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

Family Mart Sweets+ Parfait Aisu: Kinako/Murasakiimo – ファミリーマート きなこ・紫いもパフェアイス

It’s rather late to start writing about ice cream when I’ve already noticed Halloween costumes in shops, but I wanted to introduce some of the best things I’ve eaten this summer while they’re still around, starting with Family Mart’s Sweets+ Parfait range. Due to its proximity to my house, I’m biased towards 7-eleven for conbini desserts, but when browsing in the Tsutaya branch of ‘famima’ I spotted some attractive ice cream pots and picked up four different flavours. I wasn’t disappointed. It’s not often that a product like this actually matches the picture on the packaging but on peeling back the lid of the Kinako Parfait Aisu I was pleasantly surprised:

Flour-dusted mochi, deep red anko and dark, glossy syrup nestle atop a swirl of kinako ice cream, just as promised. On top of this, the quality is excellent – the mochi are mildly sweet, soft and gooey, the an is rich and earthy and the syrup provides a hint of molasses flavour. The delicate yet distinct toasty aroma of kinako comes through in the ice cream, which has a good, thick consistency and melts slowly enough to give you time to savour this dessert.

8/10

Murasaki Imo (purple sweet potato) Aisu

 

Again I thought the presentation was great, especially the deep purple potato chunks. This parfait has fewer flavour components than the kinako aisu, so the robust sweetness of candied murasakiimo the central element, with roasted and salty background notes provided by the black sesame sprinkles.

The frozen potato has an indulgent fudgy texture and the ice cream, also murasakiimo-flavoured, is rich and gelatinous. The extra touch that made this my favourite was that the inside of the pot had been coated with a thin layer of sweet potato paste,so that each spoonful of ice cream was complimented by its smooth texture and condensed sweetness, all the way to the bottom.

8/10

The Sweets+ Parfait Aisu range also features Marron, Matcha and Yuzu/Honey/Ginger.

7-eleven Matcha Anmitsu + cafe desserts – 抹茶あんみつ + カフェのデザート

So far I’ve only reviewed chocolate products so this time I thought I’d do some proper Japanese sweets, starting with anmitsu. Anmitsu is a cold dessert consisting of cubes of a gelatin-like substance called kanten in a thin brown or white sugar syrup (mitsu), topped with a paste of sweetened azuki beans (an) and often cream and a variety of fruits. In this version the kanten/syrup base is green tea flavour, and a lovely colour to match. This was only about 300 yen but it’s nicely presented in a sturdy plastic pot that has a little shelf to keep the cream and fruits separate from the syrupy mixture below, so everything is fresh. The appearance of the fruity topping is mouth-watering, the kanten is smooth and glossy and the syrup gives off a sweet yet earthy scent of matcha.

The topping contains slices of juicy mandarin, a cocktail cherry, plain and matcha sweetened whipped cream that melts in the mouth, chewy shiratama (glutinous rice balls), soft an and whole azuki beans, so there is a great variety of textures in play.
The kanten is slightly firmer than jelly so has a little resistance when you bite into it. The matcha taste is very subtle but the syrup has a stronger flavour, though it is sweet rather than herbal.

I’ve bought anmitsu at 7-11 several times now but I’ve never tried putting the fruits etc on top of the kanten, I like to keep it all separate so that the cream doesn’t dissolve into the syrup.

Thanks to the staple of Japanese life that is the conbini, you don’t need to go a cafe to treat yourself to a tasty dessert but if you’re looking for something more luxurious here are some similar sweets that I’ve had in Japan:

This anmitsu that I had at Hanakanro (花かんろ) near Mt. Hakodate has vanilla ice cream and multi-coloured kanten flavoured with various fruit juices such as lemon and strawberry. It’s so colourful and pretty that it seems a shame to eat but I somehow managed^^ It’s a very generous serving with lots of handmade shiratama so quite filling but also refreshingly fruity. If you ever happen to be in Hakodate I seriously recommend checking this place out because it’s in a picturesque area full of old-fashioned Japanese-style cafes and the atmosphere is peaceful and relaxing~

I had this drink at Nana’s Green Tea in Yokohama but it took me a long time to choose because everything on the menu looked insanely delicious – all kinds of iced lattes and ice creams. What I went for in the end is almost a liquid version of the matcha anmitsu: kanten cubes in a milky green tea crushed ice drink, with a sprinkling of azuki beans. My husband went for the richer version, with matcha ice cream and shiratama.

This ‘Mini shiratama parfait’, which you can eat at Rokkatei (六花亭) in Hakodate, doesn’t contain kanten but the other key elements of an, shiratama and cream are there, so if it turns out you love anmitsu but don’t care for kanten this would be ideal.
Rokkatei is mainly a sweet shop and the cafe is only a small, roped-off section, meaning there’s usually a waiting-list to get seated, but while you wait you can browse the selection of chocolates, biscuits, mochi and beautiful gift boxes on display.