Contents of a seaweed snack pack.
It was one of about twenty tiny packs in a bag of kuki wakame (wah-Kah-may; 1.8 oz. total; $2.45), which surprised me with its crunch. I know this Asian kelp's slippery texture mainly from miso soup, and also from a sample, earlier this day, of wakame cucumber salad. But those are the fronds; "kuki wakame," I learn, refers to the stems.
Sunrise is also a fine place to peruse Japanese package design — to a reggae soundtrack, on one visit — while pondering such curiousities as Meiji brand Chelsea yogurt scotch (50 g.; $1.29). Think of lemon yogurt in hard-candy form.
Another visit offered up Calpico brand lychee drink (not shown; 200 ml.; 59 cents) from a drippy sippy pack. I like lychee, even (or because?) it brings pineapple Live Savers to mind, but this uncarbonated drink tasted especially unnatural. Okazaki brand coffee jelly (not shown; three 100 g. containers; $1.99) conjured up coffee soda. It was paired with those little containers of non-dairy creamer, but like my coffee, my jelly I take black.
Sunrise Mart
29 Third Ave. (near 10th St.)
212-598-3040
Also at 494 Broome St. (near West Broadway)
212-219-0033
