Yaokin Umaibo Mentaiko

Mentaiko, the spicy, cured cod roe beloved across Japan, is already a flavour that commands respect. Whoever decided to take that flavour and apply it to a puffed corn stick deserves some kind of award. The result is an Umaibo that leads with a deep, briny savouriness, followed by a gentle but unmistakable heat that lingers just long enough to remind you who's in charge. It shouldn't work.

A seafood-flavoured corn puff sounds like the kind of thing that gets invented on a dare. And yet here we are, reaching for another one before the first has even fully dissolved. The Umaibo Mentaiko is proof that the Japanese snack industry is operating on a creative level the rest of the world simply has not reached yet. Respect it accordingly.