This is the Kamoi Food Lotus Root Chips Ume, flavoured with Kishū ume from Wakayama Prefecture.

The lotus chips were about 1 to 1.5 mm thick and came in various sizes up to 4 cm in diameter. They had a gentle aroma of ume and frying oil, and were an off-white hue, dusted with purple ume and perilla seasoning.

On tasting, the chips delivered the intense crunch and crispness of thick-cut potato chips. From the first bite, the ume flavour and crystals dissolved on the tongue, creating a sweet-tart ume profile with a subtle sharpness from the red perilla, reminiscent of stevia’s sweetness. Mid-bite, the tartness of the ume became more pronounced before receding, allowing the warm, savoury flavour of the lotus root to dominate, leading to a satisfying finish. While we weren’t fans of the stevia used for sweetening, we thoroughly appreciated the texture and the balance of ume and perilla flavours, making these chips worth repurchasing.

This Kamoi Food Lotus Root Chips Ume contained 22 g. It was produced in Japan and purchased in Sydney, Australia in 2024.