Some of my fondest memories from childhood come from my family’s Lunar New Year celebrations. During Tết, the Vietnamese name for the holiday, all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins would gather at my grandparents’ house to pray at the altar, exchange red envelopes, and eat delicious food.
The Lunar New Year candy tray — a red box filled with various sugared fruits and nuts — was always my favorite part. I remember sneaking handfuls of candy behind my mother’s back throughout the day and fighting my siblings for the last scraps before the box was thrown away.
That was nearly 10 years ago. The taste of these candies, once so familiar, has since faded from my memory. But with the year of the snake approaching, I decided to stop by my local 99 Ranch Market and buy a tray for myself. Will they taste as delicious as I remember? Or are some things better left in the past? As I revisit these iconic candies, I hope I find that my love for them goes beyond my New Year’s nostalgia. So, without further ado, let’s begin the ratings.

- Candied Coconut: 8/10
While I adored many of these sugary treats, I remember the coconut candy being my favorite. Brightly colored dried coconut coated in sugar? Eleven-year-old me was hooked. But when I took the first bite, something felt off. Don’t get me wrong — it was still delicious. The coconut flavor was strong, and the coating had just the right amount of sweetness. However, the texture was softer than I remember it being, almost like agar jelly. A crisp crunch would have greatly improved my experience.
- Candied Winter Melon: 7/10
As a child, I could down sugar like nobody’s business. Ice cream, frosting, donuts — you name it, I ate it. But as I’ve grown older, sugary treats have lost their appeal. Unfortunately, the candied winter melon fell victim to my boring adult preferences. As a child, I described the experience as similar to biting into a sugar cube. Now, I would say this still holds true, though not necessarily in a good way. While I hate to be the girl who says it’s “too sweet,” that is truly how I feel. While the first two or so bites are delicious, any more may put me in a sugar coma.
- Candied Kumquat: 4/10
Surprisingly, 11-year-old Samantha and 21-year-old Samantha are on the exact same page about this one. For those of you who have never had a kumquat, it looks and tastes like a tiny mandarin orange. The only catch is that you eat the whole thing — rind included. While I hoped that adulthood would allow me to stomach the dry bitterness of the sugared peel, the first bite made it immediately apparent that candied kumquats are still not for me. This dessert will have to sit next to the infamous bittermelon: foods meant for an adult palate that I haven’t quite acquired.
- Candied Water Chestnut: 7.5/10
It was at this point in my candy experiment that I remembered something about the Lunar New Year candy tray: most of the candies taste the same. Sure, the kumquat candy and the peanut sesame candy (see my review below) had unique flavor profiles, but in general, they are all just fruits and vegetables covered in sugar. That is my long-winded way of saying that the water chestnut candy tastes like winter melon candy, only earthier and less sweet. As my main complaint about the winter melon candy was the sugar content, I will say I enjoyed this one more. Not my favorite, but not bad.
- Peanut Sesame Candy: 8.5/10
If you love peanuts but think peanut brittle is too hard, this candy is for you. It’s made of lightly crushed peanuts, sesame seeds, and a gummy coating with a texture similar to boba pearls. While my distaste of nuts made me avoid this sticky treat as a child, I can safely say that adult Samantha adores this delicacy. The contrast between the crunch of the peanuts and the gooey outside makes this candy the ultimate culinary experience. My only complaint is that, with the way it gets stuck in your teeth, you’ll be tasting peanuts and sesame for the rest of your day.
- Candied Ginger: 7/10
I’ll just come out and say it: candied ginger tastes way better as an adult. Looking back, this makes perfect sense. As a child, I always thought ginger candy was too spicy. That, combined with the fact that my grandmother’s homemade ginger candy had almost no sugar, literally put a bad taste in 11-year-old me’s mouth. Now that I’m 21 and a certified spice lover, I will happily eat two or three of these sharply flavored, fibrous treats. While they aren’t the first on my list, if you give me some, they will be eaten.
- Soursop Candy: 9/10
This is the only treat on this list that I’ve eaten recently. Last summer, my family bought a giant bag of these candies, and they were gone within a day. Soursop, a soft sweet fruit best eaten cold, is one of my favorite summer snacks. But since it’s only available in tropical areas, the candy is a great way to get that iconic flavor without crossing the Atlantic. So, yes, I did like the soursop candy. It was just as, if not better, than I remember it being — perfectly sweet and chewy with just the right amount of soursop flavor. Just remember to spit out the seed.
- Candied Carrot: 6/10
These last two candies are ones that I had never tried before. The first one, candied carrot, is definitely the strangest. Why? Well, there’s a reason why carrot cake is the only other carrot-centered dessert I can think of. The carrot flavor in this treat was overwhelmingly intense, making the overall culinary experience very vegetable-forward in a not-so-pleasant way. As a certified plant lover, I respect the need for greens (or oranges, to be more accurate). Yet, I can’t help but feel perturbed by a dessert that tastes so much like a vegetable.
- Candied Lotus Seed: 5.5/10
To rate this final candy, I must tell you about my childhood experience with sesame balls. Red bean sesame balls were my absolute favorite, while mung bean ones made me want to cry. Thus, biting into a mung bean flavored one was always a disappointing surprise. That is how I feel about this candy. Despite being made with lotus seeds, their crumbly texture and yellow color make eating them a very mung bean-esque experience. As a mung bean hater, I cannot, in good conscience, recommend them.
There are a ton of different Lunar New Year candies that didn’t come in the tray I bought (black sesame candy and candied sweet potato, to name a few). But your girl is on a budget, so I got the smallest pack I could satisfy my nostalgic cravings with.
Some of these candies did live up to my childhood memories. Others fell short. And the few that I was trying for the first time … let’s just say I won’t be buying them again. However, despite my varied reviews, I will say I am happy with the results of this experiment. Being away from my family for Tết was a huge disappointment this year, but tasting these candies, however mediocre, made me feel a little more at home. So, whether you decide to buy your very own candy tray or not, know that your childhood is never too far away to revisit.
And lastly, have a happy Lunar New Year!