, he would always bring chocolate coins, and eventually school admin found out and fired him. i still think about him sometimes, and how theres not enough bus drivers like him.
6. hostess cupcakes -> ive actually never had these either. i used to be a huge donettes fan, i still am actually, but i’d constantly see these everywhere i went. heb, kroger, randalls, cvs, gas stations, etc. similar to the lollipops, i just saw these everywhere. i have yet to try them.
7. this tri-tiered chocolate pudding with strawberry filling and little crackers on the very bottom. i had like 10 of these everyday during the week of my cousins wedding. for some reason, she got a bunch of candy for her wedding, and this was one of them. the only memorable one at least. because it was so. good. i remmeber her taking wedding photos with her now divorced husband at a nearby park and she had these lying around in these giant trash bags that my aunt was holding. i was like wait can i have these and she was like sure i was going to throw these out anyways. but yeah. insane time of my life also i got so much red pocket money even though i wasnt th eone getting married??? i was about 11 at the time
8. konpeito -> this story happened when i was in middle school. a lot of it deals with growing pains and friends and all that. i was in 7th grade when this happened but during december, i was going to exchange gifts with one of my friends at the time. she told me she wanted these star shaped candies and i was like okay sure theyre cute. are the ingredients only sugar and food coloring? yeah. but as long as she likes it itll be okay. so i get her the konpeito and some other stuff she wanted and when it comes to the day of exchangning gifts, i open up the gift i recieved from her. its a bag of sour gummy worms in this plastic ziploc bag. she had eaten the sour gummy worms she had gotten me because she was craving them and put the leftovers in the ziploc bag. to make matters worse, i think she secretly disliked me so she put a bunch of her hair in the zip loc bag, so when i was about to eat one of the gummy worms, i noticed hair sticking out. long story short. she got her konpeito, we’re no longer friends, and i dont think i’ll ever try konpeito.
9. gummy bears -> i recieved 12 bags of these from one of my friends the year covid began. 2021 was it? i really loved these haribo gummy bears so much that i got sick of them. theyre too hard. always stale and hard even when theyre unopened and in the bag they come in. my favorite flavor is the pineapple one though. like these gummy bears, ive moved onto better things.
10. lava cake -> i saw this once while i was doomscrolling tiktok a year back and a video of a lava cake showed up and my mouth genuinely started watering. it looked incredible. so i knew i had to try- lo and behold. it is one of my favorite desserts now. i love lava cake.
