Japanese foods-- Okashi

[jkonick]

Has anybody tried the wine & noir Kit Kat yet?  Any good?

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I picked up the wine Kit Kat a few weeks ago. It didn't have a super wine-y taste, it was more fruity; it tasted mostly like strawberry. You definitely had to strain your taste buds to pick out a wine flavor, but it was there.

Unfortunately I didn't try the noir, as I couldn't really justify spending almost ten dollars on Kit Kats.

[Tess]

I love this new (?) honey mustard flavour!  I started seeing this on shelves here in Canada a few months ago - it's one of my favourite flavours.

Honey mustard Pretz have been available in the US for at least a year. My favorite Pretz so far is the maple butter, but we get very few flavors at the Mitsuwa here. In addtion to those two I've seen pizza, "salad" and maybe a few others similar to those. Green pea I would love to sample.

[Hiroyuki]

KitKat Sakura (Cherry Blossom) Flavor

Released on January 10, this year. Only available in the juken (entrance exam) season.

Sorry, no photo from me. Someone post a photo, please!

[torakris]

KitKat Sakura (Cherry Blossom) Flavor

Released on January 10, this year.  Only available in the juken (entrance exam) season.

Sorry, no photo from me.  Someone post a photo, please!

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Cool!

I am off to the store as soon as I drop my son off at preschool!

I will be back with a picture.

[nakji]

Is it true that Kit Kats are eaten at exam season because the name sounds like "luck" in Japanese? I recall reading an article here in Seoul about that. It also said that parents traditionally prepare a fried pork dish as well, for the same reason.

We only have white and milk chocolate flavours here...how boring. They're terribly waxy, too. How is the quality of Japanese chocolate, generally? I see Meiji bars here all the time, but I've never bought one. I'm afraid of chocolate disappointment!

[Hiroyuki]

Is it true that Kit Kats are eaten at exam season because the name sounds like "luck" in Japanese? I recall reading an article here in Seoul about that. It also said that parents traditionally prepare a fried pork dish as well, for the same reason.

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Yes. KitKat sounds like kitto katsu (sure to win). There are some others like Carl (sounds like ukaru (pass or accepted) when preceded by an 'u' sound), Xylitol Gum (sounds like kicchiri tooru (pass assuredly), and Koala no March (A koala never falls off a tree.)

Edited to add:

In Japanese, when we say 'fail an exam', we use the verb ochiru (to fall or drop).

Edited January 13, 2006 by Hiroyuki (log)

[chocomoo]

Not sure if I posted about this already, but I got 2 new (?) flavours of Karl: chijimi (sp?) (Korean pancake) & what looked like beef yakitori.

Both pretty good - the dipping sauce flavour really comes through in the chijimi flavour, & I was really surprised that beef yakitori Karl really tasted like it had been chargrilled! There were even some black specks on it - I couldn't figure out what the black specks were though.

[torakris]

Sakura Kit Kat

I was sooo disappointed by this, it tasted like a Barbie doll.

Not that I have ever eaten a Barbie doll before but for some reason this is what popped into my head as I was eating it.

Sakura flavoring and even smell was completely nonexistent.

I also picked up a Look A La Mode, this one was called Look WA La Mode (wa referring to the Japanese flavors). This was a special pack with 4 Japanese flavors:

yuzu

matcha

kinako

black sesame

they were all pretty gross...

[mochihead]

Barbie Doll Flavor? Does it come with it's own accessories, too?

I heard that there was a cantalope flavored Kit Kat also. Has anyone ever seen/tasted it?

[torakris]

Barbie Doll Flavor?  Does it come with it's own accessories, too?

I heard that there was a cantalope flavored Kit Kat also.  Has anyone ever seen/tasted it?

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no accessories included...

I had the yubari melon one almost a year ago, here is the post from a year ago (in the candy thread):

picked up the new yubari melon kit kat this morning

it had a great melon taste, but I didn't really care for it with the chocolate...

[Hiroyuki]

Sakura Kit Kat

I was sooo disappointed by this, it tasted like a Barbie doll.

Not that I have ever eaten a Barbie doll before but for some reason this is what popped into my head as I was eating it.

Sakura flavoring and even smell was completely nonexistent.

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Sorry to hear that, torakris. But it seems to sell well, along with other engimono (lucky items) for jukensei (students taking entrance exams).

Quite off-topic, what do you think of Japan's rigorous, one-track school system? It's like a rite of passage to many young Japanese people. I hope your kids have better options, like going to a university in the United States.

[torakris]

The newest mousse Pocky (Pockies? )

Matcha and Murasaki imo (purple potato), I love the box design on these.

[melonpan]

tohato has put out a new cookie that i like, strawberry cookies.

tohato came out a few months ago with strawberry (white) chocolate cookie and i didnt like that (too soft...). but these new guys are pretty yummy. definitely more bite but still tender. kind of like a shortbread. and best, not tooth achingly sweet like strawberry caramel corn. (but dont get me wrong, i like strawberry caramel corn, heck any of the caramel corns, with a strong cup of coffee)

these new cookies are the victim of overpackaging as they have packaged each single cookie alone.

you can see an image of the package at: <a href="http://tohato.jp/products/topic/">http://tohato.jp/products/topic/</a>. second from the bottom.

the canael corns (same page, top image) have a bodhidharma look to them that i like a lot... can someone tell me about them?

Edited January 28, 2006 by melonpan (log)

[Hiroyuki]

the canael corns (same page, top image) have a bodhidharma look to them that i like a lot... can someone tell me about them?

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It's another engimono (lucky item?) for jukensei (students taking entrance exams). For these Daruma versions, the manufacturer has changed the snack's real name, Caramel Corn, to Canaeru Corn. It's a pun. 'Kanaeru' is a verb meaning to make (someone's dream) come true.

I think that KitKat (which sounds like Kitto Katsu (sure to win)) is the first engimono of its kind, and other manufacturers are trying hard to follow suit.

[melonpan]

thank you very much for the explanation!

[chocomoo]

I noticed maybe around a year ago that some Japanese companies have started making their products in China (for economical reasons, I guess). My first thought was that there would be a difference in quality, but I trusted that there would not be, as it's the same company and they should have the same recipes, right? Mmm, wrong.

While I haven't noticed any difference in the Meiji choco gummies, there is a big difference in the Koala's March biscuits. The ones made in China are often on sale, so we have been buying those for a while. I thought that the quality had diminished, as the biscuit seemed to be a stale, and the chocolate a little plastic-y. Well, we recently bought a box that was actually made in Japan from a 100-yen store, and what a difference! The biscuit is lighter & more airy (there are even small little air pockets in the biscuit), and the chocolate creamier. I ain't buying no China-made Koala's March anymore!

I hope my box of honey & milk Koala's March isn't made in China...

Has anybody else noticed this?

[sanrensho]

Has anybody else noticed this?

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Were the products you had intended for the Chinese/overseas market (not for Japan)? If so, it wouldn't really surprise me if the quality/flavor were different. It is very common to tailor chocolate snacks, for instance, to local tastes. Kit Kat is another example where the chocolate formulation is different from country to country.

[chocomoo]

Yes, I think so - I live in Vancouver, Canada. Some don't even have any Japanese writing on them. The ones made in China often have Chinese simplified characters on them. But why would they think Canadians/North Americans like stale biscuits? I guess I understand the reason for more plastic in the chocolate (keeps longer, and North American generic chocolate contains more plastic, blech!).

[sanrensho]

But why would they think Canadians/North Americans like stale biscuits?

Well, maybe it's due to what the market will bear. In other words, certain markets may be less picky about quality and price points my govern quality of materials/production. Not an excuse, but just an explanation.

I don't really know about Meiji's position regarding Japanese or Chinese-made products for the Canadian market. It could be that they (or their importer) officially endorse their Japanese-made products for Canada, but turn a blind eye to importing of their products from China.

Edited February 1, 2006 by sanrensho (log)

[torakris]

This is interesting, I never really paid attention to where the candy/snacks was made.

I will start checking boxes...

It does sound like they may be made for different markets though.

[AzianBrewer]

This is interesting, I never really paid attention to where the candy/snacks was made.

I will start checking boxes...

It does sound like they may be made for different markets though.

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I have noticed that these companies export the products that are made in China or elsewhere cheap to mass produce.

[fenyx66]

I am addicted to Hichew.  I found Pear flavored hichew in Fukushima-ken on my camping trip to Bandai-san.

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Pear? that is a first... was is ASian pear (nashi) or western pear (yonashi)?

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Well, I just got back from a ski trip with my second grade Junior High students and we went to Fukushima ken and in the Hotel's Gift Shop they had a five pack of Pear Hi-chew. It is La Fransu so I guess it is western pear and not nashi, but they are still really tasty. Under the boxes of Cherry and Pear Hi Chew they had a sign saying Tohoku Only, so sad to say it can only be bought there. I didn't pick up the cherry because I don't think I will like it, plus it was kind of expensive, and seeing how there wasn't a convini anywhere near the hotel, I didn't look for it anywhere else. Had I been able to buy a single pack, I probably would have. So, now I have 5 packs of Pear Hi-chew and I will probably only eat one or two, so what to do with the rest...?????

[torakris]

  So, now I have 5 packs of Pear Hi-chew and I will probably only eat one or two, so what to do with the rest...?????

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well, my address is....

[Hiroyuki]

I just submitted a recipe for milk mochi to RecipeGullet. It's easy to make and it's so yummy.

Edited to add:

I have made cocoa and coffee versions too, but I like the plain version the best.

Edited February 5, 2006 by Hiroyuki (log)

[Hiroyuki]

I found another recipe for milk mochi, which uses tapioca starch.

Ingredients include:

150 g tapioca starch

1/2 cup (i.e., 100 ml) sugar

1 pack (i.e., 1,000 ml) milk