What are your favorite snacks from childhood? For this week’s #ArsenalPicks, we gathered our team to give us their favorite treats from way back.
As Filipinos, our childhood snacks are imprinted on our beings. You can be a Mik-Mik kind of guy, a Bazooka kind of gal, or a bona fide Yakee weirdo. Your favorite snacks as a child stay with you even as an adult, a reminder of the good ol’ days when everything was simple.
In celebration of that nostalgic spirit, we are listing some of the Arsenal Team’s favorite childhood snacks and treats.
What are some snacks you just can’t get enough of when you were a child? Sound off in the comments below!
ANNE
Regent Pandan Cake
Nothing screams nostalgia more than the Regent Pandan Cake. It’s nothing special, really. I would even go as far as saying that it’s very mundane. But having one as a child always reminds me of sitting on my dad’s yellow Beetle, on the way home after a long day of studying Math, Science, and Sibika. I wonder if parents still give this as baon today?
DOM
Choko-Choko
Choko-Choko has always been my go-to snack as a child. Not only could you eat it as it is but it’s also yummy as a spread. It’s not too sweet and not too bitter – just the perfect taste for me and the closest I could get to Nutella at the time.
ABBY
Planters Cheez Balls
Planters Cheese Ball was the reason why I love cheese flavors. Thanks to my grandma who would send it to us in a balikbayan box from the U.S., I got to eat this when I was a kid. It’s cheesy and salty, which I really love! I tasted different kinds of cheese balls when I was a kid, but this one really is my favorite. I could finish a whole can of this in one day.
ARMAND
Iced Gem Biscuits
This was mine and my friends’ go-to snack after our daily, absolutely high-stakes game of patintero. Yummy toasted biscuits topped with funky, colorful merange. I won’t say I like it because it’s as close as I get to a fancy dessert/snack as a seven-year-old, but OK, yes, that’s the reason. There, I said it.
ANDRE
Isaw + Coca-Cola
The highlight of my afternoons growing up were my trips to the sari-sari store inside our village. My folks would give me allowance enough for 1 coke that the tindera would put inside a plastic bag and 2 sticks of chicken isaw. Simple joys that kids these days might not be able to enjoy.
STEPHEN
Basta Pinoy (Junk Food with Toy Inside)
While the flavor of these kinds of snacks isn’t anything to rave for, I would always remember the simple joy of getting a small plastic toy that I would immediately lose the next day. These kinds of snacks are usually found in the more inner parts of our neighborhood. I remember mustering up the courage to walk and pass through narrow eskinitas just to get my hands on these babies.
THERESE
Polvoron
I love polvoron and any variation of it –pinipig, ube, cookies and cream, or even the plain milky one. I could buy a whole box of this and shamelessly consume all of it.
MARIAN
Potchi Gummy Candy
Potchi was what made me obsessed with strawberry-themed desserts. After playing with friends, we would all race down to the sari-sari store to buy our favorite candy! Potchi was my go-to candy. Every time I see this at the grocery store, I don’t hesitate to grab a whole pack to have that nostalgic taste again.
ARIANE
Ice Candy
I was always looking forward to having this refreshing candy after school. The lady who owned the school bus I rode in was so fond of me that she made sure I had some.
Featured photo credit: Planters
Greetings sir
It’s been like 8 years of searching for an image of “basta pinoy” cheese curls since it was my most favorite snack when i was in elementary, i wanted to feel again the simple joy it gives me seing it before and it literally took me 8 years until this very day when i see this picture again. It really brings back good memories of my childhood. Thank you. .