Finally, a rice cracker to rave about...

Like many Singaporeans, I have been exposed to rice crackers like Wang Wang as a kid, but I never took a liking to them...

...until recently when I tried this:

It's sweet soy-sauce rice cracker, apparently done in a traditional Kyoto style. Called amashouyu agesenbei, I think. The salty and sweet flavour was greatly accented, permeating the entire cracker so that there was not a bland spot as I munched away. As you can see, the glazing/seasoning is thick enough that the cracker shines with it.

The crunch is also excellent... it is firm and crunchy not just on the surface, but all the way through to the middle. This is in contrast to many smooth rice crackers I've tried which are kind of hollow in the middle. I think the cracks play a role in its texture and how the seasoning coats it too.

Its manufacturer is Ogura Sansou, a Japanese gift snack boutique, and I acquired this from the Osaka Takashimaya @ Namba branch. Unlike the store's other products which are individually wrapped and gift-worthy, this came in a happy bulk-bag with a ziplock mechanism:

There were other flavours as well... but I've only tried this and the prawn cracker. While the prawn flavoured one was of high quality, with a good crunch and a strong prawn flavour, it somehow didn't strike me as anything unusual or unique. Nonetheless, I took pictures in case you were curious.

They also have interesting flavours like curry... which I'll have someone I know who's going to Japan to get for me. Just for info, Ogura Sansou has many branches in Kansai and a few in Nagoya, Kantou and Kyuushuu.