Glico Cheeza 52% Cheddar チーザ５２％ チェダーチーズ

I like cheese. Most people like cheese. But do they like strong cheese? Really really strong cheese?

I'm willing to say no. When the Tirol Hokkaido Cheese chocolate came out most people were shaking their heads in a very definite NO.

This is why I think that this flavour of Cheeza 52% won't suit everyone. This has the same cheese flavour as said Tirol. It is strong, pungent, and rich.

The biscuits themselves are triangular shaped with holes, and very crunchy. Eaten by themselves the flavour quickly builds up to breaking point - after about 5 pieces Yasu couldn't take any more - but with a beer in hand and a Cheeza in the other, this is when an epiphany is reached.

Cheeza 52% is good as a snack with a beverage, but not good on it's own unless...well unless you're like me, and like the flavour of cheese so it burns your throat.

I enjoyed this, and Yasu did but only with a beer. I'm not sure this is suitable for everyone, if you like your cheese mellow and mild I wouldn't recommend it to you. If you like your cheese loud and obnoxious then this is for you! :)

Brand: Glico Calories per 38g bag: 199 Website:  http://www.glico.co.jp/cheeza/ Buy it now at napaJapan

Nissin Cup Noodle Curry カップヌードル カレー

Picture borrowed from the Nissin website.

Cup Noodle is something I think of as "otaku food", it's the essential food of those kids that start off with an interest in Japan and then develop a full-blown obsession with it. It's sold alongside hentai manga, sailor uniforms and black black gum at Anime conventions.

Seriously though, it's my husband's favourite easy meal. It combines two elements of popular Japanese food into one small bowl - Curry and Noodles.

All you need is a means to heat water, and 3 minutes. It's as easy as boiling the water, pouring it into the cup, shutting the lid closed for 3 minutes and then the noodles are cooked and it's ready to eat.

I've seen Yasu consume copious amounts of Cup Noodle over the years and wondered what the attraction was. Seeing as I have a Japanese Snack blog I decided to review it because it does fit well into the snack category.

When I opened the lid on the cup noodle the smell of curry that wafted up was quite pleasant. It reminded me of House Vermont Curry. The taste was mild, rich and sweet with an undertaste of beef stock. There were small cubes of vegetables floating around in the sauce such as spring onion, carrots, potato, and corn. The noodles were flat and soft, and went well with the curry and vegetables.

I really enjoyed this and tasting it today made me totally change my mind about it. I thought it would be something I would never eat, but I could see this being a great snack for myself too.

I found it interesting to read the ingredients list on the pack which among other things mentions cheese and peanut butter! I'm not sure what they bring to the party or how much is contained within but it's certainly funny to see them listed.

I will definitely buy and eat this again soon!

The Cup Noodle website is quite interesting and has all the flavours listed as well as downloads and games.

Brand: Nissin Calories per cup: 404 Website: http://www.cupnoodle.jp/

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

Nestle Mixed Juice Kit Kat ミックスジュース キットカット

The colour of this Kit Kat is a bit surprising. It's the same colour as the cheese on a McDonald's cheeseburger. I kid you not.

It's a bright yellow orange, that I guess is representative of juice, but it still reminds me of cheeseburger. The bar encompasses the flavours of Peach, Banana, and Strawberry. I've never actually tried that combination together in a juice but I'm sure it would go together well.

The bar smells very much like banana from the outside. Biting into it however, is another story. It's kind of weird but I get a taste like tomato ketchup. There is also a very strong chemical taste which ends up being banana. There are some very fake peach notes. The peach in this kit kat is very similar in flavour to the Peach in the Tirol Mix Pack. I don't like it as much in the kit kat as I did in the Tirol. There are only very vague hint of the strawberry, a little bit of tartness here and there, but mostly overtaken by very sweet peach and chemical tasting banana.

I'm usually a fan of the fruitier kit kats, but I can't say that about this one. It's just too sweet and the fruit components really taste fake.

Brand: Nestle Calories per mini bar: 69 Website: http://www.breaktown.com/ Buy it now at napaJapan