One of the most ancient continents in the world, Asia is rich with history, different foods, evolution of language, and most importantly – Asian Candy!

Asian candy is packed with centuries of history. They are mainly made of sugar or extracts of some kinds of rice, or any type of seeds founds among the Asian region. Dragon’s Breath candy made by spinning molten sugar into a type of Chinese cotton candy. Sesame seed candy and rice candy is especially popular since it is easy for street vendors to make and sell, making it the perfect nostalgic childhood treat for any young kid to eat.

To this day, many Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Korean, Filipino, and many other treats can be found in America stores to accommodate the immense diversity of the Asian population living here. Particularly in San Gabriel, Rosemead, and Arcadia, there are many Asian supermarkets for anyone to come in and experience Asian culture.

The month of May is official Asian Appreciation month! To promote cultural awareness at St. Philip, we’ve compiled some delicious, common Asian treats that you should go and try!

Some great Asian supermarkets near St. Philip are 168 Market on Las Tunas Drive, 99 Ranch, and many more. Many of these markets also have bakeries inside full of sponge cake, pork buns, dumplings, cheese souffles, light bread loaves, and buns with many flavors of filling (red mung bean, taro, Green Tea creme, chocolate, creme).

There are many trademarks of the popular Asian candy, and many you can find in nearby markets. From our market trip, we found many delicious treats that were reminiscent of our childhood! You can buy mochi bites, Hi-chews, Pocky (Green Tea, Strawberry, Chocolate, Cookies and Creme), Hello Panda, Yan yan, Jelly shots, Popin cookin kits for miniature food, Different flavor Kit-Kats, Milk candy (Strawberry, Melon, Chocolate, Original Milk), Asian-style Popping rock candy, Meiji Chocolate Mushroom Biscuits, Meltyblend Asian chocolate (Green tea, Strawberry) and lastly Asian bubblegum. Asian-style chewing gum stands out from the rest because it is soft, malleable, and very easy to chew into enormous bubbles.

Don’t forget to try out some new Asian candy this May!

To read the history of Japanese sweet candy: https://news.ku.edu/2015/04/01/ku-expert-details-history-japanese-sweet-tooth-new-oxford-companion