Asahi Mitsuya Cider Melon Candy 三ツ矢サイダーキャンディー・メロン味

Whenever I go to Japan, one of the first drink brands I check out is Mitsuya Cider. They always seem to have really interesting and great tasting soda's. The most memorable one I have tried was condensed milk soda which was really nice!

Yubari Melon is a fruit and flavour that is dear to my heart. Hokkaido is my husband's home and is also home to the wonderful Yubari Melon which is used in cakes and desserts, candies, soda's, snacks and so much more in Japan.

So it's no wonder I was excited when napaJapan gave me this bag of Yubari Melon Mitsuya Cider candies.

The bag is small, and (71g) and holds about 20 individually wrapped candies. The candy is small, round and green, a colour that reminds me more of green apple.

From the minute the candy hit my tongue I started to get the fizz sensation that is reminscent of a soda. The Yubari melon flavour is prominent and sweet, but not too sweet. This really tastes like melon soda and there are no harsh chemical flavours that some candies have when trying to recreate a fruit flavour.

I really loved these and handed them out a party to Japanese and Aussie friends who all gave them the thumbs up too!

These are one of the best candies I have tried and I recommend them! You can buy these now at napaJapan as well as other flavours in the range - Grape soda and Regular Cider.

Brand: Asahi Calories per bag: 264 Website: http://www.asahi-fh.com Buy it now at napaJapan

Pocky Dessert Chocolate Banana Cake ポッキー・デザートチョコラのバナナケーキ風

I'm on a bit of a roll here. I just reviewed the Strawberry Custard Cake Dessert Pocky and now I'm going to review the Chocolate Banana Cake version!

I've heard mixed things about banana flavour in snacks, it would appear that it doesn't translate very well. That being said, I've always liked fake banana flavour so it's never been a problem for me.

I like the idea of making a dessert into a snack that can be eaten as a dessert. It's so much easier than carrying around a whole cake, and it's convenient to store! :)

This Chocolate Banana Cake Pocky is the same format as the Strawberry Custard one. It has a thick coating of banana chocolate around the pretzel stick and then it has a piped chocolate effect all over the top.

I love the style, it looks elegant and fun.

Smelling the stick, I am quite surprised to find that it smells more like rich cocoa than banana. There is a very vague banana undertone but it's not the prevalent scent.

Biting in, the chocolate on the top is soft and smooth and once again reminds me of icing on a cake. The chocolate is the first flavour that hits my tongue and it has a dark edge to it, and then boom! pow! the banana flavour takes over. The banana flavour is not close to the real thing, it's more of a "fake" banana, but it is sweet and light and I really like it. The chocolate and banana flavours combine near the end and go very well together. Overall, the chocolate is very strong and overpowers the banana.

The pretzel stick is nicely crunchy and goes really well with the chocolate coating.
To me this didn't really resemble a "cake" like the Strawberry Custard Pocky. These flavours were more akin to a mousse or whip. It's still in the range of dessert though and I do like it, but I have to say that out of the two, the Strawberry is the one I like more.

I think the Strawberry Pocky was done better because it fits more with the cake theme, so it's something I can imagine more than this one.

Brand: Glico Calories per box: 97 Website:  http://pocky.jp/products/dessert/index.html Buy it now at napaJapan

Pocky Dessert Strawberry Custard Cake ポッキー・デザート 苺のカスタードケーキ風

Introducing the latest flavours in the Pocky Dessert range courtesy of Jason @ napaJapan, a plumper and more elegant version of the original Pocky. I reviewed the Mont Blanc version back in March when these were also released.

Like the Mont Blanc version, these have a double coating - a layer of yellowish white chocolate coating the pretzel stick and a weave-like design of strawberry chocolate over the top.

The smell is very sweet and all I can smell is strawberry! Biting in, the strawberry chocolate on the top is very soft and the texture reminds me of icing on a cake. The flavour is like that of a strawberry sponge cake. The custard chocolate underneath has a flavour of vanilla, it's buttery and rich like a good sponge cake.

The pretzel stick underneath is crunchy without being overly so. The blend of custard and strawberry is absolutely gorgeous and I can't stop eating this Pocky! It really is like a nice dessert, in fact I could eat this for dessert any day! It's decadent without being too rich. The strawberry is mildly sweet and has a few tart notes bursting out without making the chocolate sour.

Yum! is all I can say on this one! I definitely recommend these! 

You can find another review of this Pocky at 8tokyo.com 

Brand: Glico Calories per box: 97 Website:  http://pocky.jp/products/dessert/index.html Buy it now at napaJapan

Fujiya Milky Uji Matcha ミルキーチョコレート 宇治抹茶

I've long been a lover of all things Matcha flavoured, and I especially love the Uji Matcha from Kyoto which has a special flavour all of it's own.

I was very happy to receive this new release Milky chocolate from Jay @ napaJapan. I'm a long-time fan of Fujiya chocolates and I have collected a lot of memorabilia from Japan including the Fujiya boy and girl dolls, lunch boxes, pencil cases and other homewares bearing the iconic characters.

The packaging of the chocolate is just as cute as I would expect it to be, and opens like an envelope or small purse to reveal a sealed foil packet containing a tray of 12 individual chocolates.

The chocolate smells sweet and creamy, and has a malt-like aroma similar to that of Milo. The Matcha smells strong and is immediately noticeable when biting into the chocolate. The centre is smooth, creamy and irresistible. The chocolate is smooth on the tongue, cool, and really like eating milo with a spoon. I can't get over how malty it is! Yum!

The Matcha is the star without being overpowering. These chocolates are light and fun without being vague. They have enough of a flavour hit to get me going back for more. I can't stop...

Definitely, definitely, recommend these to all Matcha lovers out there! Mmmm ;)

Brand: Fujiya Calories per box: 252 Website: http://fujiya-milky.com