snapshot/taipei: 7-ELEVEN X MISTER DONUT

7-Eleven X Mister Donut 

Spotted at 7-Eleven in Taipei 101 today. I wonder if it's just at a few locations, or there will be Taiwan-wide displays to tempt you while you wait in line at the front check out. 

It's a smart move by Mister Donut considering they shut down most of their stores a few years ago. Even the one I went to most often at Xinyi Mitsukoshi closed. Now I can only think of the one at  Hankyu.  

Will Krispy Kreme vie to be next to pop up?

snapshot/dessert: MISTER DONUT ICE CREAM

I am a sucker for cuteness. 

When I spotted the bright yellow Mister Donut pon de lion mascot peeking out at me from the freezer ice cream section at 7-11,  I had to give it a try. I mean, it's Mister Donut Ice Cream (NT$55) !! 

Not quite an ice cream sandwich, the Mister Donut ice cream's thin exterior is like a ice cream cup cone meets waffle hybrid shell in texture and taste, with one bite revealing the vanilla ice cream inside. The vanilla is a pleasant flavor, not too artificial tasting or cloying sweet- probably the same level of sweetness as a McDonald's soft serve cone. 

I can imagine it would be a matter of time before you make the same type of ice cream bar but with different molds like they do with the red bean cake at the night markets. 

Reportedly you can also buy them at Mister Donut shops (though the number of Mister Donut shops has shrunk considerably in the last few years.. There's one in Hankyu Mall..) and there's also other flavors like strawberry. Have you guys seen them at 7-11? What other flavors are good? Or what other ice cream treats from 7-11?

snapshot/dessert: pearl milk tea popsicles at 7-11

The crazy things you spot in Taipei! I was tempted to try the pearl milk tea popsicle by I-Mei, but I resisted since the picture of the "pearls" looked more like cubes rather than boba. Frozen boba would taste pretty hard, right? Maybe I'll have to try it next time for "research." LOL.

snack/snapshot: i strongly recommend 7-11

Anyone who has wandered into a 7-11 in Taipei was probably immediately dazzled by the array of drinks, snacks, bentos, tea eggs and buns.



Not to mention the coffee and Icee machines.



Milk, juices, teas, jelly drinks, coffees, yogurt drinks. This doesn't even include the sodas and waters...



7-11 should just be called snack heaven.




Strawberry flavored items collected for your perusal....



Crispy, salty, crunchy Asian snacks...



Or Western chips like Lays or Doritos with Asian flavors like bbq seafood or seaweed....



I have yet to try their thousand year old egg with congee or braised pork bentos, but their rice triangles are pretty decent in a pinch. The way they wrap it separates the seaweed from the rice and keeps it crispy until you wrap it yourself.





Instant noodles that come in their own styrofoam bowls- a starving student's dream selection.



Sometimes they have sticker promotions where you get a sticker for spending a certain amount (usually around NT$70) by a certain time and then if you collect enough stickers you can get a prize or coupon for free Coldstones or something like that.





If I ever run out of restaurants to eat at, I'll start a 7-11 Taipei Snack Heaven blog and feature an item a day. That would be hilarious.

Snapshot: Hello Kitty Ramen at 7-11

I think Hello Kitty is celebrating her 35th birthday so you can find all sorts of Hello Kitty related stuff for awhile at 7-11, or at least more than usual. I wonder if there is anything special about the ramen inside or if they just slapped an image on the package.