Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Maxim Pumpkin Latte マキシム パンプキン・ラテ

2 comments


I was browsing on eBay and bought it on a whim. I didn't know what to expect, pumpkin + latte? Who would think of such a thing? In Australia, people think pumpkin and soup go together but not as a hot drink! In Japan it's a little bit different as the season's change and the Autumn flavours are rolled out, pumpkin being one of them.

On closer inspection on the box, it states this is "pumpkin pudding taste". I've never had pumpkin pudding, so I still don't know what to expect, however, I do love pumpkin, so I hope it's good.



The box has 4 individual sachets inside. The photo on the front is very appealing, although the real thing doesn't look like that. Sadly, on the back of the box I notice one of the ingredients is Aspartame, something I try very hard to avoid. :(

The other disappointing thing is that if you drink this beverage hot, you can only add 130ml of boiling water to the powder. If you have it iced, you can only add 65ml of cold water to the powder! Either way, that's a very small drink!! I know the portion sizes are small in Japan but this is ridiculous. I would need 2 sachets to make up a normal drink size here.



Anyway, down to the nitty gritty. The smell that wafts out of the cup reminds me of corn soup. It's yellow like corn soup too, it's not as orange as the one on the packet and definitely not as creamy. I can taste the pumpkin flavour but it is weak. You don't need to add sugar to this as there is a sweetness that is quite strong.

In all, it's a great fad product. But that's all really... I wouldn't go out of my way to buy it.



See the latest Maxim flavours here.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Calbee Korean Seaweed かっぱえびせん カルビー 韓国のり風味

0 comments


As I posted previously, my son loves ebi senbei. Today he has been sick with a virus he caught from one of his friends and has been having high temperatures, which means he has been refusing all food.

I was at my wit's end when I realised that I had this bag of Calbee squirreled away in a parcel from a friend...I pulled them out and opened them and my son instantly perked up and began munching away! Saved! :)

The bag is quite pretty and the top and bottom of the bag is decorated in traditional Korean colours. I'm not really sure what difference there is between Korean nori (seaweed) and Japanese Nori, and when I asked my husband he said they just call it Korean nori in Japan...so he doesn't know either. Looking online I couldn't find mention of a particular type that comes from Korea, so I guess this is just seaweed originating from Korea flavour!

Inside, the pack really smelled strongly of seaweed, and each cracker had a rich taste of seaweed plus a small kick of what must be chili powder. These tasted quite salty too which made for a very moorish snack that I couldn't stop eating! I love how these snacks are so crunchy when you bite into them, it's the perfect savoury snack.

The other great thing about this pack is that unlike other savoury snacks where you get a small portion of snacks and the rest is air, the bag was full to the top of crackers. When my husband came home from work he had some too and gave them two thumbs up, so we three are all really happy with this snack from Calbee.


Friday, September 7, 2012

Bourbon Mini Bit Uji Matcha ブルボン ミニビット 宇治抹茶

0 comments


I'm a pretty big matcha fan, except when it comes to drinking the tea. Strange, but as a drink it's too bitter for me. I do like it combined with chocolate though. So,when I saw this bag of matcha Mini Bit in a parcel from a friend I was overjoyed!

A lot of the matcha used in chocolates in Japan is "Uji Matcha". Uji is district in the outskirts of Kyoto, famous for green tea and also because the final chapters of the famous novel "The Tale of Genji" were set there.

The bag looks like it holds quite a few chocolates but there are only 6 inside. Each chocolate is individually wrapped and is about an inch in diameter. The chocolate is dark in colour and has a "B" embossed on the top of diagonal lines. I guess the "B" is for "Bourbon", the company who make Mini Bit.



I could smell the matcha wafting out of the chocolate, in fact, the whole bag smelled divine when I stuck my nose in there. Biting into it was quite hard as the inside is jam-packed with matcha. I don't quite know how to describe it but it's like green tea powder moistened and filled inside the chocolate. It's not powdery, it's not gooey or crunchy, it's just nice and firm and flavourful. There is a huge hit of matcha that is oh so satisfying. It doesn't overpower the chocolate at all either, as that is quite rich and is just dark enough to complement the bitterness of the matcha.

This is a match(a) made in heaven!! If these were available in family size I would so get one...but its kind of good that I only have 6...well now 5, because then I can't eat them all at once. Portion control you see.... ;) If you like matcha, then I'm pretty sure you'll like these. But don't take my word for it, try them yourself!




Thursday, September 6, 2012

(Premium) Rilakkuma Lemonade Tirol リラックマ レモネード チロル

0 comments


Rilakkuma (which translates to relaxing bear) is a character made by San-X, rival of Sanrio (maker of Hello Kitty and My Melody), which is becoming more and more famous. Him and his pals just kind of laze around everywhere and look like they're relaxing.

So now Tirol are featuring Rilakkuma on their chocolate, I guess for the cute factor. I mean who doesn't like to eat chocolate with their favourite character on the front, right? ;)

This flavour is Lemonade and on the wrapper Rilakkuma is holding a glass of liquid that looks like lemonade. This is a premium Tirol too, which means it's slightly bigger than the regular size.




The chocolate is bright yellow, almost fluoro. I was really surprised. I couldn't really smell anything from the outside except the white chocolate. When I bit into this chocolate it crumbled. I tried to bite half but there is a soft white meringue and lemon sauce inside and it was so chewy my teeth couldn't slice through. So that's why it looks a bit mangled in the picture!

 

Is this really lemonade or lemon meringue pie?? Because to me the flavour is lemon meringue pie. There is the white meringue on the bottom layer and on the top a lemon sauce, just like the pie. It was actually really nice. It reminded me exactly of the dessert. But lemonade?....err no. For one, there was no fizz, so you can't have lemonade without fizz can you? Also, what's with the meringue and sauce?

I think this Tirol is having an identity crisis, or the head honcho at Tirol got mixed up.

As a lemonade Tirol it kind of sucks. But as lemon meringue Tirol it's a winner!! I loved the flavours here, it reminded me of dessert, and I could eat many more.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Tirol Hinamatsuri Milk Mochi & Strawberry Mochi ちょこっと 気餅 みるくもち と いちごもち

0 comments


 I'm pretty late with this review I must admit. But better late than never right? This is a pack of Tirol that was released for Hinamatsuri (Girl's Day in Japan) 2012. On the front of the pack it says ちょこっと 気餅 which you read as "chokotto kimochi". Chokotto means "just a little bit" and usually "kimochi" means "feelings", but because both of these Tirol chocolates have mochi centres, the "mochi" is the kanji for glutinous rice. It's a play on words and it's cute. 

There are two flavours in the pack, milk mochi and strawberry mochi. For some reason there were 6 pieces of strawberry mochi and 4 pieces of milk mochi, even though there were 10 pieces, so they could be divided evenly. If anyone knows the reason please let me know! :)
  

 

 The wrappers have really cute images on them, they are very sweet.


The milk mochi is off-white in colour and smells very sweet. There is a light yellow mochi in the middle which is the consistency of jelly. It's creamy but not overly sweet, and the mochi part is quite chewy. It does taste like milk but also has hints of vanilla. Its plain, and I like it because it's not over the top in terms of flavour. Sometimes its nice to have something normal you know? ;)

The strawberry mochi is a light pink colour and smells tart. The jelly inside is softer than in the milk mochi. The strawberry chocolate on the outside is quite floral and reminds me of musk candy. There is some tartness towards the end, but to me it wasn't really "strawberry" as we know it. Maybe it's a tad overdone.

In all, this pack of Tirol was fun. The wrapping is cute and great for a gift or sharing with friends, and the play on words is educational. I prefer the milk mochi and would have liked 6 of them and 4 of the strawberry given a choice. I was glad to be able to try it out though! 

Did you get to try this one? If so, what did you think?