TESO LIFE

The Best Asian Snacks, Candy, and Dumplings at Teso Life | Eater Atlanta

"This Japanese department-store-style retailer on Pleasant Hill Road draws long opening-day lines—often stoked by social media—and is part of a rapidly expanding chain that first debuted in Queens about six years ago. Inside is a treasure trove of eclectic Asian beauty products, toys, and household goods from Japan, Korea, and China, but the real crowd-pleasers are the snacks and drinks: an aisle of unconventional potato-chip flavors (fried crab with garlic and chili, flame-grilled ribeye steak, spicy hot pot with Sichuan peppercorn, and even sour lemon braised chicken-foot–inspired chips), shelves of Kit Kats in melon and ice-cream flavors, every imaginable Pocky, Hello Panda bite-sized cookies with gooey fillings, Hello Kitty marshmallows with matcha jelly, and fruity gummies in yuzu, peach, and lychee. Wall-to-wall refrigerated drinks include Chupa Chups sparkling waters (strawberry & cream, melon & cream, orange, grape), Japanese canned coffees like Pokka Milk Coffee Gold, Suntory Black Boss, and UCC Matcha Latte, plus novelty beverages such as Matcha Love energy drink and gummy boba latte drinks in matcha and taro. The freezer/refrigerated section is built for quick meals—Nippon Gourmet Berkshire pork soup dumplings that heat in two minutes, takoyaki (minced-octopus balls), prepped tonkotsu seafood ramen, and desserts like a slice of Orange Brand mille-crepe vanilla cake—and the store also assembles themed gift baskets combining sweet and savory favorites." - Susie Chow