Trident Layers Green Apple + Golden Pineapple

While grocery shopping, this gum called out to me in the checkout, as new things often do. I've had some bad luck with non-Orbit fruity gum, but the idea of layered gum was too intriguing and gimmicky to resist.

If you take a look at the picture below and compare it with the picture above, you might notice that the actual gum is not green-yellow-green like the cover, but yellow-green-yellow. I'm not sure if the layers are actually flavored differently, or if it's just for show, like an Andes mint. The discrepancy wasn't really upsetting, just an odd marketing choice. In fact, I hoped it meant that the gum would be heavier on the pineapple side. I was completely wrong.


The green band in the middle of the gum made it look neat, but it was very sticky and soft, making the gum a little messy to take out of the wrapper. As for the flavor, the pineapple was completely undetectable unless I used my imagination, and I never would have thought it was there if the package didn't say so.

The gum was a little on the soft side for chewing, and although it was very juicy, it was a basic sour green apple gum that reminded me of children's bubble gum. After a while (maybe 10 minutes), the flavor became stale, and wasn't doing my breath any favors. This gum was disappointing, since it tasted like fake apple and nothing else, but I can't say I hated it. I won't buy this flavor again, but I'd be willing to try others.

For more reviews, check out Gigi-Reviews, The Impulsive Buy, and Gum Alert.

C-

Trident website

Iwatsuka Seika Black Bean Senbei

I'm trying to expand my tastes, so these black bean senbei seemed like a good opportunity. Savory senbei haven't appealed to me in the past, but I've grown to like sweet ones.

These came from Mitsuwa Marketplace in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Unfortunately, senbei aren't available where I live, so I stock up on them whenever I can.

These smelled like most savory senbei I've tried: salty with a hint of soy sauce. They had a nice crunch, and were on the harder side of senbei. They had a mild soy taste with a good saltiness, and a slight oiliness.

The black beans added a nice raw bean texture, and they reminded me of soy nuts. I really enjoyed the beans. The senbei was satisfying and salty at first, and then the bean flavor came through. My husband and I both enjoyed these, especially him.

A-

Iwatsuka Seika website

Wonka Giant Chewy Nerds

Ever since I saw this review of Cybele's, I've wanted to try Giant Chewy Nerds. They were actually quite hard to find, but a chance meeting at a gas station brought us together. My husband and I split them on a long car ride.

Nerds were a favorite candy of mine as a child. The idea of sugar-coated-sugar kind of makes my teeth hurt now, but I still appreciate the bright, tart flavors. I'm also a long-time jelly bean fan, hence my eagerness to try these.


The selection I'm holding for the picture is a pretty accurate representation of what was in my bag. There were very few yellows and greens and far too many oranges and reds. I refer to them as colors, because I couldn't find a flavor guide anywhere on the package.

Purple was definitely a fake candy grape, but in the best way. It was my favorite because of its bright, tart flavor, without a trace of cough syrup like some grape candies.

Orange was very sour, and went a little into the realm of cleaning product for me. There was an odd aftertaste, probably from the sour center, that I didn't appreciate. As I mentioned, my bag was mostly orange.

Red was sweet, and a mild berry. It tasted more like strawberry than cherry, and was pleasant.

Yellow was sour but sweet in the middle, and reminded me of Lemonheads. I didn't get a good idea of the flavor since there were only 2 or 3 in the bag.

Green was a bit ambiguous. I thought it was apple, but my husband thought it was watermelon. I think he was right, but either way, I liked the flavor. Again, there were only a few in the bag.

These were fun candies with a neat texture, but some of the weaker flavors put me off from buying these again.

B-

Wonka website

Meiji Hokkaido Melon Apollo

Despite mixed feelings on Apollo, I bought this box of limited edition Apollo at a Japanese import shop. Since it's a premium pack, the chocolates are much larger than the normal size and come individually wrapped.

According to the box, this is from Meiji's Hokkaido line, and both the white chocolate and the melon flavor come from Hokkaido. Specifically, this is Furano Melon, or melon from Furano, Hokkaido. Fancy melons are quite the treat in Japan, and it's not uncommon for them to cost hundreds of dollars.


The chocolate smelled like what a melon buttercream frosting might smell, and it tasted like that as well. The flavor, despite containing 4% Furano melon, tasted a little fake to me. It was very interesting, but maybe it just didn't blend with the white chocolate as well as I wanted it to.

The white chocolate was sweet, of course, but could have been a lot sweeter. It was creamy and rich at first, and then the fruity flavor kicked in. My husband thought the quality of the white chocolate was very good, but also wasn't crazy about the melon flavor. I'd still like to try real Furano melon, but for the time being, these provided a cheaper tasting experience.

B

Meiji website

Glico Matcha Mobaccho

In the past couple years, I've seen a couple candies from Japan that come packaged in a coffee cup-like container. To my knowledge, both are essentially Pocky bits, and both come from Glico. The one I'm reviewing is Mobaccho, and the other (cuter) one is Walky Walky.

It seems like the whole point of the package design is to be cute, because even though this comes in a cup, it doesn't seem like a good idea to leave it in a car, ever. Also, the package came open in my lunch bag when I brought it to work.


Despite the packaging frustration, the Mobaccho smelled like good, if a bit mild, matcha and a hint of cookie. This was described as "matcha and crisp pretzel" but the pretzel really reminded me of animal crackers. This was good, but unfortunately, I could taste the pretzel more than I could taste matcha.

The coating was a decent matcha chocolate, but if I didn't suck the coating off, I could barely taste it. I would have liked a thicker coating or even a matcha-flavored cookie center. It was a decent snack, but a bit disappointing.

Kelly at Tasty Japan posted a review of strawberry Mobaccho, so be sure to check out what she thought.

B-

Glico website