Morinaga Choco Ball Bitter

Here's the second of two Choco Ball reviews. The marketing ploy worked, because I just couldn't buy one and not the other. This time, I've got Bitter, or dark chocolate. It's meant to be more of an adult taste, but I'm glad Morinaga kept the cute mascot on the package.

As you can see in the following picture, the candies are gorgeous and glossy. Again, they are like malted milk balls, but with a bitter chocolate coating over a cocoa biscuit.


When I smelled the package after opening it, I mostly smelled the dark chocolate, along with a hint of something that I couldn't place (maybe the wax they might have used to make these so glossy). The chocolate by itself was all right, very bitter, and the texture of the biscuit was nice.

They certainly were bitter! The biscuit seemed even less sweet than in the white chocolate variety, and the chocolate didn't have much sweetness at all. Even though I'm a fan of dark chocolate, I wished the balance was a little better here. Bitter + bitter is good, but these weren't as addictive as the white chocolate/cocoa combination. However, those who with an aversion to sweet chocolate may like these more.

B

Morinaga website

Morinaga Choco Ball Sweet

I've seen Morinaga Choco Ball many times before but never tried it. Kelly over at Tasty Japan has reviewed many kinds, so I decided that I would try some if I saw some.

So, at a Japanese store, I was excited to find Sweet and Bitter Choco Ball, and I bought them both. Today, I'll review Sweet, and Bitter will come tomorrow. Since this is a white chocolate snack, I was a little nervous that it would be too sweet, but I was pleasantly surprised.


This type of Choco Ball was essentially a malted milk ball, and this particular flavor had a white chocolate shell with vanilla bean flecks and a cocoa biscuit in the center. I could smell the cocoa when I opened the box, and the sweetness of the white chocolate.

The balls had the feel of cookies and cream, with the texture of a malted milk ball. I really enjoyed these, and the white chocolate wasn't too sweet. The vanilla flavor was mild and milky, and it was in good balance with the cocoa. I'm definitely looking forward to trying the Bitter!

A-

Morinaga website

Mountain Dew Game Fuel Horde Red

I feel that I must get something off my chest. I am a gamer. There, I said it. I'm not ashamed though. Neither my husband nor I ever got into World of Warcraft, but back when we used to stay up late playing video games, we probably would have appreciated something like this. We used to drink Surge, so you can probably figure out about when I was a teenager.

Anyhow, here is part two of the Game Fuel review. At work, my friend and I split this can of Horde Red Game Fuel (again, no trace of a name on the package), eager to taste "Cherry Citrus" flavor. If you remember correctly, she had liked the Alliance Blue, and I was indifferent towards it.

Well, we were definitely in agreement about this one - it was bad. At least Horde Red made Alliance Blue seem a lot better. Red smelled like cherry medicine, and tasted sort of like a melted orange Slurpee. We might have been imagining it, but both of us felt like this even had a bit of a tongue numbing effect.

There wasn't much cherry flavor to speak of, just citrus with a hint of medicine. But, another positive was that it didn't taste like a previously released flavor of Mountain Dew, so at least they took a chance. It didn't work for me or my friend, but it was fun to try something new.

D

Mountain Dew website

Tirol White & Cookie Crunch

Tirol chocolates are a fantastic value in Japan, and for such inexpensive chocolate, there is an incredible variety of flavors available. Here we have White & Cookie Crunch, from a variety pack I bought.

I've had this flavor many times but never gotten around to reviewing it. From since I was little, I've always liked cookies and cream treats, whether it be ice cream or a chocolate bar. However, as I get older, I've found myself losing my liking for white chocolate.


The chocolate smelled milky and like Oreo cookies. There were big cookie chunks which held their texture very well. It tasted like a cookies and cream Hershey bar, only with more cookie bits. They also drowned out the so-so white chocolate.

The white chocolate was very soft, milky, and had a slightly sour aftertaste. It was made with cocoa butter, but the white chocolate itself isn't great. With the cookies, though, it makes for a good sweet. I always look forward to this one, though!

B+

Tirol Chocolate website

Mountain Dew Game Fuel Alliance Blue

At work, one of out security guards runs a snack stand, and he occasionally stocks new, limited edition sodas. My friend and I had been talking about trying the Mountain Dew "Game Fuel" flavors, so this is the first of two reviews.

I wasn't sure if this flavor had a name or not, because all my friend and I couldn't find anything other than "DEW with a Punch of Wild Fruit Flavor." My husband said it was called Alliance Blue, but I never would have know.

It smelled like a blue popsicle, in that vaguely fruity kind of way. Similarly, it had a blue raspberry-ish flavor (no fruit flavor on the ingredients list, though, just "natural flavors"). I felt like it tasted like soda that Mountain Dew has put out before. My friend thought it tasted like Mountain Dew LiveWire.

I wasn't crazy about it, but I'm not a big Mountain Dew drinker. But for fans of Mountain Dew, I think it would be pretty pleasant. It was fun to try, but it seemed like just another rehash of a limited edition flavor.

C+

Mountain Dew website