Meiji Mild Chestnut Takenoko no Sato

Well, it's almost the end of the year and my blogging has been spotty at best in 2014. Thankfully, I've got some time off work coming up, so I thought I'd try and catch up on some blogging. Rest assured my level of snack consumption has remained unchanged! Here's a review of the fall limited edition Mild Chestnut flavor of Meiji's Takenoko no Sato (Bamboo Shoot Village).

I've reviewed Takenoko no Sato many times before, and they are still just as cute as ever. The bright, colorful package designs, variety of fun flavors, and adorable shape of the product itself do a lot of the heavy lifting, but I would still call Takenoko no Sato a reliable buy. They may not be a premium chocolate cookie, but I've never had a flavor that was just plain bad.

These done have much scent, just a little bit sweet, maybe with a hint of something that reminded me of coffee. The chocolate coating starts to melt right away, smooth, creamy, and cool. It has a very mild flavor that's a bit like chestnuts, but again, more like very milky coffee. The biscuit doesn't have much flavor; it's a bit like a shortbread cookie, only not very buttery.

I love the balance of cookie to chocolate in Takenoko no Sato. It keeps them from being too sweet, and that did help here. The crunch of the biscuit reminds me a bit of a graham cracker, and it's a nice contrast to the soft white chocolate. In short, these make a tasty snack, but they just didn't scream chestnut to me. Maybe that's because I associate chestnut more with a meaty, nutty texture rather than a distinct flavor.

B-

Meiji Takenoko no Sato website (Japanese)

Meiji Strawberry Tartlette Takenoko no Sato

Notes for this review have been sitting around since Japan's most recent strawberry boom. It seems to come around every year, but despite seeing the same KitKats every year, these Takenoko no Sato were new to me.

For me, the question was, "Will that little ring of white chocolate around the bottom of the cookie really change the taste enough to distinguish these from any other strawberry Takenoko no Sato?"


I'm not sure I've had a tartlette before, but these had a nice, tart, fairly authentic strawberry flavor. The slightly salty crunchy cookie did remind me a bit of pie crust, but it took a little imagination.

What stood out was the slight yogurt flavor (probably to mimic the cream in the picture), and that extra bit of tartness did make a difference. However, I've said it before and it still stands true - the crunchy/chewy balance just doesn't translate to the big, special versions.

B

Meiji website

Meiji Cheesecake Takenoko no Sato

I am a dessert person. However, cheesecake is not one of my favorites. It's so rich that I can't ever seem to eat a whole piece (even though I can put away a lot of cake), and I'm lactose intolerant.

Still, I purchased this cheesecake Takenoko no Sato because the line hardly ever steers me wrong. These are much bigger than the normal chocolates and they come individually wrapped. The flavor is Takesato's cheesecake, although I don't know if Takesato is a real person.

The smell of these reminded me of cheese cracker sandwiches or Cheese Whiz, which was a big turn off. After touching them, my fingers smelled like that, too. I could smell a little white chocolate sweetness, and my husband thought they smelled just like cheesecake. Luckily, they didn't taste like electric orange cheese.

The chocolate itself was sweet, but not cloying, and the cookie center reminded me of shortbread. It lacked the sharp tang that often comes with cheesecake, but I didn't mind. I was too busy being impressed with the mildly sweet white chocolate and vanilla flavor. As usual, the textures went well together. Even though the chocolate was very rich, in a nice small portion, I was pleased.

B

Meiji Website (Japanese)

Meiji Bitter Cookie and Macadamia Takenoko no Sato

I completely forgot to post this review! I took the pictures and at the chocolates in February, and must have moved on immediately. Here I was thinking I'd gotten caught up. Well, better late than never (even though these aren't available anymore).

These were a limited edition winter flavor of Takenoko no Sato, and were larger than the normal size (but it's hard to tell from the picture I took). Each one was individually wrapped, which made it easier not to eat a whole box at once. In Japanese, the cookie portion of this sweet was called horoniga, which means slightly bitter.


The snack smelled like hot chocolate, with a hint of what smelled like hazelnut but was probably the macadamia nut bits. The cookie part tasted very nutty, and had a good crunch. I don't remember if the bitterness came into play at all, but they were not too sweet. The chocolate was smooth and buttery, making for a rich treat.

I think I prefer the normal, smaller size, as these were a little much for me. There's something magical about the texture combination of the regular size which doesn't carry over to the larger size (although I can't say for sure since, to my knowledge, there is no regular size in this flavor). Still, they were quite good and disappeared quickly when I put the leftovers in my candy dish for friends.

B

Meiji Website (Japanese)

Meiji Hokkaido Azuki Takenoko no Sato

I'm trying a new layout! Please bear with me while I work out the kinks. Anyhow, this is another one of the spoils of my Toronto trip last month. I'm always up for a different flavor of Takenoko no Sato (or Kinoko no Yama) and had yet to be disappointed...until this one.

I didn't know Hokkaido was known for azuki (red beans), but the island is known for agriculture in general, so nothing would surprise me. Azuki and an (sweet red bean paste) are often too sweet for my taste, which is strange, since it is so popular in Japan and I'm used to super sweet American candy like Skittles. Once, I made an from scratch, and it involved quite a lot of sugar.


As you can see, the little chocolates are kind of a dusty rose color (oddly similar to the color of my wedding dress), which is much lighter than real azuki beans (you can see them on the box).

The texture of these was weird. It really did seem like I was eating an, right down to the texture of the beans. The chocolate (if it can even be called chocolate) was very soft and grainy and had no snap to it at all, which threw off the usual balance of crunchy cookie and smooth chocolate that I love about Takenoko no Sato. The flavor was very mild, but because of the texture, it seemed very authentic.

If you are a big azuki fan, by all means, check these out. Otherwise, they are just a neat novelty.

B-

Meiji Website (Japanese)

Meiji Takenoko no Sato Cookies and Cream

For some reason I thought I already posted review for this one, but I looked back and found that I did not! Anyhow, it's more Meiji chocolate (yum)! I love Takenoko no Sato, and this is the third kind I've tried. Once again, it did not disappoint. I picked this up at a Lawson in Kyoto, I think. It didn't come in a box.

One of the things I really like about Takenoko no Sato is the texture balance of cookie and chocolate. There are a lot of similar snacks in Japan, by Meiji and other companies, but this one really gets it right. Plus, they are adorable.


See? Although they always come out of the bag dusty. One of these days I should brush them off and take pictures. But getting back to the point, these are attractive little snacks, especially in this flavor.

The cookie part reminded me of the cookie part of an Oreo, only not as sweet or as dense. The cream was milky, rich, and similar to but not as sweet as a Hershey's Cookies & Cream bar. This is proof that there is Japanese white chocolate that doesn't burn my throat!

Overall, they tasted like cookies and cream ice cream, so my husband and I were pretty much won over. As I mentioned above, they were well balanced and had a great texture. I would definitely recommend trying any flavor of Takenoko no Sato!

A

Meiji Website (Japanese)

Meiji Matcha Takenoko no Sato

There are lots of Japanese snacks similar to this one, involving some type of cookie dipped in/filled with some type of chocolate, usually in a cute shape. I had never tried Takenoko no Sato before, but I think the Matcha one was a good place to start.


These certainly are cute. The matcha chocolate on the outside had a nice flavor that was just a little bit bitter (a good thing) and just the right thickness to balance with the chocolate cookie. Actually, it seemed like the cookie was just a bit bitter as well, which was nice and not at all too sweet. The matcha white chocolate melted really well with the crunchy cookie, and my husband really liked that texture combination. I think even those who aren't crazy about green tea could enjoy these snacks since it's got something else going on.

They were quite addictive, as my husband and I finished them in one night. I would definitely try these in other flavors!

A-

Meiji Website (Japanese)