Kameda Seika Age Ichiban Senbei 亀田製菓揚げ一番せんべい

I've been looking around for some senbei (rice crackers) in the Japanese supermarkets around me, but mostly the flavours are all the same. Either soy sauce, plain salt, seaweed, or sesame. Absolutely no prawn flavour, or other interesting flavours, only the usual fare.

So when I went into Maruyu yesterday and discovered Age Ichiban I had to buy some! Kameda Seika make my favourite senbei of all time - Kotsubukko. Age Ichiban is very similar to Kotsubukko in that the texture and idea is the same, it's still Age (fried), but they are small round balls of fried soy sauce goodness. Age Ichiban is fried soy sauce goodness in a larger size (6cm diameter) and individually wrapped in the packet.


I paid $3.99 for this pack of 155 grams. There are 25 individually wrapped senbei total. Not bad.

I love these because when you open the wrapping you can smell the soy sauce immediately and it also has a lovely sweet smell that goes along with it, sort of like the sweetness in Teriyaki.

The senbei is quite hard and there is a loud crunch when you bite into it, and I wouldn't recommend these for people with sensitive or weak teeth. But anyway, if you love a good crunch these are great.


The flavour is really present without being overwhelming. Despite being deep fried they are not too oily. It's kind of hard for me to explain the flavour other than that its really soy sauce in the beginning then becomes quite sweet soy sauce at the end.

Just like kotsubukko I can't stop eating these, and one is not enough. I've already eaten four during this review. Stop Kelly stop!!

Thankfully, Yasu doesn't like these so I have the whole pack to myself. Good times. :) I guess you know the answer, YES I would definitely buy this again.

Choco Dutsumi Chocolate 新食感チョコレートちょこづつみ

These were the look of souvenirs brought back from Japan this time around. I decided on food as I had already been there before and brought home the obligatory fans and trinkets, which I know most people like to get but never actually use. Food, and certainly chocolate flavoured food, is always going to go down well, even if it looks strange.

The box lends itself to souvenirs too because it has a traditional Japanese pattern on one half of the box with pretty Japanese writing.

Choco Dutsumi looks traditional while still having flavours we can recognize. It's actually soft balls of mochi (sweet rice) with chocolate ganache in the centre.

There are two separately wrapped packets of four balls each inside the packet. It's easy enough to slide one out and open it, and the flavour is such that one small packet is more than enough for one person.



The mochi is dark brown and has cocoa powder inside. It's soft on the outside and has a similar texture to a peach, hence the 新食感 on the label (new texture). There is a big ball of chocolate ganache on the inside, which has alot more flavour than the outside and is thick and creamy.

You can bite it in half or put the whole ball in your mouth and chew. It really doesn't matter. Either way you get to experience the soft chewy rice and the thick creamy ganache.


These have cocoa butter, cocoa powder and raw cream in them and you can tell because the quality is really good. I bought these at Don.Kihote for 168 yen per box, about $1.70. Not bad value considering they are shareable.

These don't come with picks for eating, I just used a toothpick, though I'm sure most of my Aussie friends would have picked them up with their fingers, it just means it's a bit sticky.

I would definitely buy these again and may even bring them back as souvenirs again if I can find a different flavour.

Country Ma'am Hokkaido Kinako Cookies 北海道きなこ

Kinako is only just a recent discovery for my tastebuds, but it's one I surprisingly enjoy. Kinako is soybean flour which is made by toasting soybeans and grinding them into flour.

I picked up this bag in Seria for 100 yen or around $1. It contains 5 individually wrapped cookies, each about 3.5cm in diameter.


They are a golden brown colour, mainly due to the fact that theire is caramel colour included in the ingredients.

Breaking the cookie in half it is crispy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. There are noticeable white chocolate chips in the middle, I had four chips in mine.

The flavour is unlike other kinako I have tasted. The first taste offers up a slightly burnt flavour, not unlike burnt caramel. Its only at the very end that I get to the slight peanut like flavour that kinako often has. The white chocolate chips don't really add alot to this cookie, mainly because the burnt caramel flavour is the major player here and the white chocolate are mere bits that only provide a burst of flavour if I bite directly on it. It doesn't enhance the flavour though, just detracts from the main theme.


I would have preferred this without the white chocolate chips. They weren't really sweet but they just took away from it flavour wise. If the chips weren't there I could have concentrated more on the actual flavour of the kinako.

I've never tasted Hokkaido kinako before, so I wasn't sure if it was true to the flavour, but asking Yasu who is from Hokkaido, he said it's very much Hokkaido kinako, so obviously it's just me who really prefers the regular non-Hokkaido kinako.

These were ok, but I wouldn't buy them again. Yasu said they were just okay, which doesn't inspire much confidence in me. They're ok for a buck, and the good thing is if you don't like them they're individually wrapped so you can give them away to unassuming people. :)

Ishiya Shiroi Koibito 白い恋人

Shiroi Koibito is a premium sandwich cookie made in Hokkaido. It's usually given as a present to co-workers, friends and family on return from Hokkaido.

These days with the invention of the internet, you can simply go to their online shop if you live in Japan and get it delivered to you, rather than going all the way to Hokkaido. It is also available at airports nationwide, I saw it in Nagoya airport along with the Shiroi Koibito drink which I will expand upon at the bottom.

I've never actually bought it anywhere other than Hokkaido, I think it tastes better that way. I know when I'm in Hokkaido I'm home, so for me this is the taste of home.

The boxes come in a manner of different sizes, this here is the smallest one, retailing at 740 yen or around $7.50 for 12 individually wrapped pieces.


When I came home from Japan I bought a suitcase full of unique candies including Shiroi Koibito, and from the 100 yen store I bought some paper bags. I then filled up the bags with the candy and one each of the Shiroi Koibito. They were very much a hit and for weeks on end we had Yasu's co-workers asking us where they could get some more of this whitey goodness! They didn't realise we still had one small box stashed away in our cupboard for ourselves, and we weren't willing to share!

Anyway, so back to the cookie itself. It has French on the box that says
"Chocolate blanc et langue de chat". Googling that I found that it means "Chocolate and white cats tongue". The actual name of the cookie means "white lover". I guess Hokkaido could be known as my white lover anytime!

The cookie is 5cm x 5cm in diameter, is slightly rounded with the white filling poking out the corners. The cookie is golden and has a slightly more golden colour around the edges.


It's quite crumbly and breaking it in half means that a thousand crumbs fall off the edges. The filling is a thin layer of white creamy chocolate that just melts in my mouth, and is beautiful white chocolate in a demure way.

The cookie itself, despite using shortening has a really nice texture and has a slight taste of coconut. It's not oily or dry, its just right.

They use cocoa butter, cocoa powder and milk from Akayama (the maker's home town) to come up with a cookie I can't ever resist, no matter how many times I have it.

Yasu is quite the slave to Shiroi Koibito, and I have to hide it in the cupboard otherwise he would eat the whole box in one sitting and wouldn't save any for me!! Despite the fact that he's from Hokkaido and had it countless times when he lived there.

Ishiya have realised that when you do something you should do it well, and they have. It's been a stayer in the market for 30 years and still going strong.

As an aside, they have a website with a video showing how Shiroi Koibito is made, and they also have Shiroi Koibito Park, where for 600 yen entry you can make your own version of Shiroi Koibito. There is a chocolate tower and a lounge where you can indulge in all your favourite Ishiya delights, a chance to watch SK being made, do some shopping and relax in the restaurant. Each box also comes with a discount voucher for the park. If anyone here is planning on going and they want the voucher you are welcome to email me (adults get 100 yen off and children 50 yen).

Ishiya also make a Shiroi Koibito chocolate drink, which I picked up at Nagoya airport, funnily enough I couldn't find it where I was staying in Hokkaido. The drink was just as great as the biscuit, but in another dimension, it was also creamy and had that definite taste. You can buy a box of 2 for 420 yen.

This photo was borrowed from Ishiya website

Okay, so when it comes to Shiroi Koibito I have one thing to say, these are my favourite and I'm not into sharing! So go get your own! ;)

Lotte Drink Mix Candy いろいろたのしいドリンクミックス

This bag of candy was another gift from my generous sister in law in Japan. The packet is meant to look like a vending machine.

All the drinks in this bag you can actually buy from vending machines, but also supermarkets and convenience stores. They are what one would refer to as "for your health", or what I think Japanese people think are for their health but are not actual health drinks bar one.

They are all citrus in flavour, but apart from that they probably have loads of sugar, so not actually a 'real' health drink if you know what I mean!

There are 5 drinks and 5 individually wrapped candies for each flavour, making 25 candies in the bag.



Dakara

This has the refreshing taste of white grapefruit, just like the drink that I love so much! I really enjoyed this candy, it only had a hint of sweetness, more sourness, which I liked because it didn't make me thirsty.

C.C. Lemon

An oldie but a goodie, a big hitter in the popularity stakes, kind of a staple like Vegemite to Australia. This has a fizzy texture and a tart lemon flavour. The texture of the candy is quite hard and has a lot of lines in the candy itself, abit hard on my tongue, but the flavour is consistent with the real life drink. I liked this but my tongue didn't.



Natchan! Orange

My husband loves this drink, it's his absolute favourite. I'm not sure if it's because of the cute image on the packaging or the taste itself, but I have to admit, I like it too. Natchan! kind of reminds me of the from concentrate orange juice drinks we get here that are diluted with water. It's not 'real' freshly squeezed juice, but it has that smooth flavour that kids love. The candy was exactly the same in flavour and texture as the drink, the candy is quite smooth in texture, the taste is very orangey.

Bikkle

A stalwart of the yoghurt type drinks in Japan, this is along the same lines as Yakult pro-biotic drink. You can taste the custard like notes in this first off, and the the tang of the yoghurt. Very true to the real life drink, I really enjoyed this candy because it offered something different. It was smooth and tangy but with a real dairy feel.

Dekavita

This comes in a brown bottle in Japan - this is how Japanese manufacturers know they are not messing around, this is the real deal mate. Or something like that. Well, it looks more professional for a 'health drink' than coming in a pet bottle! I've never actually had the real drink and judging from the candy, I'm not sure if I want to! It's quite fizzy, sour, and with no real sweetness at all. It's like sucking on a sour lemon candy. The texture of the candy is quite rough too so it ripped up my tongue when I sucked on it too hard. No smiles here.

These are all real winners for me except Dekavita. Though if you like your candy sour, then I'm sure you would like it.

Koikeya Scorn Cheese Flavour スコーンチーズ味

I discoved these in Japan when I was looking for a cheesy snack. The image on the packaging looks pretty similar to a snack we have in Australia called Twisties. The pack contains 96 grams for 108 yen (about $1.10).

Scorn are primarily made from corn, vegetable oil, cheese powder, buttermilk powder, table salt, whey powder, amino acid, paprika, stevia, wheat, and soy bean flour. I'm surprised that stevia (a sweetener) is so low on the list because these are so sweet!

When you open the package you immediately get a whiff of sweetness with a kind of cheddar cheese smell. The cheese is quite a strong smell but there is alot of sweetness which overpowers the first scent.



Unlike Western "cheese flavour" snacks, these are more sweet than savoury. They are the same light yellow in colour and twisted corn in appearance, except that somehow these taste more like candy than a snack to go with beer.

There is some saltiness in there if you lick the twisted corn. Underneath the first taste of sweetness is the salt, then a light almost cheddar cheese flavour. Even the sweetness is kind of a let-down because it is through sweeteners not through real sugar, so the depth of the sugar flavour is vague and feels like something is missing.

Also unlike Western-style cheese snacks, there is no orange powder that comes off these onto your fingers. That to me, is one of the best parts of eating Cheetos or Twisties because you then have to go back and lick all that delicious powder off your fingers, so it's kind of like having double the amount! Here there is nary a spec of powder on your fingers, only a few crumbs from the actual twists themselves, but much less satisfying.

These don't leave me wanting more, they leave me wanting a drink! There is an aftertaste, the stevia no doubt, that makes me so thirsty I could drink the well dry. It's kind of the same as having an icecream or a milkshake on a really hot day.

By the way, I'm not sure why these are called Scorn. I can only imagine it's the feelings of Westerners like me who think they are getting a savoury snack only to find themselves drinking down bucketloads of water afterwards.

I won't be buying these again. Try at your own risk - make sure you have a drink handy.

Country Ma'am Mango Pudding Chocochip Cookies カントリーマアムマンゴープリン

I bought these on a last minute shopping trip to Seria in Hokkaido. I bought them primarily as souvenirs; in my family food seems to go down much better as a gift than a scroll.

105 yen seemed like a good price for a pack of 5 individually wrapped cookies. I bought too many though, and have now ended up with a few left over, hence this review.



I'm not a diehard mango fan, but I do like the flavour. I love white chocolate though, so the two combined, in my mind, seemed like a good match.

The flavour is actually mango pudding, and the bag states that apple mangoes were used. The cross-section of the cookie on the image shows 2 rather large white choco chips.

The cookies themselves are small and round, about 3cm diameter. There is a sweet smell of mango, and the colour is a light orange. I found one small white choco chip in my cookie, but maybe I got the runt of the litter.


The cookie is soft in the middle with what tastes and feels like mango puree. The flavour is light, not too sweet, and the texture of the cookie is a little bit hard on the outside but soft and smooth in the middle.

The chocolate chips really don't add much to the flavour, the mango is the star here. I don't mind that though. I thought this cookie was really well done. It's a nice little treat to serve with afternoon tea, or as a small snack after dinner. It's got a hint of sweetness that is just right. I really like the lightness of the mango flavour, and I'm sure this is very close to the real mango pudding.

Luckily I have two more packets of these to chow down on, but I would definitely buy them again, if I'm not sick of them in 14 cookies time.

Kabaya Saku Saku Panda Caramel Milk さくさくぱんだキャラメルミルク

I didn't know this snack existed until I saw it on Japanese Snack Reviews. I then came across it myself at napaJapan and bought a pack along with the Halloween Crunky.

I'm pretty sure this is a Halloween version as the box is orange, the generic colour of Halloween. Something interesting I noticed now that I didn't notice is that there is a kinchaku (small drawstring bag) included in the box.

The inner packaging is a foil bag with only 50% of the space taken up by the contents. There are various cartoons and character images on the bag, another way to entertain the kiddliwinks eating them.

I was pretty surprised to find only 6 panda biscuits in the bag. They all had different faces, smiley through sad. Actually the front of the biscuit is a chocolate panda, and the back is more biscuit. The chocolate side is definitely cuter. I thought the biscuit side looks quite ghoulish. Or is that their purpose?

The chocolate coating is white chocolate, and brown tinted white chocolate for the eyes and ears. The scent is overwhelmingly caramel. It's very strong.

The biscuit itself tastes like a plain sweet biscuit with coconut oil. The chocolate is caramel flavour, with a hint of vanilla. The chocolate is quite soft and melts easily. I preferred them straight out of the fridge, they are harder, and seem to have more substance.

I'm sure these are a great way for portion control, the sweet taste of the chocolate, tooth-achingly so, would make sure I ate even less than 6 of these.

The kinchaku bag included is, I suppose, for all those treats you will receive on your treating mission. It is a rather cute bag with sakusakupanda on it, and it's actually quite big, and the material, although plastic, is very sturdy.

A great gift for Halloween either in Japan or elsewhere, and a great little snack for the kids, not so much for me as its way too sweet, but I would buy this again as a gift.

napaJapan Candy & Bento Store

I just thought I would take this opportunity to blog about a new online store that is selling Japanese snacks and bento, including the 25+ Japanese Kit Kat flavours to the world!
Jay, the creator of the store has been selling me Japanese snacks on ebay for a long time, and now he's opened his store from Sapporo, Japan.



It's great because for years Japanese snack lovers have been relying on J-list to satisfy their J-snack cravings. And while J-list do have a very comprehensive list of Japanese products, they never have the new Kit Kat in store, they only stock limited snacks - that often run out which I find annoying.

I've never had that problem in all these years of buying from Jay. He ships them out within 36 hours, the packaging is perfect, and he offers 3 shipping options.

You will find Shiso Pepsi, the new Azuki Pepsi, and other Japanese beverages on his website. Pringles, Koala no march, Crunky, Pocky, Fran, Hi-Chew, Mentos, Flavoured Coffee, Morinaga, Meiji and some unique Japanese chocolate.


There is also a big variety of bento supplies, toys, and health products. Plus, requests are taken into account.

As a long-time fan of napaJapan, I just wanted everyone to know how great this store is, and I wanted you to know there is a place you can go to try out all the wacky Kit Kat flavours, like the one's I blog about on here.

No, he didn't put me up to this. I wanted to let everyone know simply because I'm a loyal customer who appreciates the great customer service I've received over the years. :)

So what are you waiting for?? Go buy some Kit Kat! ...or something!

Tirol Mochi-in Uji Matcha チロルもち入り宇治抹茶

In Japan I was on the hunt for various Tirol flavours. Yasu is a big fan of Tirol, has been since childhood, and I wanted to find some interesting flavours for him. I managed to find the Salty Vanilla, and this one at Family Mart.

It's not just a plain matcha flavour though, it has 'mochi' or sweet rice, inside. I bought two of them at the time, and just uncovered them in a box of snacks I sent home from Japan.

Uji matcha is a famous blend of matcha powder from Kyoto. Accordingly the chocolate on the outside has that dark green colour and powdered tea smell. It is so rich in smell, it really smells like the powdered tea from tea ceremonies.


Biting into the chocolate, the powder gives the chocolate a very certain texture, which I love. The 'mochi', is more like a gummi, but it is sweet and kind of reminds me of red bean, or I could almost imagine it there. The chocolate is the absolute winner here, I just love the powdery tea texture, and the strong matcha flavour, with a slight bitterness at the end. It really is true to the real thing.

The bitterness of the tea matches well with the sweet inner mochi. It's a match made in heaven for matcha lovers.

I really wish I bought more than two of these!!