People in Tokyo love many of the snacks that Americans love back in the U.S.: cookies, cakes, french fries, and the two most well-known on both sides—chips and ice cream. The market here for chips and ice cream is huge, with a wide range of flavors (permanent and seasonal) to select from. One company that dominates in the "chip sector" is Calbee, a major Japanese food snack maker that creates the infamous Jagarico potato sticks here in Japan and those tasty shrimp chips that I grew up with.

Recently, Calbee opened their own store that not only sold their packaged products, but fresh-made products for customers to enjoy immediately. They set up a kitchen and serving window where people could watch them fry up fresh potato chips and even fresh Jagarico, which they renamed "Poterico."

The first time I saw the Calbee shop was at Takeshita-dori, the colorful street way in Harajuku. I passed by during the first week it opened there and of course, I chose not to try it then due to the massive line of people blocking up the whole store. After two to three months, the hype had died down, giving me a chance to finally see what the fuss was about.

Walking in, I noticed how brightly colored the store interior is. Products are neatly arranged in their respective places and cute, colorful mascots plaster the walls. This place can either pass as a kid`s playground or something taken right out of an amusement park. The first floor is where food orders are taken and the second floor is for consuming them; customers can purchase packaged products on both floors.

Since the chips were not salted, the chocolate gave the fried chips a little kick and a nice taste balance. The chips were crispy and crunchy, whereas the chocolate had a smooth, mellow finish. The creamy, not-noticeably sweet soft-serve went very well with the chips actually; I was pleasantly surprised that there was no disgusting "sugar rush" when I paired my chocolate chip with the ice cream. The cold feeling from the soft-serve, the crunchiness of the chip, and the smoothness of the chocolate made everything come together perfectly.

Would I come back again? For sure. I am also curious about the other items on the menu, especially the Poterico sticks and the croquets. Maybe Calbee should sell croquet-inspired potato chips…if they put this idea into motion, I call credit!

More information on the Aloha Table website:

http://www.calbee.co.jp/antennashop/#chitose2

Eat Well,
T.W.