Ritz Camembert & Pepper, Mozzarella & Basil Crackers リッツカマンベールペッパーとモッツァレラバジルチーズサンド

Light, buttery and airy like you'd expect a Ritz to be, but there wasn't much distinction between these two flavors, save for the basil being quite potent in the mozzarella/basil combo. The pepper was there, too, not overpowering, but there. As for the cheese, as I said, there really wasn't too much difference between the Camembert and mozzarella, which, if you've ever had the actual cheeses, you know they're not too alike when it comes to flavor. But then again, I'm not crazy, i.e. - I'm not expecting cheese filling in a cracker to match the taste of the genuine article.

Each pack comes with 9 crackers, which are pretty substantial all told. Perfect for a bowl of soup or two.

Verdict: While I wouldn't buy them again if shipping was involved, if I could buy them directly from a store shelf, I may give em another whirl.

Tohato Bakkun Habanero "Demon Cheese" Flavor 東ハト暴君ハバネロ魔界チーズ味

 

Got these because I love the snacks, but also the bag is awesome and will look good on my wall. Bakkun, the mascot, has Frankenstein-like stitches & a bolt on his face on the front, presumably because these are the "Demon World Cheese" flavored special edition for Halloween. I remember whenever I went to Japan the first time in 1996 & barely anyone even knew what Halloween was, and now it's celebrated every year there even by smallish communities. (If Twitter is to be believed =P) I wasn't necessarily put off by this, because I'm sure the taste will be awesome, but the snacks themselves kinda look like anuses, lololol.

Japanese Snacks

Got some snacks from NapaJapan this week, as well. Including some yummy Satsuma Imo (sweet potato) sticks, Maple Butter Caramel Corn, Blue Hawaii Hi-Chew & my favorite, Maple Sugar Copan!

Winter Cheese Doritos

Having just ingested quite a few of these, I figured I'd do the review while the aftertaste was still fresh in my mouth. It's funny, I love salty things, and I can't really put my finger on why these taste too salty even for me - because they're not - but they're overwhelmingly salty without actually being such. It's bizarre.


But that's Winter Cheese Doritos for you, enigmatic. I know that Frito Lay is an American company, and that in Japan, Western/American holidays are becoming more and more widespread in celebration. (Halloween was virtually unheard of whenever I was there and whenever we were learning through that US high school filter & through a teacher who had been in Japan the better part of a decade, but now via ex-pat blogs and other sources like ESL teacher friends, Halloween is actually starting to be celebrated as a regular sort of holiday) Americans like swiss cheese. I've worked in a deli before, I've shopped in the refrigerated section of my local grocer, I know Americans buy swiss cheese. Finally, the chips are in the shape of xmas trees. American manufacturer, a flavor Americans probably wouldn't hate, and a Western holiday. Why are these chips only available in Japan? Yeah, I went off on a whole-paragraph tangent about this. Because it is just so weird. Japan has xmas decorations, they have xmas cakes like in the UK, but the UK also has xmas cakes. No one else has Douglas Fir Doritos that taste like swiss cheese (powder).

As for the taste, texture and all things relevant to the actual physical snack, the bag has a picture of a wedge of swiss cheese and calls itself Winter Cheese. The description on the back of the bag asserts that they are called "Winter Cheese" because they've, "sprinkled snow-colored, rich cheese onto Doritos." It also goes on to say that you should, "get the fun feeling of winter through this exciting tortilla chip," or some approximation of that. So how does the actual taste stack up? As I said above, there's this odd saltiness that is not salt. They do have that typical Doritos "overpowering corn chip" undertaste, too. There is a cheese taste there that is vaguely swiss, but it could just as easily be renamed any other cheese and the placebo effect would probably dictate that it's muenster or cheddar successfully if they're put those cheeses on the package. Which, I realize there's only so much you can do with chemical cheese powder.


The texture, which I've tried to capture, but didn't really do successfully (the auto-focus wouldn't cooperate), it normal corn-y Dorito on one side, and it almost looks glazed and feels borderline waxy on the other side. For as drenched in cheese as the waxy side feels, like I said there isn't that much of a cheese taste there, if anything the taste of the corn chip comes shining through more than anything.

The tree shape gimmick is what initially snared me, and I don't hate swiss cheese. Overall these weren't bad, but would I buy them again? Probably not.

Corn Kat?! Sapporo Limited Edition

So I got a shipment from napaJapan the other day, a wonderful new J-snack website that has insane amounts of product when compared with any other site out there. (Still getting around to throwing some of their graphics/links up on the blog here) They have over 360 products in stock, most of which are food items, including over 25 flavors of Kit Kat (as of this writing) as well as massive selections of Pringles, Hi Chew and other popular Japanese snacks, and some not-so-well known stuff, too! In addition to their already-established monster selection, they add new products almost daily, and if you follow the Japanese snack/food/pop culture scene at all you know that Japan loves "limited edition". So having a site that stocks new flavors of things that change their flavors almost monthly is quite a boon for anyone living outside of Japan who doesn't have immediate access to a konbini every minute of the day. (like me, for now, for one) =P So if you like what you see here, click the link above because chances are napaJapan carries it & I probably bought it there! Additionally, before I get to the actual Kit Kat I consumed today, they are super-prompt with shipping, too. I placed my order on Sunday of last week, shipped it by Airmail which usually takes 7-10 days and sometimes longer during the holiday season, and it got to me by Saturday. I was pretty amazed. Also, they use new, clean boxes and everything was packed really well.

Anyway, I'm working my way up to trying out my Wasabi Kit Kat - not quite at that level of bravery yet. ^^; Being in Hokkaido, napaJapan got ahold of a stock of the two Hokkaido regional flavors: Yubari Melon (cantaloupe for those of you residing across the pond) and Roasted Corn. The Roasted Corn flavor was my approximation of "manning up" to eventually try the Wasabi ones. If you can read Japanese, it says 北海道限定 or Hokkaido Limited, on the box.

Before I delve into the actual product, I'd like to take a minute to point out a neat feature of this version. As I said, these are "regional flavors" and are only certain ones are sold in certain locations throughout Japan (usually a fusion of whatever that area is famous for, poured into chocolate form). For instance, Yubari Melons are grown and come from Hokkaido, so that flavor of Kit Kat is only sold there. Japan may be a small country, but it has so much variation from place to place while still being largely homogeneous. While being varied, but so compact at the same time, it's easy to institute the gimmick that Nestle built into these regional flavors. When you purchase a flavor, it has a spot for an address, postage and a message on the back. Yes, that's right, you can trade or send flavors as a gift (which is also a very Japanese quality, so clearly Nestle has some sharp cookies in their Japanese offices) so you don't have to travel up and down the tokaido and thensome just to taste every flavor. They're labeled as "Kit Kat Tabi Saki Mail" near the top left of the package, tabisaki means destination or goal.

As for the Kit Kat itself, I have to say that much like the Ginger Ale flavor it was so accurate that it freaked me out. This was not, "Oh this almost tastes like Kinako," or, "Doesn't this Macchiato taste just like the Tiramisu Kit Kat that was out this Spring?" This flavor tasted like buttered-corn which, considering that they cracked the formula on artificial butter flavoring on popcorn ages ago, kinda deflates the mystique. However, it did taste like actual corn, it was bizarre not feeling the individual kernels or anything. (For comparison, there's a smoothie shop at one of our malls here that serves peanut butter smoothies and the texture of "smooth peanut butter" is one of the oddest things I've ever run across) The coloring is exactly as you see on the box (I was too lazy to take a pic of the actual thing), a pale yellow just like a cob of corn.

I'm not a huge fan of corn, though I do like it. This was more of a curiosity thing, and a chance to bolster my bulletin board full of "really cool J-snack packaging". That said, would I buy this again? If they were of the $2 variety, sure, but I wouldn't pay $8 for these again. Though they are quite good, if you like the taste of corn, I heartily recommend them. (lulz!)

Kit Kit Mega Matsuri - キットカット超祭り

My cousin was in Tokyo last week and I joked to her online that she should pick me up some limited Kit Kit flavors... later that day, she had already begun collecting Kit Kats for me. I have the best itoko-sama evar! ^^

I ended up with 7 flavors, many of which I've already encountered reviews for online - and a few of which I thought ended their production run by now. I can't say that I was disappointed by any one flavor for the most part - I know that Ginger Ale still carries that stigma of childhood illness for me as I was force fed it when I had the flu as a kid, so it still makes me nauseous when I taste it. However, that was not the fault of the Kit Kat.

There were some interesting flavors in the batch:

- Royal Milk Tea


This was exactly what I had expected, maybe a little more mellow. I've had it in liquid form and on biscuits as chocolate in Kinoko no Yama snacks, so I kinda knew what it was going to taste like before I even got it in my hands. Japanese "Milk Tea" in a bottle/can from Kirin certainly tastes a little artificial but is refreshing just the same. If you've ever had this, or pretty much any other brand of Japanese bottled milk or sweetened black tea before, that's exactly what these taste like. If you haven't, it's kind of hard to describe the flavor, then. They sort of taste like a tea that's been mellowed with milk and sugar, but it's a borderline plastic sugary flavor. I really can't compare it to anything I've tasted before other than the actual bottled tea that I imagine it's modeled on. The packaging claims that it uses real milk tea flavoring - it doesn't say how much, but I can't imagine that it's anything more than chemicals just going off of the taste.

- Fruit and Vegetable

I have to admit that I was really eager to try these. The packaging promises that it uses apple, carrot and other veggie juices, 0.25%. Honestly, all I could taste was the apple, not even a smidge of carrot or anything else at all. The apple flavoring was good, but that brings us to...

- Apple Cider Vinegar


Again, I love apple cider vinegar, so I really wanted to taste these as well. And again, these claim to use a small percentage (in this case 1.4%) of "apple cider vinegar powder". "Apple spices" as well, which I guess overpowered the vinegar portion, because there's just a minuscule aftertaste of anything resembling vinegar. These tasted almost identical to the Fruit & Veggie kind. Once more, not disappointed because they did taste good, but not exactly what I expected, either.

- Ginger Ale


Ginger Ale was easily the most unique tasting of the batch. It claims usage of 0.3% of "lemon powder", and also ginger ale flavoring. And I have to say, this did taste like real ginger ale because, as I said above, I actually got nauseous as a result, so I guess it really tricked my stomach into thinking I was drinking ginger ale (and also had the flu =P).

- Matcha (Green Tea)


I haven't "tried" this one yet, because I've had matcha Kit Kat and chocolate and ice cream, before. I imagine the the formula for the chocolate hasn't changed at all, and I requested it because it is my favorite flavor and the most delicious of all Kit Kats/chocolates, in my opinion. It replicates the green tea flavor quite perfectly and I can't even articulate how good they really are. Needless to say, I try to pick these up everytime I see them for sale.

- Soy Sauce


醤油 Shouyu, or Soy Sauce, I almost expected to be disgusting, but I wanted to try them. Surprisingly, they were quite good, almost defying description. Their taste hints at real soy sauce - of which they supposedly use 0.7% - with a normal chocolate taste base. But not soy sauce in a disgusting or off-putting way, like an undertone which compliments the basic chocolate taste. If you've ever had soy sauce, you know that it is extremely salty, and it's not like salt hasn't been done in Japanese snacks before (oft-paired with vanilla or caramel), but the salt doesn't overpower here. It also purports to use みたらし Mitarashi which is water at a shrine used to purify you before you enter, as close as I could tell that's what it was, there wasn't another definition fitting anything consumable in the 2 dictionaries I checked. These are part of a regional line of Kit Kats released every so often (I want to say once a year?) throughout Japan, in this case since my cousin was in Tokyo, she got the two Tokyo flavors, this being one of them. They come in more elaborate packages, and as with any 限定 (limited edition) products, of course they cost more. ^^;

- Kinako


黄粉 or kinako, is soybean flour, and it has a very distinctive taste. To me it tastes like subtle peanut butter (wow, that'd be a great name for a band). On that note, I have to say that these are too overpowered by the chocolate taste for the kinako to shine through. It's there, but very, very lightly - and for something that's already fairly subtle, barely noticeable. Like the Soy Sauce Kit Kats, these are part of the limited edition regional line, also a Tokyo flavor, sold in 12 mini bar packs.

All in all I was satisfied with these flavors, even though some were extremely similar, and on occasion the placebo effect of what they should taste like is overridden by the plain chocolate taste. (i.e. - I think the power of suggestion by the Soy Sauce and Kinako flavors' packages and that you know what they're supposed to taste like makes them taste slightly like that because you don't want to think you spent 799yen on plain Kit Kats with fancy boxes. But that's just the cynic in me, they do taste like what they're supposed to taste like - even if it is just slightly. =P)

Since she was busy the whole week and change she was there, I really didn't know what she was bringing back until after she returned home. Coincidentally, I ran across the best little site for snacks, called NapaJapan. They have an amazing selection already, and they've only been in business for a few months, over 350 items! I have another order of Kit Kats and other J-snacks coming hopefully tomorrow, or at latest next week, so look forward to more reviews soon(ish).

Cheetos Combo - Spicy Salami & Cheese Flavor チートス・コンボ スパイシーサラミとチーズ味

Got these from J-List a while back and noticed that they were about to expire the other day and consequently decided to try them. (I have a separate drawer for Japanese snackage, and as a result I often neglect eating stuff until I have a craving. I also often purchase J-snacks merely for their pretty packaging and expect very little in the way of taste in certain items.)

I really have to say, I am fairly uncertain about the existence of delicatessens in Japan. I know at least one Subway restaurant exists and I've seen on blogs and heard about through people I keep in contact with, that certain sandwiches and shops that make said sandwiches *do* exist. Regardless of that fact, the company that makes these is US-based Frito Lay. Now I assume that Frito Lay Japan has a largely Japanese staff, devising flavors that would satiate the Japanese palate. If it was a largely American staff, I would say it's ironic that Americans couldn't pin down salami flavoring in a snack, since every kid I grew up with, in their lunches in grade school had a salami & cheese sandwich everyday.

Now that the secret is out about what I think of the actual flavoring, I'll say this: if you are a person who enjoys salami and/or cheese, then these aren't for you. (Also I'm pretty sure they're a limited flavor and are no longer available. =P) If you are, however, someone that as a child enjoyed eating dog biscuits because you enjoyed mimicking the family dog... then these might suit you! I love cheese, and though I'm not a giant fan of pork products, I do enjoy the occasional piece of salami. Having said that, when I opened the bag I was greeted by an odor that smelled kinda like a cross between dry dog or cat food, a beef bouillon packet that you'd get with instant ramen and possibly onion or garlic powder.

The first thing I do when I get a salty Japanese snack now is scan the ingredients list for the kanji 魚 - or fish (and ebi, which is shrimp). Having a relatively vehement dislike for fish, as well as knowing that the staple of a normal Japanese person's diet aside from rice *is* fish, it never really dawned on me that my snacks-bought-abroad might contain some fishy additives. That is, until I bought a bag of "Thai" flavored Habanero rings from Tohato. They basically both tasted and smelled like high tide. That's why I tend to only buy things that don't really hint at having meat of any sort in them. (Which, I've kinda killed that rule in the last few months... these Cheetos, Teriyaki Doritos and Kua Aina "burger chips" which are apparently based on some famous burger shop in Hawaii's recipe and are also made by Frito Lay aaaaaand also kinda smell and taste like unsavory dog food) Anyway, it turns out that that "high tide" smell turned out to be "ebi powder", my Thai Habanero rings were dusted with "shrimp 'leavins". That experience was the final piece in a puzzle that told me I would never have a Japanese palate to tolerate most Japanese food.

As for the taste of the Cheetos, it wasn't much better than the smell. Since both flavors are mixed in the bag and the whole package is so pungent, I can only assume that the salami is overpowering the cheese flavor, because I've had "straight" Japanese cheese flavored Cheetos and Doritos, and they *are* cheese flavored. These... have no trace of cheese flavor to be found. They have the typical Cheetos shape and crunchy texture, but again, just grossness permeates the whole thing. While they don't taste like dog food per se, they certainly don't taste good. The onion/garlic powder taste shines through, and garlic powder is listed about 1/3rd of the way down the ingredients list. Pork powder, milk powder, vegetable (plant) oil, and oddly enough sugar are all near the top of the list. I tasted absolutely nothing sweet at all, nor the pork that is an essential for salami.

I bought this on the premise that the flavor would be interesting, not the packaging (which I could see before purchasing it). So when the flavor(s) disappointed, I knew already that I couldn't say, "Well at least the package is cool." It looks like any normal bag of Doritos you'd buy here in the US, only with kana on it.

If you happen to see this anywhere, do yourself a favor and pick up some colorfully-packaged dog food instead. ~_^

Moar J-Snackage

Got a nice little haul of snacks and a few "wacky Japanese" items as J-List would say.

Received 4 flavors of Hi-Chew, including 2 that are "祭り" Matsuri, or festival flavors. One is Candy Apple & the other is Cotton Candy. Both taste like flavors I've already had (i.e. - apple) but the one big difference about these was the fact that they had bits of brown sugar in them!

I don't know if you can see them in the pics, but the bits of brown sugar are there, and it is definitely real, granular, sweet brown sugar. ^^
Got some Japanese Cheetos as well (regular flavor, I know I got the Salami & Cheese ones last week that I have yet to eat). Apparently Chester Cheetah was "born" February 21st 1986, to spread Cheetos across the world. If you believe Japanese packaging 100%. =P
These were "Cheetos Mix", and surprisingly there were 2 entirely different kinds of Cheeto in there. They should bring these abroad, I think they'd be quite popular. The long ones tasted like normal Cheetos, slightly spiced (both have what the package describes as "red pepper" in them) and the paw-shaped ones are actually more like a cross between a Frito and a Dorito - also "red pepper"-y.

Small Hauls

Got a small haul or two from J-List and Strapya World this Saturday. I'll let these (captioned) pictures speak for themselves.

The entire little Strapya package lootMy favorite of the bunch was this Melonpan-chan strap ^^

Kabocha-chan and Wasabi-kun (kabocha means pumpkin)

Mikan-chan bell (mikan means tangerine)Capybara-san (Capybara are the largest species of rodent in existence)

Made by the same company as Capybara-san,Iwaya, this is Moichou. This item is a cellphone stand, but I use it for my iPod Touch. It fits perfectly!

And this one toddles along when you wind it up

Megahouse is really the master of gimmicky toys, this seemingly-edible Tirol chocolate transforms into...

...a really innocuous looking robot. Salami & Cheese flavored Cheetos? Hell yes! Don't these seem like a flavor that would be available in North America?

Cheese Pretz. Not much more to say beyond that.

The oddly-named Mike Popcorn. This flavor happens to be Green Tea & Salt.Japanese Pringles, in this case Mayo & Cheese Potato flavor....and Spicy Chicken Flavor. Again, why are these flavors not released here?
A mug from Doki-Doki Majo Shinpan, a series of ecchi games for the Nintendo DS. Unusually enough SNK (yes, *that* SNK) makes these games.

I love the art style on this mug, I used to have a oppai mousepad of the character in the first photo but sold it to get a Yoko (from Gurren Lagann) oppai mousepad. =P