Morinaga Strawberry Yogurt Hi-Chew

NOTE: Kelly has informed me that Morinaga has issued a recall on some flavors of Hi-chew, as they may contain pieces of rubber gloves. Here's an English article about it, which contains a link to a Japanese article. The flavors being recalled are grape and green apple with expiration dates in June 2009. Thanks to Kelly, and please take care, everyone.


I am a big fan of Hi-chew. The texture is great, and to date, there has only been one flavor (out of at least 10) that I have tried and not liked. That flavor was watermelon, by the way, and it tasted like cucumber. I like cucumber, but not in chewy candy form. Anyhow, I found some of my notes on this flavor and thought I should post the review.

The packaging is cute and fun, as usual, and caught my eye. I didn't buy this, though, a friend of mine did and she gave me a few so I could review them. This is how I get a lot of my candy.



Strawberry yogurt (the real thing) is delicious, and even though these weren't quite as delicious, they were pretty good. The strawberry flavor was nice and tart and pretty authentic. The yogurty sourness was also good, but I think I'd rather have plain strawberry Hi-Chew, if given the choice.

B+

Morinaga Website (Japanese)

Meiji Dark Rum Meltykiss

Dark Rum Meltykiss was one of the first treats I bought in Japan (along with Pure Blueberry gummies) from the Lawson near our hotel. As I've said many times, I'm a sucker for limited edition and new candies, so I couldn't pass these up. I'm also a huge fan of Meltykiss.

These are special for winter, and I think there were two other flavors available: strawberry and maybe a regular milk chocolate. I can't remember. Anyhow, Dark Rum sounded the most interesting, so my husband and I chose that one. Inside the box, the chocolates came individually wrapped in lovely metallic purple wrappers.

As usual with Meltykiss, there is a thin coating of cocoa powder on the outside of the chocolate (not nearly as uniform as the picture on the box). The first taste was a nice rum flavor, not overly strong but the taste of alcohol was definitely there. After that, as the chocolate melted, it was pretty much the usual smooth Meltykiss milk chocolate. Very tasty, but the rum flavor was mostly gone.

In any case, my husband and I both liked them, as did the friends who tried these. However, if you don't like candy that tastes like alcohol, you won't care for these.

B+

Meiji Website (Japanese)

Nestle Kyoto Edition Matcha KitKat

At the train station and souvenir shops in Kyoto, it felt like I was in heaven. Matcha was everywhere! Kyoto is famous for matcha, so it makes sense. In any case, I picked up this pretty box of Uji Matcha KitKats...for myself. Like the Soy Sauce KitKat box, it was designed to be a gift. Don't worry, I shared some.


The box says "Fastidious Uji Matcha." Uji is a city known for matcha, and fastidious is the best translation I could come up with. I guess maybe "authentic" would be a better word? In any case, it's definitely matcha.


I don't know what to say as far as a review, because these are exactly the same as the last matcha KitKat I reviewed, only in a 15 pack of miniatures. They are delicious, creamy, rich, and strong. Highly recommended for fans of matcha sweets.

A+

KitKat Website (Japanese)

Tirol Pumpkin Tart

The biggest reason my husband and I went to Japan was to visit with one of my best friends. She lives in Kyoto, but she was an exchange student at my university a few years ago, and was a bridesmaid in my wedding last year. Sometimes we send each other candy or clothes from our respective countries, so I get a lot of candy recommendations from her, and one of her favorite things is Tirol chocolate!

Tirol chocolates are small, cheap, and cute. Some kinds are better than others, but like many other Japanese candies, there are always new, limited edition kinds to try. I bought this Pumpkin Tart flavor at a Lawson convenience store for about 40 yen, I think, and it's a "Premium" Tirol chocolate. I think that just means it's bigger than the normal size. Also, the Jack-o-Lantern on the wrapper suggests that this flavor is a limited edition for Halloween.


Oddly enough, my friend who loves Tirol chocolate hates pumpkin, so she passed on this one. To me, the pumpkin flavored white chocolate wasn't very strong or spicy. It just had a hint of pumpkin and cinnamon. I really like pumpkin treats to taste like pumpkin pie with whipped cream, but that's probably a little too rich for Tirol.

Inside the chocolate, there was a little cookie. I'm guessing that was the "tart" part. It was crunchy and more savory than sweet, and it added a great texture. Tirol chocolates often have great textures; many are made with mochi (pounded rice) centers. In fact, check out Orchid64's Japanese Snack Reviews for a great review of another Tirol chocolate (Kinako Mochi) that was available at the same time as this one. She also has a review of this one!

I liked the Pumpkin Tart, but do wish the chocolate had been a bit richer and spicier. Of course, pumpkin pie as I know it isn't really a Japanese taste, so I'll take this chocolate as it is.

B

Tirol Chocolate website (Japanese)

Nestle Blueberry Cheesecake and Strawberry Cheesecake KitKats

Fianlly, another recent candy review. It's KitKats again, but I got these at a convenience store during my recent trip to Japan. These are single serving packets, and I paid about 40 yen for each.

Both are white chocolate KitKats, and neither had a particularly strong flavor. Neither tastes much like cheesecake, either, except for a hint of tartness.

The strawberry one tasted like very artificial strawberry, but maybe that was just the tartness. It definitely wasn't as good as other strawberry KitKats but it wasn't bad. Pretty forgettable.

The blueberry one was better! At first, the blueberry taste was very weak, but as I ate, it got stronger and was tasty. I haven't had any other blueberry KitKats, so I can't really compare it to anything, but I liked this one much more than the strawberry.

I like the single serving KitKats, but there is a bit of a mark-up. I also saw solo KitKats in Canada, but I think they were a little longer than these. For another take on these KitKats, check out the review at Japanese Snack Reviews.

Strawberry: B-
Blueberry: B+

KitKat Website (Japanese)