I’m starting this thread in the hopes of finding those lost snack treasures of our childhood.
Japanese chocolate umbrellas - Last seen mid-late 70’s - Long coned shapes like Astropops, but they’re Japanese chocolate (which is less sweet and more milky). I see they’re still made, but not from Japanese chocolate. The last ones I ever saw were upside down with the handle through the top of the cone…not the same.
Square coconut candy - Last seen late 60’s - early 70’s. - These tasted just like soft coconut balls, but instead of being chewy, the center was slightly firm (not hard) and individually wrapped. I’m sure these were Chinese because they were packaged by Yick Lung, a Hawaii company that specialized in Chinese preserved seeds. The only place I ever saw them was at a local ramen shop (Kinau Saimin for your locals). The only person who remembers them is the owner of a store (now closed) that specialized in imported Chinese preserved seeds, so that’s another connection to China.
Colored ika (cuttlefish) strips - Last seen - Mid 60’s. Okay, this one is really obscure and may have only been available in Japan (though I swear I got it locally) as no one I’ve ever talked to remembers it. Unlike traditional ika which is dried shredded cuttlefish, this was made with a thin (about 3/16th") fish paste colored green or pink, sandwiched between two paper thin sheets of what may have been soybean curd. It was cut into strips about 3/16" thick and 3-4" long. It was slightly sweet, though the pink ones may have been slightly hot (may be my imagination because of the color). I’ve come across something similar, but it’s not colored and not slightly sweet. I lived in Japan in the early 1960’s, and can distinctly remember them in the stores there.