Fujiya LOOK Buche de Noel

Before college, I studied the French language for 5 years, but at the end of high school, I started studying Japanese. At university, I focused on Japanese and forgot nearly all of my French. Recently, I started taking a French class at a local club, and I am enjoying the challenge.

My stepmother-in-law is also taking French with the same club, and for Christmas dinner last year, she and my father-in-law were inspired to make Buche de Noel for dessert. It was delicious (especially since they carved a little knot in the frosting to make it look extra log-like), so when I placed my last napaJapan order, I had to try Buche de Noel chocolate.


I was once wary of LOOK chocolates (I had some matcha LOOK a few years ago and was not impressed), but after reading a review at Sweets Blog, I decided to give them another chance, and I'm so glad I did! The Buche de Noel pieces were coated in sweet, milky, and slightly cool chocolate, and they had truffle-like centers.

Rather than cake, there were tiny bits of wafer in that truffle-ish filling, and the wafers added both a subtle almond flavor and a light crunchy texture. I could taste vanilla as well, and though sweeter than the Buche de Noel my in-laws made, the chocolates were delicious. I wish I had given this brand another look sooner!

A-

Fujiya LOOK website

Nestle Daigaku Imo KitKat

Nestle has been recycling KitKat flavors in Japan again, but in this case, it worked out to my advantage. I didn't get to try the candied sweet potato (daigaku imo in Japanese) KitKat the first time around.

I've never had daigaku imo before, but the idea reminds me of the canned candied yams often served in American Thanksgiving dinners - even though I know that's way off (no soy sauce in candied yams, for instance). I looked at this recipe to get an idea of how daigaku imo would taste, but I'll have to try making it soon.


This white chocolate-based KitKat had an odd, buttery smell that reminded me of the Roasted Corn KitKat from 2 years ago. Thankfully, this buttery scent didn't carry over into the flavor. The white chocolate tasted almost lemony with maybe just a hint of sweet potato.

It was very sweet, as white chocolate KitKats often are, but the flavor was pretty good. I couldn't really pin the flavor down, and I would never have guessed that it was supposed to be candied sweet potato. Maybe that's because I've never had the real thing, but all I tasted was a mildly lemony white chocolate KitKat.

B

KitKat website

Tirol Castella

The current limited edition flavor in the Tirol "Mix 8" pack is Castella. Castella (sometimes called kasutera) is a sponge cake adapted from cakes brought to Japan by Portugese in the 16th century. It's especially famous in Nagasaki, which was the only port open to foreign merchants during that time.

To my American palate, castella always tasted a bit bland. According to most of the recipes I saw online, honey is typically added for flavor and moderate sweetness. For extra credit, I made green tea castella according to this recipe. It didn't come out great, but I think it was because I overmixed the eggs and batter, which led to a very tough, dense cake. The ingredients are quite simple, though, so I'd love to try again soon with a different recipe.


Anyhow, this Tirol was based on plain castella, and the look of the chocolate reminded me of purin or flan. It smelled buttery, but didn't give me a sense of sponge cake. The white chocolate had a sweet, buttery flavor with just a touch of honey.

Inside, there was a barely-flavored biscuit to add some crunchiness (like in Tirol's standard BIS chocolate), but there were also large sugar crystals inside. The sugar added a new dimension of texture that I hadn't seen from Tirol before, and it added a nice flavor without adding too much sweetness.

Despite not really tasting like castella, this Tirol was quite pleasant, and I wouldn't mind having it again.

B+

Tirol website

Haribo Porsche Gummies

My brother-in-law works in the racing industry for Porsche (a seriously cool occupation), and just when I thought it couldn't get any cooler, Haribo was a Porsche sponsor last year. My brother-in-law kindly sent me some of the special Porsche gummies so that I could blog about them! I can't write much about racing, since I am woefully ignorant, but I do know gummies.

Haribo gummy bears were one of my favorite supermarket checkout treats as a child. Compared to most fruit snacks, Haribo was leagues ahead. The little bears looked like shiny gems, and I have fond memories of biting off the heads of different colored bears to make hybrids while watching Eureeka's Castle. To this day, eating Haribo gummies reminds me of that show.


Some of the gummies didn't survive the summer mail, but the ones that did were in the form of cute little shiny cars fancy Porsche racing cars. This was definitely a promotion I could get behind!

Of course, the gummies gad that nostalgic (and delicious) Haribo gummy bear taste. Haribo gummies like this fall on the firmer side of the gummy spectrum, and most of the flavors are pretty ambiguous. The apple stuck out in particular, but for example, clear just tasted like clear gummy bear (I think it's supposed to be pineapple). I was always partial to the orange, which was more sweet than tart. In short, Haribo gummies are just as good as they ever were, and the Porsche racing promotion certainly impressed me!

Haribo website

Lake Champlain Rum Caramel Chocolate Bar

Rum is often paired with confections, making for some very boozy treats. As a goody-goody child, I was wary of rum balls that smelled too strongly of alcohol - they were for grown-ups. These days, I love boozy chocolates, though I am partial to bourbon balls. It's been way too long, Rebecca Ruth.

I bought this Lake Champlain chocolate bar at a local fancy grocer around Christmas time (while making a gift basket for my in-laws) since I had heard good things about the brand. It was between $3 and $4 US, but I don't remember the exact price.


The bar had hints of a liquor scent that reminded me of rum. The gorgeous, almost too perfect-looking dark chocolate had such a strong snap that it was hard to break the bar cleanly. However, the chocolate was decadent and slow-melting.

The sticky rum caramel oozed out from the pods and had a wonderful burnt sugar flavor (though I couldn't taste rum). It was very rich and had a great consistency - not too runny but not firm. The chocolate had a clean, slightly bitter finish, which was a delicious match for the decadent caramel. This bar certainly piqued my curiosity about the brand, so I have since picked up three of Lake Champlain's 5 Star Chocolate Bars (reviews coming soon).

A-

Lake Champlain Chocolates website