Aero Green Tea Latte えーロー 抹茶ラテ

I bought this from Japan when they were having a "green tea fair" so all snacks on a particular aisle had powdered green tea as a main ingredient.

The pack has 22 individually wrapped pieces. There is a thin layer of semi-dark chocolate covering the green tea bubbles. Biting in is a satisfying snap as my teeth cut through the bubbles. The green tea is there but very subtle, annoyingly it takes a back seat to chocolate. I was disappointed by this but Mr 3 loves it and keeps asking for more!

Nestlé Crunch Green Tea Latte ネスレクランチ抹茶ラテ

I bought this at the same time as the Aero previously reviewed. 

I've only ever had Crunch in the original chocolate version so it was exciting to see a green tea version!

There was a mild scent of green tea from the outside and biting into it a satisfying crunch into the rice bubbles. In this case the rice bubbles added a creamy flavour to the tea and it was nice but sweet. 

I liked these but found they were a bit too sweet, thankfully they were such small pieces. Again, Mr 3 loved these and over time are the whole bag for me! Haha!

Meiji Matcha Azuki Chocolate 明治抹茶小豆チョコレート

When I saw these at napaJapan I knew I had to buy them. Two of my most Favourite Japanese flavours! How could I resist? 

The box is quite small, but it is attractive. A black background with pink and green and images of chocolate covered azuki. 

The chocolates are contained in a small foil bag which keeps them fresh. There were around 20 small beans, they reminded me of peas. 

(Please note: discoloration is from the chocolate melting in transit)

My 4 year old son loves matcha but not so much azuki, so I was surprised when he ate 3 of them and came back for more. My husband and I both loved them too. It was the perfect pairing. Just the right amount of chocolate to bean, and a traditional pairing, so how could anything go wrong.

This felt like dessert and satisfied a craving for Japanese sweets. I know that I will go back to buy more of these!

Glico Pocky Midi Butter Custard ポッキーバター華やぐぽってりカスタード

The name of this Pocky basically translates to "Brilliantly fat butter custard". The fat is probably referring to the thick layer of chocolate over the pretzel stick.

This packet of Pocky contains 3 bags of 4 short and stubby sticks each. Unfortunately mine melted in transit because here in Australia they arrived at the tail end of summer which is still quite hot.

The chocolate on the Pocky stick is a light yellow colour and it smells sweet and salty. 

The taste is quite light, there is a tiny hint of custard. There is some sweetness and again, the salt. But for me, these were disappointing as I thought the custard should have been stronger. The flavour was too vague here, and not what I expected.

Not recommended if you want a hit of custard flavour, but if you like sweet and salty chocolate on a stick then you'll probably like this. 

PS - at the top of the box it states that these would taste good while drinking Royal Milk Tea, so if you try it let me know. Maybe the pairing of tea brings out the custard flavour?!

You can buy these at napaJapan 

Calbee Potato Chips x Kentucky Fried Chicken ポテトチップス ✖️ケンタッキ ーフライドチキン

I bought this bag of potato chips from NapaJapan. I saw these released last year but didn't buy a pack and kicked myself for missing out. So this year as soon as they were released I bought a pack.

It's a rather large bag but the contents are not that big and it actually only weighs 83g. 

On opening the bag there is a smell like chicken flavoured potato chips. The appearance is the same as a normal potato chip but there are black specs which seem to be spices.

I have two big KFC fans in my house so as soon as I opened this bag they were fighting over it (husband and son). My son was trying to stop his dad from having too many as he thought he might eat them all! 

The taste is at first like chicken but the aftertaste is spicy like a KFC Wicked Wing. I can taste the similarity of KFC chicken to this potato chip although the potato chip is a different texture. The more chips you eat the hotter the spice gets. 

My son who is 4, loved these and had a bowl to himself despite the hot spice.

I thought these chips were a good gimmick but in no way replace the real thing.

 

These also come with a voucher for 30 yen (30 cents) off at a KFC store in Japan.

If you like KFC it's worth trying these just for the experience and wacky factor :)

Calbee Potato Chips x Kentucky Fried Chicken ポテトチップス ✖️ケンタッキ ーフライドチキン

I bought this bag of potato chips from NapaJapan. I saw these released last year but didn't buy a pack and kicked myself for missing out. So this year as soon as they were released I bought a pack.

It's a rather large bag but the contents are not that big and it actually only weighs 83g. 

On opening the bag there is a smell like chicken flavoured potato chips. The appearance is the same as a normal potato chip but there are black specs which seem to be spices.

I have two big KFC fans in my house so as soon as I opened this bag they were fighting over it (husband and son). My son was trying to stop his dad from having too many as he thought he might eat them all! 

The taste is at first like chicken but the aftertaste is spicy like a KFC Wicked Wing. I can taste the similarity of KFC chicken to this potato chip although the potato chip is a different texture. The more chips you eat the hotter the spice gets. 

My son who is 4, loved these and had a bowl to himself despite the hot spice.

I thought these chips were a good gimmick but in no way replace the real thing.

If you like KFC it's worth trying these just for the experience and wacky factor :)

Tirol Mix 9 Pack チロルミックス9

This is a Tirol Mix pack of 9 chocolates, one of each different flavour.

Out of the 9 I have already tried 5 so the 4 below are:

Milk Nougat 

Strawberry

Hot Cake

Lemon Cookie

Milk Nougat

Semi-dark chocolate covering chewy milk nougat. The chocolate is overpowering and wipes out the flavour of the nougat which is so soft and sticks to my teeth.

Strawberry

Hard chocolate strawberry centre covered in milk chocolate. The layer of strawberry is thick and has a subtle tartness to it, I like the flavours and unlike some strawberry chocolate it doesn't taste fake.

Hot Cake

It smells like maple from the outide and the chocolate is a buttery yellow. The centre has a soft crumbly biscuit with a very sweet maple syrup mousse and jelly covering. This reminds me of hoecakes but is sickeningly sweet. I could only eat half as my throat was burning.

Lemon Cookie

Smells faintly of lemon and is a light yellow colour. The centre has a chunky biscuit that is hard. The lemon chocolate on the outer layer is creamy but the lemon is not very apparent. From the Hot Cake to here is one extreme to another.

I can't say that any of these were my favorite but if I had to choose then if have to say that the strawberry was the most enjoyable.

Tirol Milky チロル ミルキー

This is a collaboration with Milky and Tirol and the Milky is surprisingly white chocolate with milky candy in the centre! I wondered why it was hard to cut through even at room temperature and that is the reason! Interesting idea, mr 3 and husband loved it but although it's a very clever idea I didn't like the milky candy because it got stuck in my teeth.

Tirol Full of Strawberry チロルいちごいっぱい

There are 9 pieces in this pack, all with a Strawberry theme. 

3 pieces each of:

Funwari Ichigo Jam

Funwari means soft in Japanese so this one is meant to contain soft strawberry jam as it's focus. It has chocolate on the bottom and soft marshmallow in the middle with a strawberry sauce that reminds me of strawberry bubblegum. The chocolate is dark and bitter and the strawberry chocolate on top is sweet so it's kind of a weird mix, but somehow it works. It's actually quite pleasant eaten all together.

Ichigo Daifuku 

I've tried this one before but will try it again for this review. Ichigo daifuku is a popular traditional Japanese dessert that is pounded mochi rice with a filling of strawberry and azuki bean paste. The inside of the Tirol version is a springy jelly with a soft azuki mousse covered with strawberry chocolate. It's a bit too much strawberry but I do like this one as I love azuki.

Ichigo Shortcake 

I've never been a fan of japanese shortcake as it tastes bland to me. This one has a biscuit in the centre and a covering of creamy tasting chocolTe with a strawberry base. It tastes very similar to a real shortcake. I have to hand it to Tirol for nailing the flavours!

Overall my favorite is the Strawberry Shortcake, it really was outstanding. 

Cafe Tirol "cafe style assort" カフェチロル

I bought this pack in Daiso because it stood out, it's shaped like an iced beverage you would get from a franchise like Starbucks. The pack has 8 pieces inside: 4 of Coffee Jelly and 4 of Lemon Tea.

Coffee Jelly

I've never been a fan of coffee jelly but old people serve it regularly to guests in Japan. I could be forgiven for thinking I had bitten into the lemon tea Tirol if I wasn't actually looking when I opened the wrapper. This has a very strong butter taste of espresso on the bottom, coffee jelly in the middle followed by a hit of sour lemon on the top. It is truly awful to me - I prefer milky coffee, I never drink it black or with lemon. The chocolate was waxy too; I felt like I was eating a candle!

Lemon Tea

This chocolate looks much the same as Coffee Jelly although the chocolate on the bottom is lighter. This one has a distinct lemon smell and I can also smell what reminds me of a cold ice tea. When I tried to cut this it crumbled. Biting into a piece there was a horrible strong/sour lemon taste that was followed up with a spicy burning sensation and a faint taste of tea. I thought it smelled and tasted like what drinking a cup of dish washing liquid would be like. This is truly awful and even worse than Coffee Jelly.

My verdict is don't even buy this pack! Now I can see why it was at Daiso!!! :(