A mochi crunch “mega mix” consisting of every type of mochi crunch and senbei
from one gift basket.

Similar to the fundraiser drives that were recently pointed out, Hawaii folks share a unique variety of foods and snacks as a token of goodwill and giving during the holiday season.

Everything from boxes of hot Manapua from the favorite dim sum shop, Sunnyside Pies fresh from Wahiawa, to those absolutely mouthwatering chocolate-dipped Macadamia Nut shortbread cookies assortment gift boxes from Big Island Candies.

Then there’s them gift baskets of all sizes and varieties, with everything from an assortment of flavored Kona Coffee blends, to mixed-themed cookies, candies and snacks.

Just to name a few.

It’s no secret Japanese culture and cuisine has a major influence in Hawaii, especially during the holiday season, when one of the most endeared terms, “Omiyage”, meaning “gift” is taken to a whole new level.

That in mind, one of the favorite snack foods here from the homeland of Sony® and Sushi® is Arare™, which in its simplest translation can be called “Rice Cracker”. Yet us Hawaii folks most often (arguably) call it “Mochi Crunch™”;  I personally call it both interchangeably.

That said, you can bet the arrival of this Mochi Crunch omiyage gift basket was the darling of our eyes when it was brought into our office…


A dozen long stem red roses ain’t got nothin’ on this as far as I’m concerned!

Ooooh! What get? What get?  Let’s take a closer look at each package…

Looks oishii. Now let’s open it up and try it!…

Iso peanuts. Senbei. Arare. Wasabi peas. This one is my favorite. Best balance.

Next…

The contents…

Not bad, but no can touch da’ first one. The golden-colored coated peanut on the bottom right had a curry-like flavor to it, which was interesting in how it added an extra dimension of savoryness to this mix.

Next…

Notice it says “Premium” Mixed Arare, which I buy. To date, I still stand by Tomoe brand as my “Premium Choice”. Tomoe has just the right balance of shoyu, sugar and nori to my palate. Not to mention being fresh and cripsy, not stale. This Wholesale Unlimited, Inc. version certainly was in contention and deserving of the “Premium” title. Guaranz good fo’ make Hurricane Popcorn.

Next…

These look like Wasabi covered peas or nuts, which we all thought they were at first glance, yet upon close inspection of the ingredients, you see there’s no sign of Wasabi at all.

What they are is the same coated “Iso style” peanuts, except instead of sweetened shoyu glaze coating on the outside, it’s tinted green with just salt on the outside. And instead of a peanut, there’s a Pistachio in it…

What’s neat about these is that they’re individually packaged in portions of 4 “nuts”, as shown above. If you like Iso Peanuts, and you like Pistachio nuts even better than regular peanuts, than imagine taking the best of those worlds and making it one. There ya’ go. That’s how these taste. Light, yet cruncy and aromatic in a Pistachio bits ‘n pieces kinda’ way. Good stuff!

Finally there’s this Senbei…

These are lighter and fluffier than typical Arare, and also much, much larger…

They also have a similar sweetened shoyu-flavored coating, yet are less dense and crunchy; more airy and crispy. Not my favorite, yet still acceptably good.

Once again, my favorite in this gift basket are the Assorted (arare style) Peanut Crackers…

There was also these delicious dried and pickled ume snacks in this basket, but we all ate them quicker than I could get to it and take photos to share with you. I’ll buy some later and retrofit them here next time I go to Marukai or Don Quijote.

Goodness. When I see this much Mochi Crunch, I just can’t help but think of this and a good movie…


Hurricane Popcorn