Junk Food Nation, you’ve heard me rant and rave about the Metro (the subway) here in DC over and over and over again.  Like many public transit systems in the nation, the Metro comes with its share of problems – delays, single tracking, crowded cars, etc.  Let me highlight just two recent problems:

1) Unlike New York, the stops here in DC are not that close together – some are miles apart.  And unlike LA, driving into DC isn’t an option for a lot of people.  The Metro is the only option.  So when the Metro breaks (Note, I didn’t say delay, I said BREAK), it is a HUGE PROBLEM.  This morning, on my particular line, there was a crack in the track.  What happened?  Well, for those inside the city, the delay was 30-45 minutes as they tried to single track around it.  For a friend I know coming into work from the outer suburbs?  THREE HOUR DELAY!  He texted me and indicated that the Transit Authority literally announced a THREE EFFING HOUR DELAY INTO THE CITY. Um, that is not ok.  You get scenes like this, which are NOT SAFE.  I know that the Metro can’t do anything about it, but my God.  My God.

2) The Metro here is waaaay underground.  It’s not just twenty steps under the surface like the NYC subway.  As a result, you have to take these looooooong escalators down to the depths to get on the train. And, as we all know, a broken escalator is basically stairs. You all know how I feel about broken escalators.  Because DC has varied elevations, some of these escalators are long; like, really long.  One of the longest ones is in a neighborhood called Dupont Circle – it’s where all the young people go to eat, drink, and be merry.  There’s a North escalator and a South escalator, about a block length walk away down the platform.

Well, Metro has just announced its closing down one of the Dupont escalators for maintenance.  Closed ….for eight months.  Like, until October.  Not turning it into stairs…but just closing it off entirely.  The South Dupont escalator was 291 steps, people.  Lemme spell that out: TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY ONE STEPS!  If an average stair case between floors in a building has 12 steps, then you’re hiking over 24 floors to get in and out of the Metro.  TWENTY FOUR!!!!!  So now the thousands of people arriving and leaving Dupont Cirlce will just pack their way to the North escalator (which, by the way, is even longer than the South one), and hope that that one doesn’t break.  Wow.

More after the jump. Today’s junk food: Koh-Kae Coconut Cream Flavour Coated Peanuts!

The Money Shot

I guess technically, these Koh-Kae Coconut Cream Flavour Coated Peanuts are an Asian Junk Food. I mean, I did find them in an Asian grocery store. Still, not your traditional wacky octopus chips or tongue candy.  Nope, these are just plain old peanuts covered with coconut cream.  And with a mascot that looks like this little guy – how could I resist?

Weirdo kid

Koh-Kae is a Thai junk food company, apparently, and they sell a variety of interesting snacks, including: Shrimp flavoured Peanuts, Grilled Squid Chips, and more! I guess these coconut cream peanuts are the least offensive sounding…so I lucked out?  Sort of.  According to Wiki, Koh-Kae is basically known for making peanuts that are covered in a crunchy shell.

Their mascot is this weird guy in a bathrobe with sunglasses.  He looks like a cute version of something from my nightmares.

% ingredients

I enjoy how they list the ingredients in percentage points.  I’m getting 50% peanuts here!  And 50% ….not peanuts.  Yikes.

The nation's best!

Is this Thailand’s #1 peanuts snack, or Thailand’s ONLY peanut snack, hmmm? It’s like my parents saying I’m their favorite son. I’m their only son. Not helping anyone’s confidence here.

GAAH!

Just when you though you could avoid the weird dude, he pops up again on the lid like a ghost!!!!

Nutsy!

Standard looking peanuts that are covered in a shell – not unlike some US-brand honey roasted peanuts or candied peanuts.  The metal lid definitely sealed in the freshness.  And the taste?

Crispy Shell

Crunch crunch….NOT BAD! These Koh-Kae Coconut Cream Flavour Coated Peanuts actually were REALLY DAMN GOOD! Like, surprisingly good.

The shell: light and crispy, it wasn’t overly candied. Basically, it was a thin shell made of cream, wheat flour and sugar – so when chewed, it just came apart easily. There wasn’t really any coconut flavor at all – the shell basically tasted like a sweet peanut powder, which enhanced the flavor of the roasted peanut inside.

The peanut: flavorful, well roasted, and clean. Solid nut all around.

The combo: Just a good crunchy peanut snack. Not too sweet, and just enough peanut flavor in the shell to really enhance the flavor of the peanut itself. Pretty tasty. Kudos, Koh-Kae – I can see why you’re #1 in Thailand!

If you can find these, definitely eat them – you won’t be disappointed.

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Finally, if you read that Washington Post article carefully, you’ll notice one more absurd point:

A spiral staircase has been installed in the ventilation shaft area near the south side of the Dupont station for use in an emergency. 

I can think of nothing more horrifying then going up 24 floors in a dark spiral staircase to the surface, especially if there was a real emergency.  I might flip the fuck out in that situation.

Look, I think DC’s Metro is great despite the problems.  It is interesting to see how everything goes off the rails (so to speak) when one of the nuts gets loosened, though, isn’t it?

Thoughts? Tell me in the comments below or hit me on Twitter @junkfoodguy or on my Facebook Page.

Sincerely, Junk Food Guy