Meito Puku Puku Tai 名糖ぷくぷくたい『チョコ』

 

In the previous post I blogged about monaka for the first time. Thanks to Oyatsu Cafe I have another monaka to review, this time in the form of taiyaki which is a traditional Japanese fish-shaped cake usually filled with anko (red bean) or custard.

This is an unusual snack made by Meito which consists of a monaka wafer on the outside and air-in chocolate on the inside. I was lucky enough to have the real deal on my latest trip to Japan but I can imagine that if you are craving taiyaki and you don't live in a place that has them readily available, then this snack would suffice.

Just like the previously posted about monaka, this taiyaki had a satisfying crunch when bitten into. The chocolate inside was like a soft fluffy mousse and had a strong chocolate flavour. The crunchy outer wafer and the soft inside was a very pleasant contrast in the mouth.

My husband breaking it open

My husband and I both enjoyed eating this but like Sakupan Monaka it was over too soon. Probably this is a snack that you just shouldn't share... However Oyatsu Cafe sell these taiyaki snacks in their store for $1.99 so buying more than one at a time is totally feasible and won't damage your hip pocket!

Puku Puku Tai also comes in Strawberry and Cheesecake flavour which both sound delicious. I definitely recommend this snack for it's wacky factor alone, but it also tastes great and it's not expensive, so in my opinion it's a winner!

Hokkaido Butter Shio Candy 北海道バター塩飴

The 100 yen stores in Japan are popular for the variety of goods you can buy there, all at a low price and great quality. Most 100 yen stores also have a corner selling snack foods and limited grocery items. I found these in a Daiso 100 yen store in Obihiro, among a wide variety of Japanese candy bags.

I had never seen these before but because of my love of all things Hokkaido, and Japan's obsession with salty candy/snacks, I decided that I would satisfy my curiosity by buying them.

The candies are made by Meito who appear to make candy, chocolate, teas, and icecreams. It's not a company I have ever come across before, but looking on their website I found quite a few other candy bags that I saw in the same 100 yen store as I bought these. They seem to be a cheaper candy option.

The salt used in this candy is stated to come from the Sea of Okhotsk. They also have table salt, sweeteners, Hokkaido butter, Hokkaido condensed milk, and b carotin, and the bag weighs 90g.

As per usual Japanese candy manufacturers each candy is individually wrapped, this candy is in a clear bag with the name in white. Each candy is small 1cm x 0.5cm, pale yellow and in a rounded rectangular shape. It has a small dent in the top.

It doesn't really smell like anything in particular. The first taste is slightly lemon and sweet. Yes, lemon. I don't know why that is. A little bit of salt emerges, and a buttery flavour also, but the lemon flavour is still present.

As I begin to suck the candy more, the buttery flavour gets stronger, and so does the salt. There is a slight sweetness but overall it is more butter and salt now than lemon or sugar flavours, which is good. The flavours are not big and bold, they are quite mild. This is a candy more for Japanese tastes, and is probably not suited to non-Japanese palates. I feel as if I am missing out when I eat this candy. I really expect it to develop into a full on butterscotch flavour, but it doesn't.

It was good for a look, obviously it didn't break the bank at 100 yen for a whole bag, and I will probably eat the rest of these, but, I wouldn't recommend them if you like bolder tastes.