Lotte Matcha Shake Crunky

Sometimes my craving for matcha is so strong that I will pick up a matcha flavor of a snack that I know I don't like. On that note, I present a review of Matcha Shake Crunky. According to the box, it is a limited edition release for this year.

I was amused that this flavor was called "Matcha Shake" and not just matcha, but I chalk it up to the Japanese marketing cycle and its demand for "new" and "different" products. This is not the first matcha Crunky, and I'm sure it won't be the last, but it might be the only "Matcha Shake" Crunky.


The bar smelled of a mild matcha, but the first things I noticed when I took a bite were the crunchy bits. As I remembered, they were bland (just a bit salty) but provided a good texture. The bar had a mild matcha finish and a very sweet aftertaste (common in white chocolate products).

I could definitely taste the green tea flavor, but it was in the background. The sweetness was probably supposed to be the shake element, but I didn't get any milky notes from it. I did like it better than regular Crunky, simply because of the matcha flavor, but it was nothing special.

This bar has also been reviewed by Kelly at Tasty Japan, along with several other flavors of Crunky.

B-

Lotte website

Nestle Smarties

As I've mentioned before, in nearly every country but the United States, Smarties are candy-coated chocolates made by Nestle. Until I was in my 20s, I had never tasted these non-sugar disk Smarties, so this review is probably biased.

Naturally, I can't fight the temptation to compare them to M&Ms. Right away, the different colors of the Smarties appealed to me (pink and purple as standard colors!), and they were also slightly bigger than plain M&Ms.


There wasn't much of a scent (the cardboard smelled stronger than the candy), and the taste immediately reminded me of Halloween chocolate - a blend of candy and chocolate flavors stewing together in a vat. The candy coating seemed to add a sugary flavor, and because it is pretty thick, these were very crunchy.

I was reminded of Cadbury Mini Eggs (the chocolate eggs coated with a spotted candy shell to look like bird eggs) as well, but Smarties are much smaller than those. As a result, the chocolate seemed dominated by the shell. Although I don't think I'd turn these down if they were offered to me, I think I'd prefer plain M&Ms...but that's only if plain M&Ms and Smarties were my only choices.

Check out this head-to-head comparison at Candy Blog.

C+

Nestle website

Nestle Sour Orange KitKat

This KitKat has been around for a while and has been reviewed by numerous blogs (Melon Soda, Japanese Snack Reviews, KitKat Addict, Jen's KitKat Blog, just to name a few), but I was still very happy when my sister bought me a bag. It had been a long time since I had tried a Japanese KitKat (not since Ume Soda in August) and I was in a slump.


I loved the shiny foil bag, and although the bags of mini KitKats are always a little more expensive, I felt this one would be worth it. I was interested to see how they would live up to the claim of being suppai (sour) orange.


The minis were a little melted, but still in tact. The scent was very similar to a Terry's Chocolate Orange, which was one of my favorite special treats from childhood. The milk chocolate had a good sweetness and soft texture (which may have been because they melted a bit), but the sour flavor made these special for me.

It was like there were bits of Tang powder between the layers, and although it wasn't a kick in the face, the orange flavor was surprisingly vibrant and fruity. It reminded me of a chocolate covered fruit gel, only with crunchy wafers. My husband and I both loved them, and they went over well with many of our friends.

A

KitKat website

Walkers Roast Chicken Crisps

Normally, I prefer sweet snacks, but occasionally, I do get the craving for something salty and savory. These chips fulfill both of those requirements. They were purchased from the UK import section at Jungle Jim's International Market. When we're in the Cincinnati, Ohio area, my husband and I always try to stop in, and it's always worth it.

As these crisps were imported, they were rather pricey ($0.79 for a 34.5 g bag). There were several flavors available, including prawn, but I went for the roast chicken and my husband got steak and onion. The price tag stopped us from buying more. Walkers is part of Frito-Lay and called Lay's in the US (thanks, Anon). You can see a list of current flavors on the Walkers Wikipedia page.


The chips smelled a little like chicken broth, but as they were flavored with spices and not animal products (the bag says they are suitable for vegetarians), they didn't smell meaty. The taste reminded me of a bouillon cube or the flavor powder from chicken ramen. I was very pleased that they neither tasted nor smelled like dog treats, as savory snacks sometimes do.

The texture of the crisps was good, too. They were neither too thin nor too thick, which gave them a good, fresh crunch. They had a nice level of saltiness and I imagine these would go well with a mild beer. I can't see myself craving this chicken-soup-in-a-chip taste, but they were a nice break from the flavors available in the US.

B+

Walkers website

Trident Strawberry Twist

Sometimes, fruity gum can be overpowering. It takes me back to the days of gigantic mouthfuls of Bubblicious or Bubble Tape, when I didn't mind that my gum started to taste like a rotten banana after a few minutes.

These days, I've developed a taste for fruity gum with a hint of mint, but I still like to venture back to fruit gum every now and then. During one such mood, I bought a three-pack of this Strawberry Twist gum from Target. I'm still not sure what the twist was.

It smelled strongly of tart, sweet, fake strawberry. At first, the gum was very sour on the tongue, but there was an overpowering sweetness that masked the fruit flavor. Once the tart flavor was gone, there was really no point in chewing this gum.

This gum wasn't really bad, but it was so artificially sweet that it was quite a chore for me and my husband to get through the whole three pack. It didn't take long for both of us to become sick of this flavor.

The ladies at Gum Alert also reviewed this gum.

C

Trident website