This is the Calbee Kappa Ebisen Zeppin Gotō-nada Sea Salt and Fried Garlic. It used salt from the clear seawater of Sakito-cho, located in western Nagasaki Prefecture, facing Gotō-nada. This salt is highly valued for its richness in bittern and its mild, nuanced taste without a sharp salty bite.

The crackers were about twice as wide as the brand’s original variety, measuring approximately 4 x 1.7 x 0.7 cm, and emitted an intensely fragrant fried garlic aroma. The first bite was surprisingly rich, and while the flavour became more balanced with subsequent bites as the palate adjusted, it remained robust. The crackers offered a satisfying crunch through to mid-bite, with a mild yet rich savoury quality from the salt on the surface. As the cracker melted on the palate, a deep prawn flavour emerged, accompanied by a bold, savoury garlic finish that lingered long in the aftertaste.

The garlic flavour tasted authentic, much like real flecks of fried garlic, with varying intensity in each bite. The garlicky quality rivalled the depth of garlic flavour found in Korean kimchi—no other garlic-flavoured chip we’d tried delivered such a bold experience. The combination of the elegant salt and garlic flavour with the underlying prawn made these crackers a definite choice for repurchasing.

This Calbee Kappa Ebisen Zeppin Gotō-nada Sea Salt and Fried Garlic contained 60 g. It was produced in Japan and purchased in Sydney, Australia in 2024.