dalgona singularity and tomato shame
unsnackable vol. 50
In early 2020, when Dalgona first appeared in my feed, it was by way of Korean home cafe accounts. I follow too many to count because I find comfort in the sparse backgrounds, perfect light, jangly background muzak, and statement glassware. I watched as ice cubes clinked into glasses, then topped with rich brown foam that I soon learned was coffee. I leaned on google translate for more info on the honeycomb candy-inspired beverage as English language outlets slowly acknowledged the trend, and sacrificed precious grocery lugging real estate to buy instant coffee for a chance to join in.
By the time the headlines had reduced Dalgona to "fluffy coffee", my "dalgona" was matcha instead of coffee
vanilla cardamom strawberry milk, dalgona fluffy matcha
The novelty wore off, relegated to the cringe of early quar (even though I still hit that heart to like every Dalgona beverage from home cafe accounts when they would float across my little screen)
About a week ago I noticed a familiar rich brown foam appearing on those same home cafe accounts, the honeycomb candy that had inspired the drink. Thanks to a show that I swear I'll watch soon (for the plot), Dalgona is having yet another moment.
Frankly, I'm psyched. A few weeks ago, I fell into an existential tizzy because the trend cycle of social media was making people freeze corn syrup mixed with honey and pretend it was candy. Now everyone is doling out Bake Off technical challenge style sparse directions to do notoriously finicky sugar work? A cultural moment of dalgona singularity, perfectly timed for my enjoyment.
Maybe once I carve out some space in my stress-addled brain, I'll watch the show. But for now, the only sweet treat I have for you is a new set of unsnackables
the unsnackables
sweet
مومنتس كيت كات سينابون ميني (KSA)
I merely appropriate mall food court culture these days because, as an inhabitant of a large city, the location of any chain located in the closest mall is the worst version of it available. Except for Cinnabon (and Auntie Anne's occasionally). A Cinnabon is still what my mind conjures when I think about a perfect Cinnamon roll, even though I've eaten (and baked) so many exceptional ones in my lifetime. So I can't pretend that this cross-promotional cash grab didn't catch my eye. I'm glad to see it is also available in the Kit Kat Mini Moment format instead of just the Kit Kat Chunky, avoiding the fatal flaw of too much chocolate distracting from the filling.
savory
죠스떡볶이, 오리온과 '고추칩' 증정 프로모션 진행 (Korea)
There isn't a single reason that you can point to that explains why Tteokbokki is so delicious, merely a union of the textures and flavors combined in a nearly perfect way. I can only imagine that pairing it with a complimentary potato chip would only enhance the experience. I'll have to try it soon (maybe with the cheese-stuffed rice paper Tteokbokki that I've been thinking about for weeks.)
thirsty
TRUE FRUITS HERBST EDITION "PIZZA HAWAII" (Germany)
It feels like an insurmountable sign of personal failure that I did not engage in the seasonal pastime of SUMMER TOMATOES this year. Maybe it is that shame that has incorrectly primed me to engage in not only a tomato beverage but a tomato-based Hawaiian Pizza flavored beverage. The combination of Pineapple, Oregano & Tomato might feel a bit weirder if I hadn't made a pineapple pepperoncini hollandaise for a Hawaiian Pizza eggs benny a few months ago. So here I am, once again craving a german novelty smoothie.
boozy
STOUT AQUAVIT OMNIPOLLO (Sweden)
The clock is ticking down to the time of the year where I climb onto the couch and entomb myself in a blanket for the next 5 months. Merely three weeks stand between me and cozy mode, which means my hunter/gatherer instinct has me looking for delicious things to sip to distract myself from wondering if the sun is dead. So you cannot blame me for imagining sipping this stout and aquavit hybrid from one of the adorably impractical pieces of glassware I've acquired during this pandemic
I’m still figuring this out, but hopefully, you enjoyed v.50 of unsnackable.
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