Choco & Rose Kit Kat [チョコ & ローズ キットカット]

Rose and Chocolate is a flavour that Nestle Japan released that did not make many ripples in the Kit Kat world. I don't know why. It could have been the wrong time of the year, I think Mother's Day would be far more appropriate. But hey, who knows what those flavour guys are thinking at Nestle.

I managed to get 2 mini bars of Rose & Choco from a friend, I couldn't find anyone selling them on ebay, it seems that it wasn't that easy to come by. The packets are pink with light pink roses all over, very sweet.

When I opened the small 2 finger pack, I could only smell the normal chocolate sweetness and a smell of "something else", but it was very vague, and faint. I couldn't smell anything florally, or rosey.

Alot of other reviewers on the net said this tasted like soap to them. To me, not at all. The chocolate itself carries more of a rose scent that starts off in the nose when eating the Kit Kat. It is a very unusual way to experience a chocolate.

However, I really liked the way this Kit Kat smells. The taste is of a regular chocolate Kit Kat, but as I chew it, the smell wafts into my nostrils. It is a very light rose scent, almost as if it were in the air I was breathing.

I thought this Kit Kat is so ingenious! It's almost as if it's a treat for the nose, rather than the mouth.

If you pass this Kit Kat in your travels, don't hesitate in buying it, it's an amazing experience.

Hokkaido Lemon Cheesecake Hi-Chew

The fact that a product or ingredients in a product are derived from Hokkaido always has some kind of extra sales force in Japan. Hokkaido- land of nature and all things natural. Premium dairy products, fresh fish from the ocean, that sort of thing. It has serious selling capacity.

I picked up this Hi-Chew not because it says "Hokkaido" right across the front over an image of Hokkaido, but because of the flavour - Lemon Cheesecake.

I'm having a bit of a cheesecake craving lately and this just seemed to call me. 'Hmm lemon cheesecake hi-chew, that should be interesting' I thought.

The pack has 12 individually wrapped pieces of chewing candy about 2 x 1 centimetres.

The candy itself is a yellow colour, like a pat of butter. It smells like lemon cheesecake.

The flavour at first is like a lemon tart flavour and then half-way through chewing a dairy like flavour, cheese, then milk, emerges. The lemon tang stays present all the way through with the dairy flavours mixed in. It really is a nice chew. The flavours are strong but not overly sweet. The lemon taste is really nice, and not at all fake. Because it's really chewy, it's hard to imagine you are eating cheesecake. Nevertheless, I think it is a great flavour for Hi-Chew, interesting and different from the usual fruit flavours on offer.

If you see these around and you are a fan of cheesecake, I recommend you pick up a pack!

Through The Break - Sakuranbo (cherry) Kit Kat

Yasu started asking me if I had heard about something called "through the break" and I didn't know what he was talking about until I saw this Kit Kat on eBay.

I bought it as a surprise for Yasu. He didn't really know what it was, only that it was popular in Japan. I got it yesterday in a parcel and I gave it to him so he was pretty happy with that, but he hasn't downloaded one of the 3 free mp3's that come with this Kit Kat at the time of writing.

The three mp3's are somewhat blossom related. I think that is why they tie in with the Cherry flavour.

The song's are:

Sakura Million
Merry-Go-Round
Flower of Life

All songs were produced by Jin Nakamura.

The box is perforated down the middle and when you apply pressure on both sides of the line, it breaks apart. "Through the break" you find two individually wrapped packets of Cherry Kit Kat. When you remove the Kit Kats you find the individual code for downloading the song from the website.

It really is a very interesting way to style a product. Not unlike the Valentine's Day Kit Kat.

These wafers are white chocolate but coloured a very light pink like a cherry blossom petal.
They smell like that cough medicine we took as kids when we were sick. Ugh, I hate it.
It's such a strong smell.

The taste is the same as that cough medicine, actually. The chocolate is so overpowered by it. Thankfully after the chocolate melts, the wafers are there, with a nice sweet flavour.

I only ate one finger, I really couldn't stand the flavour or the smell of this Kit Kat. Great idea for marketing, just not a great flavour for the masses. Well, not unless the masses like cherry cough medicine!

Collon Strawberry & Blueberry

When I picked up this box I thought it was Blueberry Collon. When I got it home I realised it's strawberry with blueberry mixed in. There is 9.2% strawberry juice, and 2.6% blueberry juice. Why the .2 and .6? Why not round it up to 10 and 3?

There are 6 packets in total in this box. That said, they are really small packets with only 6 collon pieces per pack. Just like the Cheesecake Collon, these are a waste of packaging, and a waste of money for only 24 pieces of Collon.

So why did I buy them? Curiousity about the flavour I guess. I like blueberry and I don't see it used in much confectionery.

The pieces smell very much like the regular strawberry collon. At the beginning there is the taste of strawberry which kind of blends into a light blueberry flavour, that ends with a tart strawberry tang. I quite like this in that the flavours of both berries are light, and blend together well. Each collon is finished off with that tangy burst at the end, which is nice. The outer shell is crunchy but easy to eat.

This snack is really easy to eat because It's not overly sweet and it has that satisfying crunch of the cookie on the outside. I wish there were more than 6 in each small pack though.

I guess these are really good for children's bento boxes in Japan or a small treat to carry in your handbag or such. The box can definitely made smaller and still fit all 6 bags in. I guess this is Glico's way of justifying charging more. I paid $4.95 for this box, compared to the regular size collon at $3.95.

Meiji Salty Praline

Since last year when Kit Kat released their Salty Vanilla Kit Kat, there has been an explosion of Salty chocolate treats from Japan. At first major brands released Salty + Vanilla and stuck to that, but since I have also seen Salt + Caramel, Salt + Milk Chocolate, and now Meiji's offering, Salty Praline.

The box describes this as "salt & baked crepe in almond praline". It has skipped over the crepe bit in the title. It should have been something like salty crepe praline, I think.

This is a rather thin block of chocolate 16 x 7 cm in dimension and only 0.7cm high. There are 12 pieces that are moulded to be broken off easily, which they do.

The chocolate smells like cocoa used for a hot chocolate. It is glossy and smooth and melts in the mouth easily. There is a strong cocoa taste followed by bits of something I assume to be the crepe mixed into the chocolate. The chocolate is not too sweet, the cocoa flavour is very strong. I find the chocolate flavour itself to be one dimensional, there is no real depth there. The salt is not present until the very end when biting, but if you suck the top of the chocolate the salt is really there. There is no real almond flavour amongst all the other flavours, everything is mainly overriden by the strong cocoa taste. But in saying that, I did enjoy the texture of the crepe bits mixed in, that is what has made this chocolate special. Also the salt kick at the end was nice.

Overall, I enjoyed this chocolate. It wasn't too sweet, and the texture was different to most chocolates. I also liked the salt factor. The only thing I wasn't sure about was the strong cocoa flavour, but in all a nice bar.

In case you are interested, there is a Meiji Poster Gallery here that showcases all the ads they have done with celebrities, and you can save them to your computer.

Natchan Fruity Soda Grape

Yasu is a huge fan of the original Orange Natchan! so when I saw this at the Japanese supa I quickly grabbed it as it was the only one left.

Suntory make a huge range of drinks from soda's, to wine, and chuhai, mineral drinks and beer. And their whisky is famous.

This soda, when poured into a glass does not contain much fizz. Even when I shake it up in the bottle, it does not create bubbles.

It has a very dark red colour, almost like a wine. The aroma of the soda is very grape - but more of the fake grape scent as in bubblegum. However, it's a scent that reminds me of my childhood, the candy we used to get for 5 cents each at the local deli.

The flavour is quite strong. A burst of grape flavour in my mouth. However, after it starts to go from the front of my mouth to the back, I notice that it's mellowed out somewhat, almost like weak cordial. The flavour explosion is at the beginning, and the aftertaste is a watered down grape juice.

If I could keep this in my mouth without swallowing, it would be the perfect drink. I like the fact that it's not too fizzy, it's easier to drink. Though I don't like the watered down aftertaste. I wish it stayed fully flavoured throughout. After drinking this, I now have a flavour in my mouth that is reminiscent of chewing bubblegum for a long time and then spitting it out. It's like the taste of the flavour that once was.

Yasu however thought this flavour was excellent. Maybe it was specifically for Japanese taste buds. Who knows.

Pocky Almond Crush (Thai)

I didn't realise when I bought this Pocky that it is actually a product of Thailand. This is made by Thai Glico.

I didn't know if that would make a difference, hopefully in Thailand they use the same ingredients, but whether or not the ingredients are the same quality, well that is the question.


The box weighs 38 grams and has 10 sticks inside. It's really overpackaged, there is so much space inside for 10 sticks. Sadly they are on par with the way Japan packages products.


The sticks themselves have a faint coffee smell, and when I bite into it I find a coffee flavour. I take another look at the box. No, it definitely says Almond Crush. The coffee flavour stays around.

The pretzel is the same as normal. I can't get that yucky coffee flavour out of my mouth. It's a really bad aftertaste.

Notice on the box it says "biscuit stick coated with chocolate flavour", no actual chocolate here. There are plenty of almonds (17.5%), so that is quite good, but that coffee flavour is too strong, even though the ingredient list does not mention coffee.

Ingredients: Wheat flour, Palm Oil, Sugar, Almonds, Milk Powder, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Powder.

If you can shed some light on why these ingredients would taste like coffee, please do so.

I gave a stick to Yasu and he hated it. He couldn't be convinced into eating another. There is definitely something wrong with these Pocky. Hopefully along the way I can pick up some made in Japan Almond Crush for a comparison. The Japanese made Pocky couldn't be this bad.

I don't this would even suffice as a poor man's Pocky.

Tirol Assorted

I thought I better finish off reveiwing the bag of assorted Tirol chocolates I have so here goes.

White & Cookie Crunch
Smells very creamy and looks like it's filled to the brim with cookie. The white chocolate is sweet but not overly so as the cookie is the main flavour that shines through. Lots of crunch on this chocolate, really nice

Milk (with rare cream)
I expected it to be white chocolate to be honest, so was surprised when I opened it and there was milk chocolate. Biting into it I realised the milk is in the centre, as a creamy filling. The chocolate is a little bit bitter, like dark chocolate, but is offset by the creamy rare milk centre, which is like a paste. Quite nice, and the two flavours match each other perfectly.


BIS Milk Choc
This comes in two wrapper colours, pink, and blue. They are both the same chocolates inside however. The "BIS" is short for biscuit. The chocolate coating is slightly darker than regular milk chocolate and has that cocoa flavour. The biscuit inside is just a plain biscuit. There is more chocolate here than biscuit and right at the end, the last bite there is a sweet and bitter flavour from the chocolate. I'm not really a fan, maybe because it's just too plain.


Tirol Chocolate aka Coffee Nougat
Yasu told me that this one, and milk, were the only flavours available when he was a kid. Back when they sold them for 5 Yen each. I thought this would be just a chocolate square because the wrapper says "Chocolate" but I was wrong. It has a coffee toffee-like substance which according to the back of the pack is coffee nougat in the centre! It's quite nice, the coffee is the main flavour in this one.


Out of all of these I would have to say that the White Cookie & Crunch, and Milk were my favourites. I was not really a fan of the BIS. The coffee is ok, but I don't like it in toffee form.

Cacao Time Blueberry & Yoghurt Chocolate

I picked this box up at a Japanese supermarket in the city for $2.69. It was on special, $1.30 off.

It looked interesting, and I like both flavours.

The brand is Careme which is a sub-brand of Kabaya. The box weighs 38 grams and has 7 pieces inside, individually wrapped. There is alot of space in there and not much content.

Each square is 2.3 x 2.3 cm. It doesn't really have straight lines either.

I expected the chocolate to look like the box, pink on top, white on the bottom, but I got a surprise when I opened the wrap to find it was light purple on top and yellow on the bottom. And yes, the box is well and truly before the due date in september.

It smells okay. There is a floral tang coming from the top and a milky scent from the bottom.

It's not easy to break in half either, even when I cut it with a sharp knife, it crumbled and didn't slice easily.

The insides are meant to be blueberry sauce and yoghurt cream. However there was no sauce, just a very very thin layer of blueberry jam, and white powdery yoghurt.

The taste is not that impressive either. The first bite does not reveal a whole lot of flavour. Then there is a slight blueberry tang, followed by the yoghurt powder, which tastes more like icecream, then a tang on the end, followed by a milky white chocolate flavour.

It's not really sweet, I think its tangy more than anything, but definitely a let down.

The chocolates may have melted on the way over from Japan to the store, but that would be no reason why the taste should change. And I don't see why the colour would either, not to that effect.

I wouldn't buy this again. And it seems as if Careme are not making this anymore as It's not to be found on their website. Maybe it bombed.

The Kabaya chocolate website can be found here.

Watering Kissmint Cassis Gum

I've been meaning to review some Japanese gum for a while, because they have such interesting flavours that we don't. In Australia we are stuck with apple, berry, strawberry, and mint. I really don't like any of those flavours, I'm after something more interesting, especially as gum is something we tend to chew for a while.

I picked up this pack of Watering Kissmint at a Japanese Supermarket in the city. It was a choice between Cassis or Mascat. I really love Mascat flavours but I thought I would go out of my comfort zone and choose Cassis.

Australians I have to admit, are not very familiar with Cassis. I did some research on Wikipedia and it turns out Cassis is a species of Blackcurrant native to Europe and Asia. Well I've learnt something new!

The pack of gum has 8 flat sticks about 1.8 x 4.8cm, wrapped in silver foil with the logo on it. There is just enough wrapping to cover the stick, so it's not overly wrapped which is good.

As soon as I opened the box I could smell the Cassis. And yes, it does smell like blackcurrant. The pack says there is 3% Cassis juice.

At first bite the stick is like a piece of cardboard, kind of flat and hard, but it softens up on the fourth or fifth chew and releases a light tangy blackcurrant flavour. The flavour is a bit weak, sort of like a watered down cordial. The flavour doesn't really last long and gives over to a minty tang, which also doesn't last very long. After that the flavour is reminiscent of blackcurrant and mint but not much of either. It's like chewing a second-hand piece of gum really.

I can't say I really liked this. The flavour doesn't last very long at all, maybe 10 seconds if that. And the flavour did not impress me because it was too weak.

I wouldn't buy this again. I'm pretty disappointed. Maybe next time I'll pick up the Muscat and see if that is any different, though for $3.39 per pack of gum, It's a little bit steep.