Na Ya Dessert House's Takoyaki and Thai Crepes

Categories: Snacktion
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Steph L./Yelp
Na Ya's takoyaki, $5.
Na Kuanha wanted to open a stand just to sell takoyaki, Osaka-style octopus fritters (which even have their own song). But the Richmond storefront she found was too big to focus on just one street snack, so she added Japanese crepes, Taiwanese honey toast and grass jelly desserts, and Thai crepes. It's hardly cavernous, Na Ya Dessert House ― there's room for six small tables, plus a cash register and a small prep area where Kuanha assembles desserts.

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Wing Lee Bakery's Egg Custard Cakes

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Luis Chong
Wing Lee Bakery's custard-filled rice cakes.
While colored hard-boiled eggs are probably in some people's minds at this time of year, SFoodie was craving the sweet and creamy yolk center of a different variety. One of our favorite snacks is the custard-filled sweet rice cakes (nai won gow) at Wing Lee Bakery.

The cakes are rare items available only every other day. SFoodie assumed that this was some brilliant scheme to create demand, but the staff tells us that's not the case. They explained that the baker's repertoire is so wide that they cannot make every item every day.

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Kaia Foods' BBQ Kale Chips: Sunny Green Delights from Oakland

Categories: Palmer, Snacktion

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Tamara Palmer
​Oakland's Kaia Foods makes kale chips in regular and BBQ varieties, the latter pumped up with flavorings that include sun-dried tomatoes, agave nectar, apple cider vinegar, wheat-free tamari, and chile/onion/garlic powders. We're not sure how these came to be labeled "BBQ" ― that's not exactly what they evoked on our palate. We got more of a sunny, almost a Tuscan vibe, not down-home Southern. Delicate crispness made the chips a standout (no hint of the raw-snacks toughness we were expecting), and they're gluten free. Would we ever choose kale chips over potato chips? Oh hell no. Theoretically.

Follow us on Twitter: @sfoodie

Sweet Revolution Plus Kika's Treats Equals Sweet Treaty

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Tamara Palmer
Bet we can't eat just one.
​San Francisco indie confectioners Sweet Revolution and Kika's Treats, who share kitchen space, have just unveiled their first collaboration. If Sweet Treaty isn't a new invention, we don't know of anything like it locally. It's a puffed corn cake dipped in dark chocolate and sprinkled with salt. Or we should probably say was, because ours, which we found at Other Avenues (3930 Judah at 44th Ave.), is now just a memory that we're fiending to refuel.

Follow us on Twitter: @sfoodie

A Year Later, Remembering Michael Jackson with Edible Tributes

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Scott Beale/laughingsquid.com
Jesus Juice is Humphry Slocombe's top-selling sorbet.
​Today is the anniversary of Michael Jackson's tragic death. This blogger plans to spend most of the day alternating between moonwalking, sobbing, and, if we can muster an appetite, eating and drinking San Francisco's dear tributes to the King of Pop.

We'd start on the top of SFMOMA at the Rooftop Coffee Bar and sip the Bubbles white hot chocolate with edible gold leaf, a nod to the museum's famous Michael Jackson and Bubbles piece by Jeff Koons. The Rooftop Garden reopens today after more than a month of renovations, so it's gonna be extra snazzy. Then, it'd be off to Humphry Slocombe for a lick or five of Jesus Juice, the shop's best-selling sorbet that's a blend of red wine and Coca-Cola (shh, don't tell Pepsi).

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Should Vitamin Popcorn Be Part of Your Balanced Diet?

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T. Palmer
​The other night, while trawling the Lower Haight for good Snacktion, we came across Tate's Vitamin Popcorn, which boasts 10 "essential vitamins and minerals" such as beta-carotene, zinc, and Vitamins A, C, and E. Plus honey-roasted peanuts! Our late night snack fixes are rarely of the health-boosting sort, so this seemed to be the best of both worlds.

Three out of three friends we surveyed couldn't get past the first bite. We shoveled a few handfuls of it, both out of reflex and of research, looking past a frankly medicinal taste for as long as we could. But they were right. It's a great idea, but we don't think Vitamin Popcorn needs to be part of your balanced diet.

Take our word for it, or take the "healthy" challenge for yourself by ordering online or at Haight Fillmore Whole Foods (503 Haight at Fillmore).

Follow us on Twitter: @SFoodie

Tags:

WTF?

From Napa to Hong Kong and Back: Meet Amazing Delights' Well-Traveled Figs

Categories: Palmer, Snacktion

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T. Palmer
​A new Hong Kong-based company called Amazing Delights hopes to market its fig-based confections to the health-conscious. When its Divine line ("trust in every bit [sic]") hit local shelves later this year (probably), they might well be the most well-traveled figs around. The company sources figs and nuts from Napa County, exports them to Hong Kong, and will soon send them back to California in snack form. Low in fat and with no added sweeteners except honey, these are pretty healthy, and taste good. Maybe not the most innovative thing you can do with Northern California produce, but it is kinda fascinating to have a taste of something with so many return frequent flyer miles.

Follow us on Twitter: @SFoodie

The Haight Gets Its Own Potato Chip, Complete with Chesty Hippie Chick

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T. Palmer
Totally crunchy.
Venice, Calif.-based Rock-n-Roll Gourmet has introduced a new line of baked potato snacks under the Hippie Chips banner, paying tribute to the epicenter of the Summer of Love with a flavor callled Haight-Ashberry Jalapeño. With investors that reportedly include the founder of Patrón, Rock-n-Roll Gourmet and Hippie Chips might be poised to reach a wide audience, despite the cringe-worthy packaging emblazoned with a peace-lovin' blonde exclaiming, "They're awesome!" (Because people in the sixties said awesome all the time, apparently.)

A zesty combo of fruit juice concentrate and jalapeño spice, they're pretty good if you like baked potato chips. But they simply might not be worth the embarrassment of buying 'em.

Follow us on Twitter: @SFoodie

Snacktion: Fiji's Answer to Chex Mix

Categories: Palmer, Snacktion
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T. Palmer
Name: Fiji Mix
Brand: Bhooja King
Origin: Hayward
Found at: Rainbow Grocery (1745 Folsom at 13th St.)
Cost: $3.79
Ingredients: Peas, salt, poha, garlic, peanuts, chile, canola oil, gram flour, nuts
The word:
Poha, or flattened rice snacks, form the basis of Fiji's answer to Chex Mix. 
Tasting notes: Spicy and addictive, with a harder-than-expected crunch. The ingredients list mysterious "nuts," and other than peanuts, we can't tell what those might be.
Extra credit: We're also fond of Bhooja King's Indian snacks Follow us on Twitter: @SFoodie

Snacktion: Cornbrights, Sugary Extruded Corn Snacks from El Salvador

Categories: Palmer, Snacktion
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T. Palmer
Name: Cornbrights
Brand: Productos Alimenticios
Origin: El Salvador
Found at: La Loma Produce #7 (2695 San Bruno at Bacon)
Cost: $0.99
Ingredients: Sugar, corn grits, corn syrup, partially hydrogenated palm olein or cottonseed oil, salt, artificial flavors, artificial colors, citric acid
Calories per serving: Not listed
The word:
"Sugar-coated extruded corn snack."
Tasting notes: Reminiscent of Corn Pops cereal with an extra few coats of thick, crusty sugar.
Buy it again? No, but we want to kinda badly.
Extra credit: La Loma is a great spot for all kinds of sweet, salty, and spicy Snacktion from El Salvador and Mexico.

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Snacktion
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