KitKat Region Pack キットカット味遊記

It has been awhile since I've reviewed a product, but... Here we go. :)

I'm sure that most of you who has travelled to Japan would have seen, if not brought, variations of Kit Kat that are available in various regions of Japan. In many places of Japan, there is a regional/city/prefecture flavor for Kit Kat, which is available in most of the souvenir shops. Being the snack addicted that I am, I went a step further, and searched for a box set that would have most of the regional flavors in one. Even though I wasn't sure if 'KitKat box set' existed, but I went ahead to search for it anyway. Luckily, I found that there was indeed a KitKat Japan set, which I'm not too sure about its English name, but in Japanese it is キットカット味遊記. I'm not too sure how to read the kanji, but I think it's something along the line of Miyuki (??) Anyway, for the purpose of this blog, I will just call it, KitKat Region Pack +_+

I think the best thing about this product is its packaging, both on the outside and inside, making it a prefect souvenir to take home. However, be warn that the packaging is pretty big, but of course, it's not heavy.

The picture above is the back side of the box showing all the 15 flavors inside the box, which consists of:

1. Edomame - grounded green soybean with white chocolate from Tohoku region.

2. Black Honey - collaboration with Eitaro Satoshi with white chocolate from Tokyo.

3. Wasabi - collaboration from Tamaru-ya with white chocolate from Shizuoka prefecture and Kanto region.

4. Red Beans Sandwich - classic menu called 'Ogura Toast' with milk chocolate from Tokai and Hokuriku region.

5. Lemon, mandarin, Lime - a classic blend of the three with white chocolate from Shikoku and Chukoku region.

6. Benimo - popular dessert made from purple taro with white chocolate from Okinawa and South Kyushu region.

7. Amao Strawberry - one of the most famous strawberry in Japan 'Amao' with white chocolate from Fukuoka.

8. Uji Matcha - collaboration with Ito Kyuemon teahouse comes Kyoto's Uji Matcha with white chocolate from Kyoto.

9. Hoji Tea - collaboration with Ito Kyuemon teahouse comes Kyoto's Hoji Tea with white chocolate from Kyoto.

10. Cinnamon sable (Hachi tsu bashi) - collaboration with Shogoin, famous for Kyoto's traditional sweets, comes Cinnamon sable flavor with white chocolate from Kyoto.

11. Apple - apple with milk chocolate from Shinshu (now known as Nagano Prefecture).

12. Pepper - collaboration with Yawata-ya comes one flavor pepper with bitter chocolate from Shinshu. 

13. Blueberry Cheesecake - blueberry cheesecake flavor with white chocolate from Koushinetsu and Onshinetsu.

14. Strawberry Cheesecake - strawberry cheesecake Yokohama edition with white chocolate from Yokohama and Kanto region.

15. Le Lectier - A kind of pear known as 'Le Lectier' speciality of the region with white chocolate from Niigata Prefecture.

As for the tastes, I actually didn't like most of it, except for the Amao Strawberry, Strawberry Cheesecake, and the Blueberry cheesecake flavor. (I wouldn't buy it again for myself though) Most of their flavors are pretty strange, if not a bit fake AND very sweet. I thought I was going to enjoy the Uji Matcha flavor, but it turned out to be very sweet, and somewhat fake. I definitely prefer Nestle's new Otona Matcha Kitkat to this Uji Matcha one.

However, I do think it's a good souvenir for people who are interested in the different regional flavors available. Trying all of these flavors are very interesting indeed. >.<

I brought this set from Nestle.co.jp online shop, and it costs 2,500 yen (exclude shipping) back in February. The good news is that in the last month or so, the price decreased to 2,000 yen. However, the bad news is... the KitKat Region Pack is no longer available through Nestle.co.jp online shop, but I do think that it will come back on sale soon, as it's a pretty good souvenir product, especially for international tourists.

Manneken Belgian Waffles

Finally, final exams are over, and it's holiday time!

In the past three to four months, I've been to kansai twice. Both times, I had to at least visit the Manneken Belgian Waffles shop. Manneken shop can be found all across the country. Surprisingly, there are around eleven Manneken shops in Osaka! The one I always visited was the one in Osaka Station. It's very close to the central entrance of the station, and you could never miss it with the constant long waiting line.

The waffles are freshly made, however, from observation, I think that the doughs are pre-made. These waffles smell heavenly, and I think that's one of the attractions of the Manneken. It's especially good in the winter when you crave for something to keep you warm.

Currently, there are: purple sweet potato (limited edition), plain, chocolate, maple, almond, and sweet potato flavor available. When I was in Osaka in January, there was vanilla custard available as well. I have to say that in my opinion, the plain flavor is the best. According to the description on the website, the plain flavor is the top seller. The waffle itself gives off a wonderful smell of butter, and after it has been cooked, is coated with honey. The waffle costs 147 yen each. Personally, I think it is quite pricy for a piece of waffle, but it's definitely worth it!

Sadly, Manneken isn't available where I live, however, if you are in Osaka, Tokyo Kobe... etc (you know, the bigger cities), it's definitely worth a try!

For more information, please visit: http://www.manneken.co.jp/index.html?f=1

Haagen-Dazs winter limited ice-cream (JAPAN)

Merry be-lated Christmas everyone. 

It has been once in a while since I've post as I've been very busy with classes. And.. Thank to my stupidness, today is the worst day in a long while for me, I went to the nearest convenient store to search for something to brighten my days. Thankfully, I found exactly two cups of Haagen-Dazs to make that happen. 

Now, this is Haagen-Dazs new Special Edition's "Opera flavor". This cup of ice-cream is special alright, as it costed me 420 yen. If I haven't been so intrigued with whether it would be quite cake-like, or ice-cream like, I would have never purchased it. The price is outrageous in my opinion.

 After peeling off the seal, this is what you get. So far, so good. I love how it is exactly like the picture on the lid, down to the sprinkles of gold. This shiny black layer is made from coffee syrup. It was on a bitter side, which is a good combination for the sweet buttercream ice-cream.

While the bottom part is the chocolate sauce, which wasn't too sweet. I think overall the three layer was a great combination. It really did reminded me of Opera cake. The only thing I can really comment on is my preference for more chocolate sauce on the bottom layer. 

My second cup of indulgent was the "mascarpone strawberry" flavor. 

I was really happy with this flavor, and think that they should make it a permanent flavor. I could taste a tad of cherry brandy in it. There were lots of strawberry pieces in the ice-cream as well, which was very pleasing. I hate eating ice-cream, which has "strawberry" on the label, yet there is no hint of strawberry in it, only to see it through the pink color.

 It's very similar to the brand's original strawberry ice-cream flavor, with a twist, the cherry brandy. Definitely an adult strawberry ice-cream. This was around half the price of the Opera flavor.

Rikuro Ojisan's Baked Cheesecake

Since (hopefully) I will be visiting Osaka soon, I thought I would review something from Osaka.

Walking around Osaka Station, it is often that you would see a white paper bag with the name, 'Rikuro Ojisan'/リクローおじさんの店' being carried around, or carried on top of a suitcase. I never really thought about the white bag, or got curious enough to go find the source of the white bags, when I went to Osaka before a friend introduced it to me. But after tasting it, I wish I've gotten curious, and looked for the shop all those years ago. Now, I buy them every time I go back to Osaka. ^_^

Looking at it, it's just a normal fluffy, baked cheesecake, but don't be fool by it. The texture is so smooth, and soft, I seriously felt like I was in heaven after a third bite. The good thing about it is that it is not too sweet, like the others I've tried, so you literary can eat the whole thing without getting sick. (Yes, I've eaten the whole cake at once before.) The best thing about this cake is that it has raisins at the bottom of it, and I think it gives the cake 'a lift' in terms of flavor, as without it, you only would be getting one flavor of the creamy cream cheese cake. Oh yes, and another GREAT thing about this cake is its price. It costs only 588 yen per 18cm diameter of this awesomely delicious cheesecake.

However, the bad news is... It's only available in Osaka and Kobe. So, if you're in the area, or are planning to visit Kansai, definitely give this cake a try.

I would love to say that this is a great sweets to take home (overseas), but sadly, the cake expires fairly quickly (3 days), so it might not be such a good idea.

There are many stores around Osaka, such as Daimaru Umeda, Namba, JR Shin-Osaka Station, and so on. Oh, and there's a store in Sokou Kobe as well.

For further information, please visit Rikuro Ojisan's homepage.

For those who aren't planning to travel to Japan anytime in the near future, you can try to make these at home. I have not tried to make these myself, but I have read various of blogs that offers the recipe, and by looking at the reviews, it's definitely worth trying. However, currently, I have a small portable oven, which cannot bake cakes that will grow fairly tall, as the top of the cake will turn black before it's done cooking. So, if you dare to try, please visit these blogs.

http://www.thelittleteochew.com/2011/03/japanese-cheesecake-tips-tricks.html
http://tofoodwithluv.blogspot.jp/2012/06/light-and-creamy-japanese-cheesecake.html
http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2011/02/japanese-cheesecake-fluffy-creamy.html#.UIlW645Qq0s
http://nasilemaklover.blogspot.jp/2011/04/japanese-cotton-cheese-cake-encore.html

Lotte's Coconut Ice-cream

Summer holiday is coming to an end for students in Japan. I came back to Japan two weeks ago, and on my way back to Beppu, I made a pit stop in Fukuoka for a day. Luckily, while I was in town, Asia Pacific Festival Fukuoka 2012 was taking place. At the festival, there were number of booths promoting tourism of a specific country as well as selling food.

Being a sweet junkie, I couldn't help walking around, looking for a new sweet to try. The Cambodian booth caught my eye, as they were selling coconut ice-cream that is in a coconut shell. It was something that is of course, quite common in my country, but not here in Japan. Knowing that a 400 yen ice-cream is pretty extreme, yet I couldn't help myself. When the staff were opening the ice-cream package, I noticed that Lotte was written on the box, and after a quick search on the internet, I found out that indeed, Lotte does sell coconut ice-cream!

The ice-cream was pretty creamy, but that's what coconut ice-cream is about. However, the creaminess is definitely different from the ones I'm used to eat in Thailand. Japan's coconut ice-cream is much more thicker, with quite a strong smell of jasmine. It is a prefect treat for summer temperature. The price of 400 yen, however is a bit extreme for me. I strongly recommend this for those who loves coconut milk!

The ice-cream is available on Lotte's e-shop for 4,410 yen for 10 pieces. However, it's a part of a set with only 2 coconut ice-cream, 5 orange, 1 pineapple, and 2 lemon ice-cream. Looking at the review from the website, it is obvious that the coconut ice-cream is the most popular out of the set.

Lawson's Cheesecake (limited edition)

Recently, I have been having a trouble adjusting to the summer in Japan. During winter, I've moved to another apartment, and this new place did not come with air-con in the bedrooms. For winter, it was fine because I own electric blanket, heater(s), and thick duvet. However, for summer, I only have an electric fan!! I literally am dying in the heat day and night. The good thing is I will be heading home soon (HALLELUJAH AIR-CON), and from now till then, I will be in a summer session class everyday from morning till late afternoon, so at least I won't have to suffer from the heat. Anyway....

After watching the CM of Lawson's Cheesecake (ぎゅっとクリームチーズ) for countless of times, I finally drag myself to the nearest Lawson, and brought two pieces of this heavenly delights. 

For a 180 yen a piece, I think it was something that I can see myself buy again and again. The combination between sticky, a tad chewy, sweet biscuit base, and a creamy cream cheese cream, made the whole cake very thick and smooth. It wasn't surprising when I read that (apparently) the top part contain more than 50% of cream cheese.

There is also a chocolate cheesecake flavor that I have yet to try. However, I am not sure if I will ever try them because over a few days of observation, (coming back home empty handed because the cheesecake were sold out) there would be a few left over of the chocolate flavor, while the original flavor were long gone.

Sadly, Lawson is only selling the cheese cake for 21 days, (from July 31st till August 20th) so for those who wants to give it a try, you better hurry up!

2012/10/26 UPDATES: Seems that these cheesecakes are so popular that they're now available for an unlimited amount of time at every Lawson stores in Japan.

ねんりん家バームクーヘンオレンジフォンデンがけ Nenrin's Orange Baumkuchen

Before living in Japan, I have never heard of Baumkuchen in my life, not even when I visited Germany, twice! For those of you who haven't heard of a Baumkuchen, it's in a roll shape, while tens if not hundreds of thin cake layers that originated in Germany, and was introduced to Japan during WWI.

While I was in Tokyo last year, and was particularly in the Ginza area. I noticed that there were a long line of people lining up buying some type of snack in a large department store. Of course, being an obsessive tourist I was, I followed everyone else, and got a piece of this round looking cake from a stand called Nenri-ke.

Personally, I thought it tasted alright, however there was nothing too special about it. It tasted like butter cake, with sugar glance on top of it. It is a good snack to have with a cup of coffee in the morning, but other than that, it didn't 'wow' me. At that time, I did not realize that the baumkuchen I purchased is considered the best in Tokyo.

Fast forwarding a year, my wonderful friend brought back a limited edition of the baumkuchen from the same store I had tasted in the previous year. At first, I was hesitant to try it, because I thought it was exactly the same thing I brought last year. I totally ignored the big orange English words that said 'Straight Baum Orange Fondant'. It wasn't until I opened the package that I realized the differences.

Once opened, I realized that the cake was covered with orange glance, and orange pieces. Cutting it into tiny bits, just because I was still hesitant. After taking the first bite, the orange glance was overwhelming. I have never been a fan of orange glance, nor tangerine flavor, therefore, I couldn't really stand it, at first, of course. On a second bit, I could finally cherish the taste of the orange and the baumkuchen together. It was magnificent. The cake wasn't too sweet, nor too orangey for my taste. It was a perfect combination between a tiny bit of sour and the sweet. It is a perfect snack for an afternoon tea, with earl grey tea.

I am very happy with the outcome of this snack, especially the one that can only be found in Tokyo, and is a limited seasonal version. Checking on the website, it costs 945 for this tiny, yet not so tiny thing. As a snack, I think at least it's enough for 4 people. (Diameter of 17cm.)

For those who may be wandering around Ginza, or is planning to travel to Tokyo, I highly recommend you to try it!