I hate asparagus. Why? I can’t really explain it, other than it tastes like grass, has a revolting texture and sneaks its way into fine cuisine like an unwelcome little earwig.

So when I saw these Ginbis “asparagus-shaped” biscuits, needless to say, I was a bit wary. They looked harmless enough, but I didn’t want to risk eating something that might taste even remotely like asparagus.

Yet I took a chance on them — since a thorough dissection of the ingredient list yielded no semblance of the icky green stuff, just elements that comprise your typical snackfood product.

And I’m sure glad I tried them, as they are now my new obsession. Besides the über cute packaging and slightly disarming, but cute, website, Ginbis‘ asparagus biscuits have a classic, distinctive and subtle cookie/cracker like taste that goes well with tea, chocolate spread, or probably even hummus. I mean, they’ve been around since 1968, so they must be snack biscuit experts by now, right?

The side of the package even has serving suggestions, like breaking the biscuit sections into little croutons, layering it with ice cream to make an ice cream sandwich, or mixing the sections with cream cheese to form a cream cheese ball to eat with wine. Japanese folk sure have weird imaginations…

Each packet comes with plenty of biscuits to dip in tea and snack on for about three plentiful snack sessions (at least with my appetite). I also found the mini version of asparagus biscuits at GW supermarket, which are portable and individually wrapped.

You can find Ginbis products at Mitsuwa, at Asian supermarkets and other specialty markets. Or fly to Japan to get their full product lineup. I know I will if I ever go there!

Taste:

Price (4.99):   

Would buy again: absolutely!