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 flavours  Trying all of these flavours was indeed very interesting. >.<

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.

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.