Tirol Full of Strawberry チロルいちごいっぱい

There are 9 pieces in this pack, all with a Strawberry theme. 

3 pieces each of:

Funwari Ichigo Jam

Funwari means soft in Japanese so this one is meant to contain soft strawberry jam as it's focus. It has chocolate on the bottom and soft marshmallow in the middle with a strawberry sauce that reminds me of strawberry bubblegum. The chocolate is dark and bitter and the strawberry chocolate on top is sweet so it's kind of a weird mix, but somehow it works. It's actually quite pleasant eaten all together.

Ichigo Daifuku 

I've tried this one before but will try it again for this review. Ichigo daifuku is a popular traditional Japanese dessert that is pounded mochi rice with a filling of strawberry and azuki bean paste. The inside of the Tirol version is a springy jelly with a soft azuki mousse covered with strawberry chocolate. It's a bit too much strawberry but I do like this one as I love azuki.

Ichigo Shortcake 

I've never been a fan of japanese shortcake as it tastes bland to me. This one has a biscuit in the centre and a covering of creamy tasting chocolTe with a strawberry base. It tastes very similar to a real shortcake. I have to hand it to Tirol for nailing the flavours!

Overall my favorite is the Strawberry Shortcake, it really was outstanding. 

Tirol Premium Ichigo Daifuku チロル いちご大福

Wow, I now have a tonne of Tirol chocolates to review thanks to an awesome friend! I'm starting off with this Ichigo Daifuku (Japanese sweet made out of rice with a strawberry filling).

Hubby chose this one to try first, maybe because the wrapper was so pretty! It is really so cute, a checkerboard of light and dark pink with a cute picture of an ichigo daifuku on the front.

Biting into this chocolate I had the feeling that this was made out of sherbert, not chocolate. The strawberry was present but there was a very big tartness to it that made me think of sherbert. There was a brown jelly-like centre, which I thought was chocolate but then realised it was meant to be red bean paste, but to be honest I couldn't taste very much as the strawberry was so overwhelming. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, but I wish it was more balanced.

The chocolate was so soft and crumbly

I really liked this Tirol chocolate, the strawberry flavour wasn't the same bland old strawberry chocolate, it had a kick with the tartness, so I wished I had some more of this. Hubby claimed that this was one of the best Tirol's he had ever had.

There are quite a few reviewers on the net who are sick of Strawberry flavoured chocolate as that seems to be the fall-back flavour of Japanese snack makers, but I recommend you give this one a go as it could be the chocolate that changes your mind :)

Get yours at napaJapan, and visit the Tirol website.

Morinaga Hi-Chew Ichigo Daifuku 森永ハイチュウ いちご大福

When this pack of Hi-chew first came out, it really made me excited. I saw the image of the daifuku (a Japanese sweet made from rice with a red bean filling), and it looked so yummy.

I later asked Jason @ napaJapan (who I have known for a very long time) to send me one to try and he complied (thanks Jason!). The pack has been sitting with some other candy - developing a bit of a backlog here - waiting to be reviewed.

So today I finally got around to opening the pack and guess what? It's nothing like the image on the front. Now I know why they put "写真は味のイメージです" (The photo is an image of the flavour), because it is only meant to taste like the real thing, not look like it! Doh! :(

I had expected it to have the red bean filling and a strawberry type filling, but really Ladies & Gentlemen, it's just a hi-chew. It is white on the outside and a soft pink colour in the middle.

There is a very sweet smell of strawberry from the outside. When I pop it into my mouth there is a light strawberry flavour that is quite floral. The hi-chew is soft and chewy and the middle has a flavour reminscent of strawberry flavoured hubba bubba. The strawberry flavour reaches a peak at the end of the chew, but is not really tart. It's very refined in taste, has chemical notes here and there, but in all, quite nice. For what it is, it's a nice candy. A little bit bland, but hey, if you like Strawberry and you like it kind of plain, then this is for you.

Brand: Morinaga Calories per box: 225 Website: http://www.morinaga.co.jp/hi-chew/ Buy it now at napaJapan