Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween!

I hope you've all dressed up and eaten too much candy. My favorites are smarties, Reese's and of course Kit Kats.

My treat for you tonight is a link to a website here in the States that sells Japanese Kit Kats. They are in San Francisco so the shipping is likely to be better from NapaJapan. The only downside is that they don't appear to get the newer flavors as quickly but if you're just getting started or willing to wait then I encourage you to check out AsianFoodGrocer.com.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Roasted Tea Kit Kat - Kyoto Limited Edition

I drank tea before I went to Japan but living there really upped the ante for me when it came to tea-drinking. Now that I'm back in the States I drink a lot more coffee than anything else. I miss the always available pot of green tea in the teacher's room. But luckily I have tea flavored Kit Kats to remind me of better times. Although to be honest I have never had this type of tea. Hochija tea is made with roasted green tea leaves and is a specialty in the Kyoto region. Although I like green tea I don't usually like green tea Kit Kats. This one however was an exception.

The Hochija Roasted Tea Kit Kat is 69 calories and is a regional special limited edition from in and around Kyoto. I assume you can buy it only in that region or you can do what I did and get it on NapaJapan. It is made with white chocolate that is tinted a light brown. It smells like tea and the chocolate tastes like somewhat like tea but when you add in the wafers it tastes just like a chocolate wafer cookie.
Roasted Tea Kit Kat

You know what I'm talking about - those wafer cookies that have creme between them and come in vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry. My grandpa loves them. Well this Kit Kat tastes just like a chocolate wafer cookie so either the wafers in those cookies taste just like Hochija roasted tea or Nestle didn't do a great job of replicating the taste. Since my tea experience doesn't extend to Hochija I can't really say.

What I can say is that it was a pretty good Kit Kat and definitely the best of any tea flavored ones I've tried. If you're a fan of the Green Tea Kit Kats then this might not be your cup of tea (did you see what I did there?) but otherwise I recommend you try them if you can.

Final Score: 7


Saturday, October 9, 2010

Annin Dofu Kit Kat - Yokohama Limited Edition

I'm baaaaack! I missed snacking on strange Kit Kats but thanks to napajapan I can order them online. My first purchase from this side of the world was a few new regional limited editions.

To start with we have a new flavor from Yokohama, highlighting its famous and very large Chinatown. First off let me say that I already miss the Chinese food in Japan. I don't know if it's the closer proximity to China or that Japanese people are more willing to eat more authentic Chinese food but it just doesn't compare to what we can get here in the States. I know I've never seen annin dofu on a menu here but maybe that's because I live in Ohio and most people turn up their noses when I tell them what I've eaten in Asia. The idea of tofu for dessert (or tofu at all for that matter) just doesn't sit well here. Which is too bad because it's delicious. I love me some sweet tofu!

Sweet Tofu Kit Kat

So I was excited to try the Annin Dofu Kit Kat. Each mini has 69 calories and is covered in white chocolate. Straight out of the package they smell just like the Chinese dessert. I took one bite and I declared this one a winner. It tastes just like annin dofu. It is sweet but not overwhelmingly so. It has a nice spicy note to it and bear with me because I suck at identifying spices but I'm going to go with nutmeg.

So there you go. Review over. Mission accomplished. If you like annin dofu then you'll like this Kit Kat. If you haven't tried annin dofu before then try it and then try this Kit Kat. I only wish I could have afforded to buy more of these.

Final Score: 9