When it comes to food, many kids are creatures of habit. They stick with what they know and especially what they like. If you want to add variety to your kids’ snack game, check out the snack aisle at local Asian supermarkets.
Over recent years, large Asian supermarkets have been popping up around the Seattle area. The Canadian chain T&T Supermarket opened a location in Lynnwood last November, barely a year after opening its first Washington store in Bellevue. Despite the presence of other Asian grocery stores around the Seattle area — like Uwajimaya, H Mart, and S-Mart — lines at T&T snaked around the building for months.
T&T Lynnwood’s grand opening. (Image courtesy T&T Lynnwood)
In April, Tukwila welcomed Asian Family Market, long-time staples in Seattle and Bellevue, and also will be home to Teso Life, a Japanese chain selling snacks, skincare products, and home goods, opening this summer — just a year after opening a location in Federal Way. The two will join Filipino chain Seafood City and Vietnamese-centric Lam’s Seafood in the Southcenter area.
The food industry is also reporting that consumers are gravitating toward Asian packaged foods, from sauces and seasonings to instant noodles and ready-made meals. Among the younger generation, snacks are rising in popularity.
If you’re not sure where to start, don’t worry. We consulted local grocery stores and compiled their list of top sellers for you.
Chinese Lay’s Chips
Liven up your kids’ lunchbox with Lay’s line of Chinese flavors, which include fried crab, grilled squid, roasted chicken wing, numb & spicy hot pot, and seaweed. Favorite flavors of Teso Life customers are steak, Heinz tomato (tastes like ketchup!), and wavy Buldak noodles.
(Image courtesy Teso Life)
This was the top contender among families we interviewed, so your kids likely are already fans of this one. Local grocery stores named it a bestseller among their customers, with preferred flavors being chocolate, salted vanilla, almond crush, and matcha. One store mentioned that the banana flavor is rising in popularity, not only for Pocky, but other snacks and drinks.
(Image courtesy Teso Life)
Jelly.B Drinkable Konjac Jelly
Packaged similarly to applesauce pouches, this drinkable jelly is tasty and filling. It’s made with konnyaku, a type of jelly made from konjac yams — an ingredient that may help relieve abdominal pain and constipation, and lower cholesterol levels and spikes in blood sugar. Kids will rave about fruity flavors like lychee, grape, peach, and apple, while parents will celebrate that it’s sugar-free and low in calories.
(Image courtesy Teso Life)
Turtle Chips
These Korean snacks have four delicately crunchy layers, rounded into a shape resembling a turtle shell. They come in flavors that will satisfy both your savory and sweet moods: sweet corn, truffle salt, caramel popcorn, seaweed, sour cream & onion, flamin’ lime, and — a favorite of T&T customers — choco churro.
(Image: Melody Ip / Seattle’s Child)
If you walk through the beverage aisle of an Asian supermarket, the colors, flavors, and textures are as enticing as those in the snack aisle. One of the top-selling drinks at T&T is the boxed Vita Lemon Tea, combining the sweetness of lemonade, tempered by tea. Try the original Vita Lemon Tea, made with red tea, or Ceylon Lemon Tea, with black tea that is slightly less sweet than the original version.
(Image: Melody Ip / Seattle’s Child)
ChaCha Original Sunflower Seeds
Shelled sunflower seeds may not be the easiest snack for young kids to eat, but they offer a wealth of health benefits: boosting energy levels and immunity, improving heart health, and being a source of essential vitamins and minerals. What sets ChaCha apart from other brands is the jumbo size of their seeds, making them easier to peel and enjoy. T&T customers gravitate toward the spiced and original (plain) flavors, but you can always indulge your sweet tooth with the caramel or coconut flavors — or choose pecan, pepper, or black truffle if you prefer savory.
(Image: Melody Ip / Seattle’s Child)
Japanese KitKats
If you know anyone who has recently traveled to Japan, they likely returned with a variety of Japanese KitKats. Although Japan sells the classic chocolate flavor, the country has its own line of flavors — peach parfait, ocean salt, chestnuts, apple pie, and hundreds more — that appeal to the locals, and now are available at many Asian supermarkets in the U.S. Not sure where to start? Try matcha green tea, sakura, and strawberry, which are top sellers among Teso Life customers.
(Image: Melody Ip / Seattle’s Child)
Hokkaido Belgian Chocolate & Vanilla Soft Ice Dessert
More of a dessert than a snack, this frozen treat is not your typical soft serve ice cream. It’s made from Hokkaido milk, which is creamier than the milk we’re used to, and with a hint of vanilla. This dessert is made with milk that comes from Hokkaido, Japan’s largest prefecture, where the quality of the grass, cool climate, and fresh air produce high-quality milk. This swirled chocolate and vanilla dessert comes in a tall, protective plastic cone. (Can’t get enough of Hokkaido milk? Visit Indigo Cow, an ice cream shop in Wallingford that offers soft serve made with Hokkaido milk.)
(Image courtesy Teso Life)
