Asahi Balance Up Cream Genmai Bran Black Sesame Kinako – アサヒ バランスアップ クリーム玄米ブラン 黒ごまきなこ

Long time no review…I wish I could say the hiatus is due to my being healthy and eating fewer sweets but sadly it’s just laziness that has kept me from updating – my candy intake remains unchanged. However, I’m no stranger to the health food aisles and probably purchase soy bars and sugar-free jelly almost as often as chocolate. One product that I’ve been eating on and off for a few years now is the ‘Cream Genmai (brown rice) Bran’ from Asahi’s Balance Up range, cream-filled biscuits boasting high levels of fibre, iron and calcium.

The wide range of flavours includes cocoa, maple, apple and lemon, blueberry and mixed fruits, but today I opted for one I’d never tried before: black sesame and kinako.

Balance Up consists of two individual packets, each containing two rectangular sandwich cookies. Typically the biscuits are a pale sandy colour, flecked with assorted cereal grains, but this version looks slightly different, containing dark specks of sesame. The unmistakeable roasted, almost burnt aroma of black sesame dominates when you smell these, and also comes through strongly in the flavour upon eating. As for texture, the biscuits have the same dry crunch and crumble as thick oat cakes, but are neither floury nor buttery. There are coarse crumbs of brown rice, sesame and wheat bran which can be very hard if they catch your teeth at the wrong angle, though on the whole I like the crunchy, granular consistency. While there is enough sugar present to make these taste like biscuits as opposed to savoury crackers, the nutty, toasted flavours of the cereal keep the sweetness in check, so it does feel healthier than a typical cookie.

The peach-tinted kinako filling has an icing-like sweetness and consistency similar to that of most sandwich cookies, such as Oreos or bourbons, but I’d say it’s a little smoother and oilier, more like a thick paste than the solid creamy disc that can be extracted intact by a skillful nibbler. I found it a little oversweetened, as I couldn’t really detect the nutty, roasted flavour of kinako, but I think the contrast of dry, coarse biscuit and smooth, sugary center works wonderfully.

The packaging is covered with figures and side-notes stating that one serving contains two thirds of your daily recommended fibre intake, and ten kinds of vitamin and so on, but it’s usually best not to place too much faith in all these attractive claims. That said, despite their sweetness, these biscuits won’t set you off on a sugar high that’ll leave you craving more later; the feeling of satisfaction is fairly long-lasting, which makes them suitable as a diet food. Personally I’ve eaten them as both part of a health kick and to satisfy a sweet craving, so would recommend them to just about anyone!

7/10

(the above rating is for this particular product but I would rate some of the fruity flavours at 8/10 as I think the tartness of fruit compliments the sweetness of the filling better)

Asahi Balance Up Cream Genmai Bran Kurogoma Kinako   2packs   169kcal/pack

Emial Cafe Jelly Coconut Latte – Emial カフェゼリー ココナッツラテ

I used to buy these Emial desserts, consisting of coffee/tea-flavoured jelly in a creamy sauce, a lot, but due to the rather narrow selection of varieties I’d neglected them for a while. However, having recently returned from a holiday to Bali and still in tropical mood, my attention was caught by the newest Sweet Cafe addition: Coconut Latte.

The milky sauce has a light toasted coconut scent and delicious coconut flavour too. The consistency is a little thicker than the usual cream sauce made with dairy and when I first peeled back the lid on the pot the cream had congealed slightly at the surface, as tinned coconut milk has a tendency to do. A quick stir soon blended it back to a smooth consistency.

The jelly chunks have the same texture as those present in previous Emial cafe jellies: firm enough to hold their shape but melting like butter in the mouth. While the flavour is undeniably evocative of coffee, it is closer to the mild, sweetened taste of bottled iced coffee, and lacks the deep, roasted notes and bitterness of the real thing. It seemed as though there was a higher ratio of jelly to sauce than usual, perhaps due to the coconut milk being more concentrated than the typical cream sauce, but this didn’t affect the overall balance of the product.

I thought that coconut milk was a fresh new idea for the Emial range and the release was timed perfectly as the weather is growing warmer and people’s thoughts are beginning to turn to summer. That said, I’m not sure that coconut and coffee works as well as previous combinations in this line, so I probably won’t buy this again.

6/10

Emial Sweet Cafe Coconut Latte

KitKat Big Little Matcha Azuki – KitKat Bigリトル 抹茶あずき

KitKat comes in many forms: standard, chunky, mini, individual fingers… but this is the only incarnation I’ve seen that strays from the traditional rectangular shape and branches into the hugely popular market of single-serving bagged chocolates such as Galbo and Crunky Popjoy. Big Little isn’t new – I tried the Kinako version last year – but it seems to appear suddenly in shops only to disappear again without warning, with a long hiatus before the release of the next variety. I get the feeling that perhaps Nestle is not yet fully committed to the product, and honestly, after considering this latest installment, I can see why.

The eight pieces contained in the packet, each about the size of a piece of cue chalk, are redolent of rich, strong green tea with a hint of sweet red bean, and have that deep olive green colour that I look for in matcha candy. Promising as that may be, I find the appearance rather disappointing. Every face of the cuboids is marked by blemishes and cracks that make them look like something you’d find in a 99p store marked under ‘factory clearance’. While this wouldn’t bother me normally, it just seems so at odds with the standard perfectly formed, cleanly embossed KitKat fingers, that this item feels unrecognisable as a part of the same range.

Never mind, the proof of the pudding is in the eating right? The thick chocolate layer is a little waxy and bland on the surface but creamy once it begins to melt. Milky and mild, the matcha flavour is pleasant, although the chocolate is over-sweetened and a touch sickly. I like that, with the altered chocolate-to-wafer ratio afforded by the new shape (wafer center is larger than usual), the secondary flavour contained in the sandwiched filling is more noticeable than in a typical KitKat. A side-effect of this is that the center is marginally less crisp than usual, being more thickly spread with cream filling. Unfortunately, despite the recognisable deep pink colour of the wafer, the azuki taste is too faint to compete with the sweet chocolate coating and languishes vaguely in the background. This was also the problem with the Azuki Sando KitKats I reviewed a while ago; the wafer center is too slim to allow for the addition of anything coarser than powdered azuki, which just doesn’t deliver on flavour.

I’m not condemning Nestle for trying something different, but the original KitKat fingers look so much more polished and recognisable, and already boast such a diverse range of flavours and sizes, that I just don’t see the need for Big Little, nor where it fits in. I’d still recommend trying it – who knows, maybe it’s the KitKat format you’ve always been waiting for – but I’ll stick to the rectangular bars I know and love.

5/10

KitKat Big Little Matcha Azuki  8pcs  190kcals

Choco Daizu Kinako (kinako-flavoured chocolate soy beans) – チョコ大豆 きな粉

I’m making it my aim at the moment to seek out candies with a decidedly Japanese component: matcha, azuki, satsumaimo…any of the essential elements of Japanese confectionery. Thus, when at Daiso last weekend, I was drawn to this coated soybean snack, which is flavoured with kinako: roasted soybean powder used as a dusting on various traditional wagashi. I’ve never heard of Fukui, who produced this product, but I suspect they are one of the several companies that create cheap and cheerful lines for discount stores. Accordingly, I had no great expectations for this candy.

The fragrant, toasted-smelling beans, approximately the size and shape of small peanuts, are the colour of pale vanilla fudge, with attractively smooth and shiny surfaces. The packet contains a large handful (around 45g). Typical bargain-price ‘chocolate’, the outer coating is rather oily and lacking any hint of real cocoa, providing little more than a soft and sticky-sweet case for the bean within. That said, there is a detectable note of kinako that manages to compete with the sickly chocolate, but it is experienced primarily as a scent rather than a flavour.

The encased soybeans are roasted to crunchy perfection and have a rich, nutty flavour, without the waxiness or oiliness of actual nuts, giving them a cleaner, sharper bite. In spite of the sub-par coating, they are quite satisfying to eat – perfect for munching absently while watching a movie – and will be gone before you know it. While I think a luxury version of this concept, made with high-grade chocolate, could be an indulgent treat, this product for me is simply a cheap snack: it doesn’t rate well as a confection but it fulfills certain cravings in the same way as popcorn or crisps, and is certainly palatable.

5/10

Fukui Choco Daizu Kinako   ￥108

Crunky Matcha – Crunky 抹茶

While traditional bars and blocks are among the less popular forms of chocolate in Japan, Crunky, alongside Meiji Himilk and Ghana, is one of the long-standing fixtures of any candy aisle. Usually made from milk chocolate, Crunky is a lightweight rectangular bar, studded with puffed barley grains, similar to Nestle’s Crunch bar, yet slimmer and thus brittler. With spring having finally arrived (it takes a while for it to reach Hokkaido), supermarkets are awash with matcha and sakura flavoured confections, hence I came across this seasonal item at a large branch of Daiso.

Encased in a thin cardboard box and wrapped in flimsy silver foil, the bar was fresh and in near perfect condition when I opened it. The murky green hue was promising, as, although strong green tea can have a rich emerald tone, typical brews are usually a paler mossy colour. Matcha candy that is a very pale pastel green, while pleasing to the eye, is less likely to deliver on flavour, and will probably taste more like matcha au lait, i.e. extremely milky and sugary. The Lotte logo is embossed into every chunk and the smooth surface has an appealing sheen, with the malt puffs just visible beneath.

Looking at the underside reveals how thoroughly well distributed the grains are throughout the bar. There are a few air holes but not enough to affect the texture. The chocolate has a lovely toasted cereal aroma, like a cup of barley tea, but matcha is not quite detectable in the scent.

There is not as high a concentration of grain here as the illustration on the cardboard sleeve suggests, but there is still enough to provide a nice crisp bite. Every chunk contains plenty of cereal and the barley is light and toasty, not at all stale. It feels fairly solid, by which I mean that despite all the aerated puffs, it still has the dense creaminess of chocolate. The crucial matcha flavour is good – fairly bold – and works very well with the cereal, which really helps to offset the dairy and sugar in the bar and bring out the natural taste of the tea.

I thought this was a good bar, in particular the ratio of chocolate to malt puffs and the green tea flavour. While not as rich a matcha taste as Dars’ Ujimatcha or Meiji’s matcha bar, the flavour was distinctive and pleasant. I don’t think this is my favourite green tea chocolate, but it could be my favourite Crunky.

7/10

Lotte Crunky Matcha  42g   253kcals

Funawa Ankodama – 舟和 あんこ玉

This is more of a summary than a review, but these are just so pretty and photogenic that I really wanted to have them on the blog, if only as eye candy. Based in Asakusa, Tokyo, Funawa is a well established producer of traditional Japanese confections such as sweet potato youkan and the ankodama (bean paste balls) pictured here. I’ve never had the chance to visit the shop myself but can always look forward to receiving Funawa sweets as a souvenir of my husband’s business trips to the capital.

This typical selection box contains nine spherical pieces each coated in a gleaming layer of kanten, a thick gelatinous substance made from agar agar. Effectively separated and protected by the plastic tray, the surfaces of the truffle-sized orbs are so lustrous and smooth that they look more like perspex objets d’art than edibles. The four corner pieces are all simple azuki flavour while the five that form the central cross are (top to bottom, left to right) strawberry, matcha, mikan (mandarin), shiroan (white bean paste) and coffee.

Usually I find that when it comes to introducing additional flavours into anko, the sweet, nutty azuki tends to dominate almost totally, yet Funawa blends the bean flavour perfectly with the other essences: the strawberry is fruity, the green tea lightly herbal, the mikan has good citrus notes and the coffee has a gorgeous heady roasted aroma.

The thin skin of kanten is reminiscent of the aspic used in savoury terrines, though firmer and with a hint of sugariness to it, while the inner anko ball itself is perfectly formed, with no air bubbles or graininess to detract from the rich, smooth consistency (the blemishes visible in the pictured cross-section were made by the knife I sliced them with) Soft yet very dense, one or two pieces can prove unexpectedly filling, and besides you won’t want them to disappear too quickly, as they’re almost as satisfying to look at as to consume.

If you’re in Tokyo and looking a for a sweet treat that people from all over the country are stopping in to buy, then Funawa’s the place to go. Just be sure to drop in early, as, unsurprisingly, the ankodama tend to sell out.

Kracie Tounyuu Aisu (soy milk ice cream) Matcha – クラシエ 豆乳アイス ソイ・抹茶

So sorry for the hiatus! I haven’t had time to review for ages, as work has been hectic, but I finally had a moment to myself and chose to devote it to sampling another delicious dairy alternative: soy milk ice cream. This is always on sale at the Coop near my workplace, although I’ve never spotted it anywhere else, and comes in Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry and Matcha. Naturally I plumped for green tea, as I’m always curious to see how well this unique flavour translates into different substances such as chocolate and ice cream.

The relatively small 110ml pot stands out in the freezer cabinet thanks to the vivid green and gold of the lid. Soy milk constitutes a mere 30% of the ingredients, but I double-checked and confirmed that it doesn’t contain dairy. Not only could this cater to lactose intolerance, it is also cholesterol-free, so pretty healthy as far as frozen desserts go. I was a little unsettled by the almost radioactive hue of the ice cream depicted on the lid, so was relieved to find that the inner contents were a much more familiar and natural milky green tone.

There is no scent to speak of but the green tea flavour burst through immediately when I tried the first spoonful. As with many matcha products that have a milk base, the taste is at the mild and delicate end of the spectrum, with an understated hint of herbal, earthy tea leaves. So does it differ from ordinary ice cream? Well…not really. There is a sense that something is different, perhaps that it is less rich, but there is none of the curious aftertaste notable in un-flavoured products such as untreated soy milk or soy yoghurt. Consistency-wise it is creamy and rather soft, meaning that it begins to melt after only a few minutes. I tend to favour the much denser consistency of gelato, so found it a little on the wet and airy side for my taste, though it was thick enough that I knew I was eating ice cream and not a stiff milkshake for example. The overall sweetness is subtle so that it feels light and refreshing and probably wouldn’t be sickly at twice the size.

I enjoyed this: it’s fairly low calorie, not too sugary and the matcha flavour is recognisable. The only thing that might cause me to neglect it in favour of other products in future is the soft texture, as it’s not really the kind of dessert that you can sink your teeth into. Kracie’s soy ice cream is certainly a decent substitute for dairy cream. If you’re looking for a good ‘matcha ice cream’, however, I’d recommend going for something with a more concentrated flavour, such as Meiji’s green tea range.

6/10

Kracie Tounyuu Aisu Soy・Matcha  110ml  148kcal

Dole Banana Mix + Sono Manma Yuzu – Dole 実感 果実グミ バナナミックス ＋ ライオン菓子 そのまんま ゆず

I’m continuing the fruity theme with two more chewy treats, starting with Dole’s Banana Mix gummies, which are actually manufactured by the well-known Japanese confectionery company Fujiya, famous for their milky sweets and loveable mascot Peko-chan (though none of that is evident from this summery and simple packaging)

The inclusion of collagen in these seems to me to reflect the remarkable popularity of this substance, which I’d only ever  thought of in conjunction with cosmetics, as an ingredient in Japanese sweets, drinks and even nabe. Banana Mix derives its flavour from real banana puree, as well as mango and pineapple juice.

Each piece is shaped like the Dole logo and for the most part the letters can be made out, though there were a few slightly bruised ones. Golden yellow in colour, they are more evocative of pineapple than banana, while the scent is a fruity blend of mango and banana. The gummies are loosely coated with sugar, by which I mean that none of the grains are embedded into the surface in the way of Fruit Pastels for example, and are soft and smooth beneath the sugar crystals.

Initially there is a burst of acidity, no doubt meant to represent the pineapple, which fades as the sugar dissolves, giving way to a mellow banana flavour, tempered with mango. Background notes of pineapple are only faintly detectable. The gums are nicely chewy, with good elasticity thanks to the collagen, and flavoursome to the last. Curiously, the underside feels marshmallow-y, almost like the white mallow of a Haribo fried egg, whereas the face of the Dole symbol is smoother and firmer.

Flavour-wise banana definitely dominates, but it tastes so good that this is far from a criticism. The pack looks small and weighs in at around a mere 42g, yet it contains a generous serving and can be made to last a good while. If you’re looking for a banana-based snack then I’d definitely recommend this over any dairy-based product, as the undiluted fruity taste is much better than in any banana chocolates or milk drinks I’ve tried before. Given the prominence of the banana, my only criticism would be that it might have worked better to create a mix of three individually flavoured gums – banana, mango and pineapple respectively – especially as the pineapple was hardly noticeable and therefore not really worth including.

7/10

Dole Jikkan Kajitsu Banana Mix  42g   131kcals

Next up, something for the health enthusiast: Sono Manma Yuzu

So what is it? Well, ‘sono manma’ basically means ‘as it is’ or ‘unchanged’ and yuzu is a kind of orangey-yellow citrus fruit, slightly larger than a satsuma and with a bitter and sour taste that falls somewhere between lemon and lime. Consisting simply of candied yuzu peel with a little preservative and extra vitamin C thrown in, this makes for a relatively healthy snack (so it’s not 100% unadulterated but there are no artificial colourings or flavourings) Sono Manma is produced by Lion, a prodigious manufacturer of gummies and other such candy.

The sugary fragments of varying sizes resemble ordinary citrus rind sold as a baking ingredient, except with a glittery sprinkling of sugar. As you can see, most pieces are from the outer skin which has darkened to a burnt orange tone as it’s dried, but there are a few pale yellow morsels of soft inner flesh. The intense citrus aroma reminds me of the dehydrated orange slices sometimes used in pot pourri.

The peel has about the texture of that found in marmalade, giving a good resistance when bitten into, a little chewy but quickly softening in the mouth, though the exterior is naturally much drier and slightly hard in places. On the first tasting it’s refreshingly bitter, instantly cleansing the palate, but this initial effect is reduced with every mouthful as you grow accustomed to it, allowing the sweetness of the sugar and the zesty citrus to filter through to the foreground.

I ate this last thing in the evening and liked how the bold, bittersweet flavour of the yuzu stayed with me, although I think the stimulating quality of the citrus would also make this an excellent mid-morning pick me up treat and could even be used as a garnish on cakes and desserts.

7/10

 Lion  Sono Manma Yuzu   86kcal

Mentos Sour Mix – メントス サワーミックス

Like various other products such as KitKat or Hi-chu, Mentos is something that I was familiar with in England, but which has a much wider array of available flavours here in Japan. While the ongoing cold weather makes me long for hot milk cocoa and warm caramel, being off dairy has forced me to go in search of fruitier treats, hence Mentos Sour Mix.

Mentos, if you didn’t know, are chewy, hard-shelled little discs, which come in a roll of approximately 14 pieces. The Sour Mix packaging features a rather psychedelic zigzag pattern and cute cartoony artwork in bright popping colours, and contains two of each of the following flavours: lime, raspberry, pineapple, strawberry, green apple, grape and orange.

While the bold distinctive colours of the wrapper make it easy to distinguish between the different flavours from the outside, the actual sweets within have a much paler, slightly washed-out hue, making it more difficult to tell them apart (though my camera saturated the colours a little so the distinction is clearer here). However, inside the paper the sweets are arranged in the order shown in the illustration, so if you start from one end and work your way in then you can be certain about what you’re getting.

I didn’t have the presence of mind to recreate the line-up depicted on the packet, so here, from left to right, you can see lime, grape, pineapple, raspberry, strawberry and orange. I had been keeping these in a cold room and upon first attempt at biting into one it was so hard and brittle that I nearly broke a tooth and the sweet which should have been chewy simply snapped cleanly in half, practically frozen to the core. Of course they would still be fine for sucking, but I found that placing them near a heater for a few minutes softened them up to perfect chewing consistency.

So, a quick run-down of the flavours.

Lime: Probably the most accurate of all the flavours; good sour citrus notes with a distinct bitterness.

Grape: The least recognisable of the seven, mild, juicy and sweet with only a faint sourness.

Pineapple: Nice tropical aroma but unfortunately lacking the tangy sweetness of the real thing, being closer to citrus in taste.

Raspberry: Excellent scent and instantly recognisable flavour. The sour hit works well to recreate the sharpness of the actual fruit.

Green apple: An initial honeyed sweetness that gives way to a sour burst as you reach the centre – rather like a sharp Granny Smith encased in a ripe russet.

Strawberry: Somewhat similar to raspberry yet less acidic; a fruity yet mild flavour.

Orange: Lovely aroma and very flavourful; it somehow seems juicier than the rest, only slightly sour.

I liked orange, apple and raspberry best, as they provided the most distinctive and fruity notes, though every piece had a gratifyingly firm chew and long-lasting flavour. My overall impression was that these weren’t particularly sour, but based on the packaging I don’t feel like they set out to be so. Having seven different varieties in one pack is very appealing to me, as it keeps things interesting and creates a pleasing assortment of colours, though I’ve bought and enjoyed ordinary single-flavour Mentos before. Currently grape is available in an individual pack but the lines vary throughout the year.

6/10

Mentos Sour Mix 14pcs  146kcal

Kibun Yakiimo-fuu Toufu (baked sweet potato-style tofu) – 紀文 焼きいも風とうふ

So my no-dairy Lent has begun and when scouring the supermarket for new things to try I came across this intriguing item made by Kibun, which although not technically a snack or dessert can be eaten as such, and is certainly sweet enough to warrant a place in this blog.

Firstly I should state that the name of this product is vastly misleading. As it calls itself  ‘baked sweet potato-style tofu’ I assumed it was real tofu with artificial flavourings, when in fact the opposite is true: it uses natural satsumaimo paste but is not a fermented soybean product, being made instead from vegetable fibre and kudzu starch. So what you actually have is ‘sweet potato, tofu-style’.

The ‘tofu’ is a largish 120g block which comes in a sealed plastic container with a tab on the base that you can snap off to release the contents and turn it neatly out on to a plate. In the case of my purchase, the custard coloured cube was virtually unblemished and the surface was smooth and gleaming. Some small-print on the back of the packet stated that any black fragments in the product would be pieces of potato skin, but my piece was a perfectly clean golden-yellow all the way through.
The subtle smell is closer to steamed sweet potato than the rich, sometimes chokingly sweet aroma of freshly baked satsumaimo. I caught a hint of an almondy scent too, reminiscent of annindoufu (a Chinese tofu dessert flavoured with apricot kernel). The consistency is fairly firm – there is no wobble – but it melts in the mouth, although not quite as smoothly as pudding as there is a little pulpiness to the texture. Warming the product for 40 seconds in the microwave is recommended on the packaging, but I opted against this as I didn’t want to risk turning it into a mushy, wet mass, as I prefer a firmer texture.

The flavour is sweet and mild with an almond note to it and no trace of fermentation like you would get with real tofu. Basically it resembles a solid egg custard in all aspects, with a faint satsumaimo flavour. Unfortunately the pleasant aftertaste fades away very quickly and leaves your mouth watering for the next bite.

I was pleasantly surprised by this, largely due to the fact that I initially thought this was real tofu and was thus anticipating a less sweet taste and the slicker, wetter texture of soft tofu that I personally don’t like. I wasn’t convinced by the sweet potato flavour and honestly just felt like I was eating the center of custard tart, but that was delicious in itself. Despite not being made from soybeans, this still has one of the benefits of tofu in that it is low-calorie, at just 83kcal for the whole block, as well as being fat-free. I wouldn’t save this as a special treat but for a quick everyday snack I think it’s great and I’ll no doubt be eating it many more times before Lent is over.

7/10

Kibun Yakiimo-fuu Toufu  120g  83kcal