Bringing you the quirkiest, tastiest, most thought-provoking Japanese delicacies you can find stateside!
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Saturday, June 8, 2013
じゃまたね～！
こんばんは！
While my love of Japanese snacks has not diminished, I fear my time as a blogger has. While it's been super fun to share my (terrible) photos and thoughts, my nearly 2 years of blogging has not culminated in the rousing success I had envisioned.
I may decide to pick it back up in the future, so for now I will thank those that have enjoyed the journey and claim an extended hiatus.
Ja mata ne~ see you again!
While my love of Japanese snacks has not diminished, I fear my time as a blogger has. While it's been super fun to share my (terrible) photos and thoughts, my nearly 2 years of blogging has not culminated in the rousing success I had envisioned.
I may decide to pick it back up in the future, so for now I will thank those that have enjoyed the journey and claim an extended hiatus.
Ja mata ne~ see you again!
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Bourbon Petit Smokey Cheese Crackers
こんにちは！
This is my 2nd attempt at Bourbon brand crackers. My 1st was the tomato chili variety which can be seen here. There are sweet and savory varieties of these crackers and I decided on the smokey cheese flavor. (No particular reason- the image of the cheese on fire was kind of neat) I picked these up at Mitsuwa for $1.99 on my last visit.
The packaging is still impressive. I had not a single broken cracker.
The crackers, despite being savory and of the same brand, are very different than my last go-around. The tomato chili flavor was like a typical flour cracker- the smokey cheese flavor was rice based, more like a senbei. My opinion on senbei is mixed and so I was surprised and mildly disappointed. However, the texture was softer than my past senbei experiences and the flavor tasty, if not remarkable. I am always thrilled when something is different than my expectations. I don't think I'd purchase this flavor again but it was not terrible.
This is my 2nd attempt at Bourbon brand crackers. My 1st was the tomato chili variety which can be seen here. There are sweet and savory varieties of these crackers and I decided on the smokey cheese flavor. (No particular reason- the image of the cheese on fire was kind of neat) I picked these up at Mitsuwa for $1.99 on my last visit.
The packaging is still impressive. I had not a single broken cracker.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Morinaga Choco Flake
こんばんは！
Cereal is one of my favorite things. I did not eat it for years for no particular reason and decided to pick up a box one day in college and the rest is history. With milk, dry as a snack, in yogurt...OK, I'm done. This little individual sized bag of Morinaga Choco Flake instantly appealed to my tastes (plus those Flakes with faces are adorable) and it was only $.99!
The bag is actually "pocket sized" according to the text. Japanese is full of onomatopoetic words such as gorogoro (the sound of rolling or thunder) and dokidoki (heart beating). The term sakusaku is often used for something crunchy or crispy.
Look at how cute the little Flake twins are when describing how delicious they taste!
The flakes were not what I expected. They are pretty much Corn Flakes with a thin layer of milk chocolate. It's hard to reconcile...the milk chocolate coating makes them unlike cereal and yet they are a bit too much like cereal for a snack. I even put some in milk after my initial taste and it was clear that was not how they were intended to be consumed. The flavor is not bad but the chocolate is rather mediocre. I would rather have a handful of Chex or Cocoa Puffs!
Cereal is one of my favorite things. I did not eat it for years for no particular reason and decided to pick up a box one day in college and the rest is history. With milk, dry as a snack, in yogurt...OK, I'm done. This little individual sized bag of Morinaga Choco Flake instantly appealed to my tastes (plus those Flakes with faces are adorable) and it was only $.99!
The bag is actually "pocket sized" according to the text. Japanese is full of onomatopoetic words such as gorogoro (the sound of rolling or thunder) and dokidoki (heart beating). The term sakusaku is often used for something crunchy or crispy.
Look at how cute the little Flake twins are when describing how delicious they taste!
Friday, May 3, 2013
Tohato Habanero Spicy Pizza Potato Sticks
こんばんは！
I appreciate the spice scale on the front of the bag. I'll warn you right away that it is inaccurate. I really do love the bag's design. The Italian colors and pepper make it fun!
Demon pepper makes another appearance on the back of the bag talking about the spiciness and deliciousness of what is inside. I like how emphasizes the pizza aspect with the tray and soda. Classy, demon pepper, very classy.
The bag has a fair amount of product. However, the snack itself was less than impressive. The sticks tasted oily and only after consuming a few did I get a semblance of spice. The spice scale should have been zero. The pizza part was barely there with a slight cheesy flavor. I would probably be happy to try another flavor before I write off this line of snacks from Tohato.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Morinaga Hi-Soft Caramel
こんばんはみんなさん！
Apologies for long time between posts! I've started a new job and catching up with my friends and family whom I've neglected with crazy operations hours for the past few years. Also, I misplaced my camera's memory card and just realized that technology is amazing and I can upload photos from the internal memory with a cord instead. Back to business as usual!
I recently went to Mitsuwa in Edgewater, NJ, and picked up some fun new items! I've have Morinaga caramels in the past but they were fruity. In all honesty, I bought them because I was young and thought the Hamtaro cell phone charm that came as a prize was adorable and of course I needed to collect all 12 of them. In any case, I figured it was time to give a true Morinaga caramel a whirl.
This box is incredible. I know you may be thinking I'm nuts but my other passion is vintage travel anything (posters, luggage, extinct airline memorbilia) and this color scheme and design is EXACTLY on point.
The back of the inner carton is covered in cute sketches of French themed items. How adorable!
There are a dozen little bricks of caramel in the package. I appreciate the actual box and it makes it easy to through in a purse or bag and share with others. The travel palette continues to the wrappers with the simple silver, red and blue. I cannot mention enough what great design this is!
The caramel is chewy and rich. It has a nice sweet milky flavor. I'm no caramel expert but I did like Glico's version a bit better, they were a tad bit softer and easier to chew. I would definately buy these again if Glico's were unavailable or try different varieties.
Apologies for long time between posts! I've started a new job and catching up with my friends and family whom I've neglected with crazy operations hours for the past few years. Also, I misplaced my camera's memory card and just realized that technology is amazing and I can upload photos from the internal memory with a cord instead. Back to business as usual!
I recently went to Mitsuwa in Edgewater, NJ, and picked up some fun new items! I've have Morinaga caramels in the past but they were fruity. In all honesty, I bought them because I was young and thought the Hamtaro cell phone charm that came as a prize was adorable and of course I needed to collect all 12 of them. In any case, I figured it was time to give a true Morinaga caramel a whirl.
This box is incredible. I know you may be thinking I'm nuts but my other passion is vintage travel anything (posters, luggage, extinct airline memorbilia) and this color scheme and design is EXACTLY on point.
The back of the inner carton is covered in cute sketches of French themed items. How adorable!
There are a dozen little bricks of caramel in the package. I appreciate the actual box and it makes it easy to through in a purse or bag and share with others. The travel palette continues to the wrappers with the simple silver, red and blue. I cannot mention enough what great design this is!
The caramel is chewy and rich. It has a nice sweet milky flavor. I'm no caramel expert but I did like Glico's version a bit better, they were a tad bit softer and easier to chew. I would definately buy these again if Glico's were unavailable or try different varieties.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Meiji Lucky Stick Cappuccino
こんにちは！
My initial foray into Japanese snacks, like most, consisted of your typical Pocky, Ramune soda and Hi-Chew candy assortment. I always viewed Meiji's Lucky Sticks to be a knock off of Glico's Pocky and so I was rarely tempted to try it. My husband actually picked this out on our last Mitsuwa trip. Cappuccino is not usually my flavor of choice but if I'm going to go for a treat I have been hesitant about in the past, why not go all the way?
The box immediately makes me uneasy as it is all in English aside from the katakana below the logo that reads simply "Lucky Stick". The design on the box is pleasant, English aside. It gives a nice view of the treat and a lovely looking cup of cappuccino.
When opening the bag, I was immediately reminded of a coffee shop. This smelled exactly like a store in my local mall that ground coffee fresh for customers and brewed a mean specialty cup of joe. Isn't it weird how a smell can conjure such specific memories?
Anyway, the biscuit itself was relatively flavorless (as most biscuits in products like this tend to be). The chocolate was creamy and tasted sweet and coffee-like. It was actually pretty good quality and filled with flavor. I would like to try some other varieties of Lucky Stick in the future. This particular flavor did not edge out over Pocky but it was surprisingly close!
My initial foray into Japanese snacks, like most, consisted of your typical Pocky, Ramune soda and Hi-Chew candy assortment. I always viewed Meiji's Lucky Sticks to be a knock off of Glico's Pocky and so I was rarely tempted to try it. My husband actually picked this out on our last Mitsuwa trip. Cappuccino is not usually my flavor of choice but if I'm going to go for a treat I have been hesitant about in the past, why not go all the way?
The box immediately makes me uneasy as it is all in English aside from the katakana below the logo that reads simply "Lucky Stick". The design on the box is pleasant, English aside. It gives a nice view of the treat and a lovely looking cup of cappuccino.
When opening the bag, I was immediately reminded of a coffee shop. This smelled exactly like a store in my local mall that ground coffee fresh for customers and brewed a mean specialty cup of joe. Isn't it weird how a smell can conjure such specific memories?
Anyway, the biscuit itself was relatively flavorless (as most biscuits in products like this tend to be). The chocolate was creamy and tasted sweet and coffee-like. It was actually pretty good quality and filled with flavor. I would like to try some other varieties of Lucky Stick in the future. This particular flavor did not edge out over Pocky but it was surprisingly close!
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