Raspberry Cheese Pie - I never actually knew there was such a thing but Google tells me there is. The images tell me it's a cream cheese tart with raspberry jam or in some cases whole raspberries on top.
It sounds like a nice enough combination and the image on the wrapper looks pretty yum.
The first smell that hits my nose upon opening this chocolate is cheese. It smelled familiar. Then I realized it reminded me of the Hokkaido Cheese Tirol I reviewed a while back!
The chocolate is soft and mousse-like on the outside and then there is the crunch of the biscuit on the inside followed by the sweet but tangy raspberry. This really does remind me of a tart because the flavours go so well together. While the Hokkaido cheese Tirol seemed too strong for some, the cheese flavour here is downplayed by the raspberry sauce in the centre so all three components are in harmony.
I wish I had more of these, because I really enjoyed this!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Friday, April 6, 2012
Tirol Premium Chou Cream "Sweet Custard" チロル シュウクリーム
Chou Cream how I love thee. In Japanese it's pronounced "shoe cream" although it's much lovelier than the image it conjures up!
It's basically what we refer to as a cream puff, but the Japanese style is to have a crunchy outer pastry and a soft cream custard flowing from the middle. It's a match made in heaven! Beard Papa's is probably my most favourite place in Japan because they make such divine "shoe cream".
So imagine my excitement when my friend announced she saw a Tirol Chou Cream released at the supermarket, and not only that but she was going to send me some! Oh man...that made my day that did!
So to cut a long story short this Tirol is amazing, it's soooo yummy. I'm so glad that I've got 3. Hubby stole off with one which leaves me 2 for myself!
The chocolate is like a light yellow custard colour and when I sniffed it, it reminded me of a vanilla candle. The chocolate is soft like mousse. There is a biscuit in the middle that is soft but also crunchy and there is a big hit of vanilla. This is like a reverse chou cream with the cream being on the outside and the crunchy pastry on the inside. I'm hooked, this Tirol is amazing! It brings back so many memories for me. It's nice just to savour it in my mouth.
Hubby thought it was too rich. Boo hubby. So maybe it's not for everyone, it is also quite sweet from the white chocolate, but the creamy vanilla custard distracted me.
Definitely.Try.This.One.
Get yours at napaJapan (limited quantities left)
Visit the Tirol website.
Labels:
Chou Cream,
Custard,
Tirol
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
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.
Labels:
Daifuku,
Strawberry,
Tirol
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Meiji Melty Kiss Rich Green Tea Chocolate 明治メルティーキッス濃抹茶
Seriously, I have some really good friends, for which I'm eternally grateful! Yet another wonderful friend sent me a parcel filled with some delicious Japanese snacks and this box of Melty Kiss was inside.
I was aware of Melty Kiss and had seen it around but had never bought it. This box of Green Tea Melty Kiss is a seasonal flavour, meaning it won't be around forever. The kanji (chinese characters) refer to it as 濃抹茶 which translated to English means "rich green tea".
I am not such a fan of Green Tea as a drink, but I love it in chocolate and sweets. This Melty Kiss was no exception.
Not exactly how it's meant to look but whatever, it tasted good! |
So I thoroughly recommend this one to you. There are 14 individually wrapped chocolates in the box so there are plenty to share with friends!
Melty Kiss Website
Labels:
Green Tea,
Matcha,
Meiji,
Melty Kiss
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Kameda Seika Curry Senbei 亀田製菓カレーせん
I've had such a big craving for senbei (a type of Japanese rice cracker) lately, but the only options in the Japanese supermarkets here seem to be either soy sauce or salt flavour. I'm not really into either of those flavours to be honest.
So I asked the help of a friend in Japan to send me some senbei over and she kindly obliged. She sent me a few different types, the bite size senbei that my son loves, these Curry Sen and some fancier Ebi Senbei which I hope to blog about soon.
These curry senbei are those which you might call "soft". They are big and round and when you bite into them they melt in the mouth. Hubby and I were really happy with these and ate the packet over two sittings but could have quite happily ate it in one if we wanted to be piggies!
So soft they broke up in transit. |
As you can probably tell we really loved these and were sad when our senbei love affair was over. I'd definitely recommend these if you want something a bit different from the usual rice cracker.
Each pack has 18 crackers and the company's website is here.
Labels:
Curry,
Indian,
Kameda Seika,
Senbei
Friday, March 2, 2012
Imuraya Azuki Bar 井村屋あずきバー
I picked it up at the Japanese supermarket for 99 cents on sale.
I thought it was going to be an icecream bar containing Azuki (read bean) but its not. Basically it's Azuki purée and bits of beans stuck on a pop stick. It does taste yum and very authentic, but I'm not so sure about the texture as red bean blended has a strange texture and then there are lumps of beans poking out too.
It's a different dessert and one I'm sure an Azuki lover would quite enjoy, but for me I can't get past the odd texture and it made me really thirsty too.
I probably wouldn't buy it again but I'm happy to have at least tried it. For the record I do really like Azuki, I'm just not so in love with this bar.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Kimura Annin Ramune 木村 杏仁ラムネ
I've had this bottle of Ramune sitting in my fridge for a while. I bought it on a whim. Annin is almond flavour. I've tried Annin Kit Kat before and so I thought Ramune would be good.
In Japan the most popular use of Annin is in Annin Dofu, a kind of almond pudding, borrowed from China I think.
I've noticed this brand of Ramune don't use the traditional glass bottles but a plastic version which is easier to release the small ball in the centre.
At first the soda just tastes like lemonade, flat lemonade at that, as there is not very much fizz at all. Then after swallowing there is a big hit of almond flavour at the back of my throat, and mixed with the lemonade flavour becomes a taste of childhood nightmares aka kids medicine.
Hubby had one sip of this and told me I could have his bottle as well, because no way is he drinking something that tastes like medicine. He said that the cold and flu medicine in Japan tastes the same.
Oh well. I'm not a fan of this Ramune, but I guess I'll end up drinking it. It's a shame they couldn't pull it off, at least the bottle cover is cute, I think that is the only thing going for it!
In Japan the most popular use of Annin is in Annin Dofu, a kind of almond pudding, borrowed from China I think.
I've noticed this brand of Ramune don't use the traditional glass bottles but a plastic version which is easier to release the small ball in the centre.
At first the soda just tastes like lemonade, flat lemonade at that, as there is not very much fizz at all. Then after swallowing there is a big hit of almond flavour at the back of my throat, and mixed with the lemonade flavour becomes a taste of childhood nightmares aka kids medicine.
Hubby had one sip of this and told me I could have his bottle as well, because no way is he drinking something that tastes like medicine. He said that the cold and flu medicine in Japan tastes the same.
Oh well. I'm not a fan of this Ramune, but I guess I'll end up drinking it. It's a shame they couldn't pull it off, at least the bottle cover is cute, I think that is the only thing going for it!
Friday, February 24, 2012
Teaming Up With Rattling Reviews
Thought I better mention that this blog has already gone live in a monthly publication called Rattling Reviews.
From now on I will be doing two reviews for Rattling Reviews every month and endevouring to branch out into reviewing homewares and other fun Japanese products as well.
You can also find them on Facebook here.
I'm so excited to have been given this opportunity! I love blogging online but also in a Newzine is just so fantastic, I love being able to spread the word about unique Japanese products. :)
From now on I will be doing two reviews for Rattling Reviews every month and endevouring to branch out into reviewing homewares and other fun Japanese products as well.
This is the cover of the latest issue which you can subscribe to free from the website. |
My review in Rattling Reviews |
You can also find them on Facebook here.
I'm so excited to have been given this opportunity! I love blogging online but also in a Newzine is just so fantastic, I love being able to spread the word about unique Japanese products. :)
Labels:
Newzine,
Rattling Reviews
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Echigo Seika Bite Size Prawn Crackers 越後製菓 味の追求 ひとくち 海老せん
I am a big fan of prawn crackers and usually when we have Chinese Take-away I get a big bag of them.
Ebi Senbei are a lot like prawn crackers except they are usually round, thicker and harder. I got a friend to send some senbei (Japanese rice cracker) over for me and in the box she included this pack of bite size ebi senbei with my 11 month old son in mind.
I wasn't sure if he would like them but they were a massive hit and quickly became "his" senbei, in fact he ate the whole pack by himself except for one or two that we sneaked so we could try.
I know why they were so popular, they are the perfect size for his little hands, they have lots of flavour, and a satisfying crunch.
These are adults senbei, not marketed towards children but they seem perfect for the whole family.
The packet contains 60g worth of senbei which is probably around 30 pieces and a packet contains 474 calories.
I'm definitely going to buy more of these, they are just so worth it!!
The manufacturers website is
http://www.echigoseika.co.jp
Labels:
Ebi,
Echigoseika,
Senbei
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Meidi-ya My Syrup Blue Ramune めいじや マイシロップ ブルー ラムネ風味
It's getting quite hot in Australia now as we are well and truly into summer. Today was 36 degrees and the perfect day for Kakigori (かき氷).
So I decided to open a new bottle of syrup. It's by a company called Meidi-ya and the flavour is Blue "Ramune" which is a basic soda or "lemonade" in Japan.
The syrup is bright blue and smells sweet. It's quite thin but is full of flavour. It tastes really sweet and like lemonade without the bubbles. I had condensed milk over the top and it was a match made in heaven.
I would fully recommend this, it's so yummy. I'll be having this again soon I think!
So I decided to open a new bottle of syrup. It's by a company called Meidi-ya and the flavour is Blue "Ramune" which is a basic soda or "lemonade" in Japan.
The syrup is bright blue and smells sweet. It's quite thin but is full of flavour. It tastes really sweet and like lemonade without the bubbles. I had condensed milk over the top and it was a match made in heaven.
I would fully recommend this, it's so yummy. I'll be having this again soon I think!
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