Strawberry Fran.

What is it about Marukai? How can they sell expired food items? But they do. Is it illegal? If it's not, it probably should be.

I know that most foods and even medication is perfectly fine past their 'use by' dates--within reason, of course--but I find it weird that this Japanese market sells old stuff with no shame. They deep discount those items then literally tag it 'EXPIRED ITEM.'

What's also odd, is that I buy this stuff again and again. I've had a couple friends in my life who have no regard for food safety. I'm talking about a girl who never really gave much thought to how long something sat in the fridge and the guy who had no concept of refrigeration; I'm not like those two. No. I'm usually overly cautious. I guess it stems from inheriting my Japanese dad's nervous stomach (he is easily nauseated by foods outside his comfort level) and my growing up with the western ideas about food including being easily grossed out by foods outside my comfort level. I can eat Indian food, but not natto. My dad is the opposite.

I won't buy fresh food at the 99 Cent Store, but I'd buy expired Fran at Marukai. If only to try it. What's Fran about? I see the packaging and I can't help but think of "The Nanny." I see "Whipps" and I think of whips. This is a horrible juxtaposition if you really thought long enough about it.

These Strawberry Fran Whipps are good but why put just a handful in each packet and put four packages in a box? Oh, right. Because this is for Japanese girls with some modesty. No, I gobbled these up pretty fast. There's no shame in eating 2 packs at a time at your office desk if no one is around to judge you. This is the beauty of getting to work early. You can eat this junk food for breakfast and no one's there to give you hell for it.

There's a satisfying bite and crunch to these. I suspect it's due to a high trans-fat content but I try not to overthink it. Overall, I'd probably rather have Original Pocky or even like...a banana nut muffin. Or a banana. You know what I mean? Something that's not a heavily processed Japanese snack in stick form. The most notable thing about this is the smell. I've always liked the artificial Japanese interpretation of strawberries. It's nothing like the actual fruit but more like something cute Japanese erasers might smell like. It's even better than the smell Strawberry Shortcake toys used to smell like back in the 1980s (the new ones these days don't smell; don't ask me why I know that).

Okay whatever. Don't get these. Buy something else. Worst review I've ever written? Possibly. Bad photos too.