Collon Cheesecake

I bought these at an oriental/Japanese grocer in the city for $3.99. As the box states that there are 6 servings inside, i thought it was a good buy.

When i opened up the packet though, i realised the packets were really small, so there was alot of air in the box, as opposed to collon.



My disbelief was even greater when i opened up one of the packets to find only 6 collon pieces! That means the total pieces of collon in one box is 36. Considering the box is quite big, probably 2 hand-spans long, that is such a great waste of packaging! Plus, i thought i was getting more than what i actually got, which is probably Glico's intention.



The collon themselves taste very much like the regular cream collon but with the slightest hint of lemon. If you weren't looking for it, these could pass for regular collon. A look on the back of the packet reveals that lemon juice powder is the 4th ingredient from the end, in a long list of ingredients. So that's why the flavour is not really noticeable i guess. After you eat all 6 pieces you only just start to build up the flavour a little.

I guess these would be good as lunch box treats or a little snack now and then, but holy moly, only 6 pieces in all that packaging? That is more deceptive than weight concious!!

My husband Yasu thinks these taste like "Japanese rare cheesecake". He said it was "lemony" so obviously it suits Japanese tastes, or expectations of what cheesecake tastes like. For westerners who are used to cheesecake being very rich and full flavouring, then this is definitely a let-down.

Black Sugar Milk Chocoball 黒糖ミルクチョコボール

I picked this box up in the city for $2.00, just above the usual price ($1.69) for Chocoball. Chocoball by Morinaga is a great little treat which my husband also loves, and seeing as it was a flavour we had not tried, i decided to take it home.

Kokutou or "black sugar" is from Okinawa and is popular in sweets made in Japan. I guess it gives regular sweets that exotic feel without having come from outside of Japan.

The black sugar flavour is in the milk chocolate which coats a cocoa biscuit. The chocolate layer is not very thick and the ball is made up mainly of biscuit. I actually couldn't taste the black sugar at all, it was more of a malt flavour. My husband said he could taste the black sugar flavour but it was very light. Usually black sugar candies are strong and have that definite black sugar taste, so this was a little unusual in that respect.

The box was also different, more like a tin of sardines where you peel the lid back, than the usual corner opening.

This is ok for a one-time tasting but i wouldn't buy it again as the flavour is more malt-cocoa than anything else. I think if you are going to make something that is inspired by such a popular flavour, then do it right and make it strong, than the way Morinaga have done this Chocoball.