Have you ever been curious to try a foreign snack but nervous to actually follow through and buy it? Well, I tried and reviewed snacks from all over the world. They came from Taiwan, Australia, Korea, Ireland, and Austria. If this article inspires you to try any of them for yourself, go to World Market near Alderwood Mall to find these fun global snacks and more.

Korean sweet and spicy topokki

Also known as tteokbokki, these are rice cakes with a sweet and spicy sauce. The brand I found came in a container similar to Top Ramen and was prepared similarly as well. The rice cakes were small, chewy cylinders that softened when they were heated with the sauce. If you have a low spice tolerance like me, fair warning that these were pretty spicy, but I was still able to enjoy them. The sauce had a lot of flavor, and it was overall a great and unique food. It was a little big to be considered a snack but was still delicious.  

Rating: 9/10

Irish sour cream and shamrock chips

 I had high hopes for these supposedly shamrock-flavored chips. I hoped there would be some defining flavor or uniqueness, but I was disappointed in that aspect. They tasted like regular sour cream and onion chips, and the only indication of shamrocks was the random flecks of green on the chips. They were certainly good in terms of regular chips, but they weren’t what I expected. 

Rating: 7/10

Taiwanese fruit mochi

This bag of mochi included passionfruit, lychee, and mango flavors. They were individually wrapped inside the bag. The mochi was soft and chewy, and it was filled with a fruity jam-like filling. Each type was flavorful and tasted like its respective fruit. I’m a big fan of mochi, and these surpassed my expectations. 

Rating: 10/10

Austrian tiramisu bites

 Once again, my expectations were set high for these bite-sized dry tiramisu bites. The bites, which were wafers and chocolate layered in a cube, came in a fairly large bag and were indeed bite-sized. They were supposed to taste like regular tiramisu, but to me they just tasted weirdly like milk. They were too dry and I couldn’t taste much of the regular espresso flavor. Unfortunately, these were my least favorite snack. 

Rating: 4/10

Australian fruit licorice

This licorice comes in three flavors- green apple, mango, and strawberry. They were very chewy and pretty much what you would expect. My only complaint was that there was hardly any mango licorice in the bag compared to the other flavors. They tasted more like actual fruit than many American ‘fruit-flavored’ candies which was a plus for me. Each bag had a lot, so I would suggest sharing it with your siblings (or friends) like I did. The same brand also had black licorice available. If you’re not a fan of black licorice, these fruit ones are a great alternative. 

Rating: 8/10