Tuesday, May 17, 2005

White Rabbit

Name: White Rabbit Creamy Candies
Place Purchased: Chinatown, Los Angeles
Price: $1.09
Size: 8 oz
Calories per ounce: 120
Type: Taffy

When buying candy where the package is pretty much all foreign to you, good packaging is a plus. The only thing in English on this bag of what I think is taffy are the required items of weight and the name of the product: White Rabbit. (And the subtitle of Creamy Candies or maybe that’s the name of the candy and White Rabbit is the brand, I’m a little unsure. There’s also a brand mark called Queensway Foods on the front.)

Inside are little white cylindrical candies. I figured taffy from looking at the ingredients which started with Corn Starch Syrup ... which I’m guessing is what we know as corn syrup.

I found I was pretty much correct, but the Asian spin on this is that they are wrapped in that rice paper cellophane that dissolves in your mouth. I love that stuff! I practically buy Botan Rice Candy just for the rice cello! Inside this edible inner wrapper is a bland, sweet and mild vanilla taffy. Unfortunately the batch I got was not particularly fresh and therefore not chewy, so I just sucked on it until it got soft enough to chew. The flavor is quite nice, not as sweet as you’d think for something that’s pretty much all sugar, with a slight creamy/milky flavor to it. Just what the name implied.

Rating: 6 out of 10 (it’d be seven if they were softer)

UPDATE 9/23/2008: Sources in Singapore have tested samples of White Rabbit in conjunction with the melamine contamination of Chinese baby formula made by Sanlu Group. They have said that it does contain traces of melamine and have pulled it from the shelves. More here.

UPDATE 10/2/2008: The tainted milk scandal is spreading to more candies. We’re tracking all the stories in the Candy Forums.

Related Candies

  1. Candy Bites: The Sweet, Crunchy & Creamy
  2. Tootsie Rolls & Fruit Rolls
  3. Botan Rice Candy
  4. Yan Yan
  5. Men’s Pocky

POSTED BY Cybele AT 9:37 am Tracker Pixel for Entry     CandyReviewChews6-TemptingChina

Comments
  1. mmm white rabbit… i live in a pretty tropical area so i guess if you kept the packet in a warmish area theyd be nice and soft =)

    Comment by suze on 12/31/69 at 4:00 pm #
  2. Cybele's avatar

    That’s an awesome idea, I think I’ll throw them in the car tonight.

    Maybe a couple of seconds in the microwave ... of course that could end badly. Better try it on the one at the office.

    Comment by Cybele on 12/31/69 at 4:00 pm #
  3. Asian kids love these - used to gobble them in China to satisfy my milk cravings. And yes, they should be squishy = )

    Comment by Anonymous on 12/31/69 at 4:00 pm #
  4. I’m a little late getting to this page, but I must say it’s nice to see this candy featured here.  I used to love em as a kid but now I think they’re kinda insipid.  Anyway it’s a nice site you have here and I’ve enjoyed poking around a bit.

    Comment by Pogo on 12/31/69 at 4:00 pm #
  5. Cybele's avatar

    pogo - you’re right, there’s not much to them, but I suppose that’s the way plain vanilla taffy is.

    Thanks for visiting!

    Comment by Cybele on 12/31/69 at 4:00 pm #
  6. I just tried some of these, I found them in our little Asian grocery down the street. I love them! Like salt-water taffy, but doesn’t stick to your teeth quite so much (I guess that’s a benefit of the ricepaper) and it’s not so cloyingly sweet. Really good!

    Comment by Cecily on 12/31/69 at 4:00 pm #
  7. they do these in a couple of other flavours that i’ve tried (a green one i think, it was a while ago), but the white rabbit is the best

    Comment by duncan on 1/20/06 at 12:07 am #
  8. I cannot prove this by any research, and I wish that I had been saving wrappers at the time (like I do now), but there was a Creamy Tomato White Rabbit at one point that tasted soooo good.  Of course, like most things I enjoy, it was discontinued.  Anybody know of these? Relate!

    Comment by sara on 3/09/06 at 10:15 am #
  9. Cybele's avatar

    Sara - are you serious? Tomato? I’ve heard that Milton Hershey once designed a line of savory ice creams for his four star hotel ... and tomato was one of the flavors. I’d be willing to give it a try.

    Comment by Cybele on 3/09/06 at 1:25 pm #
  10. Have you guys ever tried White Rabbit Mint Creamy Candy, very delicous and unique flavour, if you have the chance, try it, it won’t let you down:d

    Comment by guanshengyuan stuff on 5/11/06 at 10:27 pm #
  11. i love these! even better than the milk ones, though, is the lychee flavor! yum!

    Comment by captain hummingbird on 9/28/06 at 4:18 pm #
  12. I love these.  I grew up in Hawaii and remember eating these when I was young.

    40-ish now and I find that I love them even more.

    I did find some for sale at indomerchant.com for reasonable prices on 16 oz. packages. I ordered some tonight.  I cannot attest to the stores reputation as I normally buy them off of ebay though.  No I do not work for Indomerchant!

    I find one way of making them softer is to hold them in the palm of your hand for a couple of minutes!

    Comment by John on 11/19/06 at 3:23 pm #
  13. Hi, I’m stuff of Shanghai Guan Sheng Yuan International Trade Co., Ltd. We export all series of White Rabbit Creamy Candies and other products, please visit our website http://www.gsygroup.com and for catalogs, please visit http://gsytrade.en.busytrade.com/

    If you are interested in, please contact me
    mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
    thx in advance.

    Comment by Robert on 1/16/07 at 4:02 pm #
  14. Looking for lollipop maker to make Trademarked product for American market.

    Comment by Michael Crace on 1/23/07 at 7:45 am #
  15. Hi Michael Crace, please leave your contact information to me, or you can mail me directly :D

    Comment by Robert on 1/23/07 at 3:26 pm #
  16. For Robert:

    I just found out that you needed my contact information.

    Michael Crace
    .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

    Comment by Michael Crace on 5/21/07 at 5:23 am #
  17. i really loved this candy.if given can eat up a pack with in 2 to 3 hours .i think this the best ever candy i have ever had

    Comment by ashok sethia on 7/16/07 at 7:22 am #
  18. White rabbbit has formalin.

    Comment by MiGs on 7/17/07 at 10:31 pm #
  19. ingredient>formalin

    Comment by YeaH! on 7/18/07 at 1:14 am #
  20. only a handful of countries can test for formalin . and its not in the philippines.  breaking news as of 10 pm tonight.  the chinese government , which owns the white rabbit creamy candy had the candies tested by a third party and the results for formalin is negative.  Singapore distributor also conducting test. Deep trouble for BFAD in philippines.  bunch of clowns running the show.  affected even the white rabbit candy made in the philippinese

    Comment by ed on 7/18/07 at 4:53 am #
  21. I hope this formalin thing gets cleared up soon.  I’m from Hawai`i and I’ve been searching for this candy for over a week and I can’t find them anywhere.  Then I found out the news last night!  Aaargh!  This is MY favorite candy.  I would be very dissappointed if the stopped exporting it to Hawai`i.

    BTW:
    Put some white rabbit in your car on a hot day and they get very soft.  The BEST way to eat them.

    Comment by Moks on 7/20/07 at 12:43 pm #
  22. it may harm you!don’t eat it ,it contains formalin
    but it is delicious!

    Comment by mokosdoks on 7/24/07 at 2:55 am #
  23. Ilove it but I am curious about who eat white rabbit candy because it may harm people

    Comment by mokosdoks on 7/24/07 at 3:01 am #
  24. Cybele's avatar

    I appreciate folks piping up with the information about possible contamination of White Rabbit.

    For those not aware, the Philippine government alleges that White Rabbit contains formalin (a carcinogen). The Chinese goverment, the manufacturer and an independent lab have found that there is no detectable level of formalin in the candies in China.

    http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2007/200707/20070719/article_324003.htm

    It’s possible that the contamination happened somewhere along the way, so it’s good if you’re in the Philippines to wait until your government has sorted it out.

    Comment by Cybele on 7/24/07 at 4:58 am #
  25. Aww..since childhood,rice paper trick that we never ever think about it…can you eat without THE paper? ;p

    Comment by Anuar Salleh on 9/10/07 at 10:00 am #
  26. I think this will help if you like the White Rabbits.

    “The Rabbit War”
    http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=jojoRobles_july20_2007

    “The Rabbit is White again”
    http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/289512/1/.html

    Comment by KER on 11/13/07 at 7:45 pm #
  27. To “Moks”.... hehehe, I get that one!

    Are you on O’ahu? If so, Wholesale Unlimited sells various flavors of White Rabbit candy, including the original flavor (think condensed milk)They are in the Mapunapuna area, I believe on Ahua st. Down the street from Bob’s Big Boy, after Jack In the Box, on the next block, on the right, fenced parking lot. They also sell all kinds of seed, mochi crunch, ika,jerky,Betty’s Best Cookies, Tomoe Ame Rice Candy, by the 1/2# & 1# & even Authentic UH memorabilia(Shirts, hats, jackets…The only non food item!, lol) I buy it from there to ship to my brother who lives in Washington now.

    I too am from Hawai’i & LOVE milk candy. There used to be a brand that said “Milk Candy"on the Bag, with white wax paper wrapping W/ red & yellow or purple & yellow asian writing on it. I forget now who made it, but it was the best one, & my favorite childhood candy. About 16 years ago Wholesale unlimited told me the company closed down, the kids didn’t want to take over the business & they don’t make it anymore, but I was happy to find White Rabbit. A close match, & almost as good, & still a favorite.

    To those of you who like this candy because of the rice paper, you should check out Tomoe Ame Rice candy. Another childhood favorite. You can read a little about it here: http://tastyisland.wordpress.com/2006/10/28/have-your-candy-and-eat-the-wrapper-too/

    Comment by Kalakrayon on 12/05/07 at 11:26 am #
  28. Info direct from the maker:

    http://JOYZYP.EN.EC21.COM
    http://WWW.GSYGROUP.COM

    Note that the literal translation of the brand name is “big white rabbit” and it is just a brand name as it is used on other products. What I would call the product name is (translated from Chinese) “milk candy” and they do taste basically like sweetened condensed milk to me, not vanilla. I’ve bought these in Shanghai and (assuming they were more fresh than the ones that are exported) they were always hard whenever I’ve had them no matter what the weather. Perhaps they are manufactured that way in order to deal with the warmer climates they are consumed in.

    Comment by Derek Read on 3/31/08 at 7:20 am #
  29. Me too, I’m from Hawaii and milk candy wrapped in rice paper in the white wax paper wrapping with the red & yellow or purple & yellow asian writing on it was one of my favorites when I was growing up. It also used to be sold in Shirokiya by weight.

    I have been seaching for this for more than 20 years.  I’m sad to finally find out that its not made anymore. Now that I know that I’ll stop looking for it everytime I go to Longs or Shirokiya.  I thought maybe the packaging changed.

    Comment by Teacake on 4/23/08 at 1:48 pm #
  30. With the recent melamine contamination in baby milk powder detected in China, Singapore authorities have detected traces of melamine in the White Rabbit Creamy Candy as well. As at now, both the Singapore and Malaysia government has already banned or recall the product. Please be cautious.

    Comment by babynme on 9/23/08 at 5:19 am #
  31. Hi there,
    I don’t know about formalin, but these sweets are being investigated for melamine content.

    I would wait and see if they are ok before I ate any more.

    Comment by Ronni on 9/24/08 at 10:40 am #
  32. I couldn’t believe it when I saw that there is melamine in White Rabbits! I used to love these candies when I was a kid. I guess it just goes to show that you can’t trust ANYTHING from China anymore.

    Comment by Conni on 9/24/08 at 11:19 am #
  33. Sure, we need to be careful with what goes into
    our mouths, as Chinese proverb says: “Sickness came in from the mouth.”, so just keep our eyes and minds open. China should tighten their food & drugs control if they were to regain the world market. The same event had happened in other developed countries as well, it’s part of civilization. In the world of food & medicines, it’s trials & errors, sometimes price is so high that they risked their own lives as guinea-pig. Take care!

    Comment by Ker on 9/26/08 at 4:00 pm #
  34. I would like a list of all candy, that was on the new about makeingever bady sick. Thank you Kay P. S. Get back to me about this.

    Comment by Kay Starr on 10/01/08 at 4:15 pm #
  35. I try not to by anything made in China, It’s really hard since just about everything is made in China.  I say cut them bastards off before there x kills us all!!! [edited by admin to remove objectionable language]

    Comment by betty boop on 10/02/08 at 5:20 am #
  36. One more thing we do not need in the USA is food products from China.  What are we thinking to allow food when their toys have been shown to be dangerous?

    Comment by Jim Ritz on 10/02/08 at 7:20 am #
  37. I ate em and I’m fine.  Dam cheapos diluting their milk with poison…They coulda just raised the price a little…

    Comment by Binh Vu on 10/02/08 at 7:32 am #
  38. We should keep all Chinese toys and food products out, and inspect any electrical products to make sure there are no hazards. These bastards screw their own people and the government lets them get away with it. Our laizez faire Bush crowd sucks up to them and does nothing.

    [foul language removed by admin - please folks, can you express your outrage without the resorting to swearing?]

    Comment by John Sorli on 10/02/08 at 9:28 am #
  39. what the hell is going on in China.. all the human rights violations, the murders at the olympics, and now the planned poisoning of the public and the children by tainting the baby milk! I am sure their intent was on pupose having an over population problem and also known to terminate fetuses with birth defects. I say no more dealing with the Chinese in any economic or other way!!!
    Oh Christ, lets not forget the tainted pet food with Melamine, and of course the sickest of them all, using lead based paint for childrens toys!! Made in the U.S.A is the only way to assure that we are not getting terrorized by the Chinese, I mean it does seem to be an on going pattern?.let your voice be heard!! We are not guinea pigs!!

    Comment by Jeff on 10/02/08 at 10:05 am #
  40. Murders at the Olympics… planned poisoning… what?

    You act as if China (as an entity) has poisoned their people on purpose… use your brain. It’s a country, not Al-Qaeda.

    Get your facts straight.

    Comment by Sunny on 10/03/08 at 9:29 pm #
  41. There is more information about the White Rabbit saga at
    http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/happysheep/shangri-la-la/1223214180/tpod.html?tweb_UID=happysheep

    Comment by happysheep on 10/05/08 at 4:37 am #
  42. just to let you know the red one is not tomato flavored but rather the tamer red bean (azuki) variety…. but it is lovely… especially if your partial to red bean flavor… they also have yogurt and “cooling” which is more or less a butterscotch with mint

    Comment by Leilei on 4/12/09 at 11:27 am #
  43. Tough texture or not, melamine poisoning or not, and now it seems formalin or not… I loved this stuff growing up as a kid.  I don’t know one Asian or Asian American or San Franciscan for that matter who doesn’t tie this candy back to some childhood memories.

    Face it, what DOESN’T cause cancer these days…

    I know it’s been banned from the States but I guess some guys decided to bring it back in their own cute little way…

    Check this out:
    http://bokchoyapparel.com/product/FD001WH/

    Yummy.

    Comment by Amy on 5/06/09 at 7:06 pm #
  44. I’ve been on a quest for the past two weeks to find even the plain versions of these delicious candies I’ve enjoyed for many years but to no avail whatsoever. Do you have any further details on the extent of the recall? Do you know how badly this hurt the homeland manufacturer? When can I start finding these candies in stores again, or even online? Also, what’s the validity of the rumors I read about other flavors? I’ve seen Lychee flavored ones but wouldn’t mind getting my hands on this “creamy tomato” or “creamy mint” variety.

    Comment by Brandon on 5/17/09 at 12:39 pm #
  45. I LOVE THESE CANDIES!! I grew up on them.. I’m so sad to now find out they have been recalled =*( I don’t know how I will survive without them.

    Comment by Lauryn on 5/22/09 at 12:14 pm #
  46. i heard of these candies before i almost bought some in chinatown once but since they were recalled i will never try them or anything from chinatown just to be safe

    Comment by Danni on 7/30/09 at 8:21 am #
  47. btw just wanted to tell you i found this site last week and immediately fell in llove with it. keep up the good wokr, cybele!

    (sorry for any typos, i type fast)

    Comment by Danni on 7/30/09 at 8:26 am #
  48. THIS IS ONE OF MY FAV CANDIES!!!! too bad bout the malamine thing. luckily i havn’t eaten it in forever.
    anyways i love the creaminess of it and i don’t mind it being stale or fresh.

    Comment by blue on 8/07/09 at 10:10 pm #
  49. I love White Rabbit Creamy Candy! I live in Alaska, so it’s a little hard to get these kind of candies here. Gotta get back to Japan soon!

    Comment by Anna on 9/05/09 at 1:52 pm #
  50. Oh man am I upset! I haven’t had any for 3 years now and was try ing to order them online when I saw this info…. :((((( I dream about eating these sweet treats. Is there any new info? Any changes?

    Comment by Karen on 3/05/10 at 12:58 pm #
  51. You can get White Rabbit candy at any Asian market here in California.

    Comment by T on 3/15/10 at 4:15 pm #
  52. From Wikipedia: “When White Rabbit candy was returned to export in 2009, it also underwent a name change to Golden Rabbit Creamy Candy. Aside of avoiding the marketing stigma associated with the tarnished White Rabbit name, the Golden Rabbit candy is made using milk from Australia instead of China. Original White Rabbit is also being manufactured, with milk coming from New Zealand.”

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Rabbit_Creamy_Candy

    Comment by T on 3/15/10 at 4:17 pm #
  53. white rabbit candy it helps me a lot when i started to ate it i feel good until my illness (hepatitis b) was getting better in behalf of my white rabbit on my pocket….watch out wait for more info.

    Comment by cj 13 on 3/20/10 at 4:55 am #
  54. i love white rabbit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Comment by luca on 4/27/10 at 4:47 pm #
  55. my teacher gives them to us if we do jobs for him they are my favorite candy

    Comment by luca on 4/27/10 at 4:48 pm #
  56. I used to live in a neighborhood where Asians dominated the area. There were several small Asian owned and run stores in the area as well as a larger store just down the main road and most of the Apartment buildings were inhabited by mostly Asians.

    On Halloween this particular candy was one of the few Asian Candies I really looked forward too. Honestly I would have been happy if my bag were filled with them because they were satisfying but yet didn’t make me crave more and more like typical American Candies. I need to go out and purchase some. Unfortunately most stores in my area don’t carry it.

    Comment by April on 11/09/10 at 2:45 pm #
  57. These are Chinese Milk Candies, not taffy. Its made out of milk, and has no vanilla flavoring what-so-ever. Milk candy is not supposed to be chewing.Its supposed to be hard, and than once you such on it its supposed to turn soft.

    How do I know this? I was in a Chinese course for 4 years. Or Chinese teacher brought back milk candies.

    The thing about this candy is that its’ real, not cheap. You can find them in the Asian section of grocery stores, as well as in Asian Markets. Milk candy in China is equivalent to M&M’s here in america..

    Comment by Emily on 7/04/12 at 5:38 pm #
  58. Please provide the information of the source of the gelatin ingredient in the white rabbit candy. Thanks in advance.

    Comment by jasmine on 7/10/14 at 3:15 pm #
  59. i want buy this candy tnx

    Comment by janna santiago on 10/07/14 at 2:56 am #
  60. I live White Rabbit. I’ve been trying to remember the nMe of them for months and finally remembered it. I remember eating these when I was 11 (so 8 years ago) and I absolutely loved them. It’s a shame about the Melamime in them, they never seemed to do any harm to me. I just want to know if they’re safe to eat now and if there’s anywhere in England I can buy them?

    Comment by Lauren on 4/30/15 at 9:55 am #
  61. They are safe to eat, and have been it for quite a long time now. Fun fact: the Chinese version (no transparency at the front) tastes better, I believe.

    I purchase my bags in London, at New Loon Moon, £1.95 for the small and £4.95 for the large.

    Comment by Laurence on 7/23/16 at 10:00 am #
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