Monday, October 18, 2010
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!
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
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!
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
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
The future of this blog
If you've been reading this blog for the last couple of months or if you follow me on Twitter then you know that this was my last year in Japan. I came home to Ohio two weeks ago and as of now I have no immediate plans to return to the land of crazy Kit Kat flavors.
I am both sad and happy about this. I'm sad because I loved my inaka town, my Japanese friends, and hunting for new Kit Kats. I'm happy to be home because I missed my parents, my adorable nephew, and my American friends. But besides general homesickness I had a really good reason to come home and that is because both of my sisters are pregnant! This winter I will have a new niece and a new nephew.
Blah, blah, blah, who cares about babies right? What about the chocolate? you're asking. Well don't worry just because I can't scour the shelves of my local conbini for Kit Kats doesn't mean I can't keep up this blog. I hope to keep the Kit Kat love alive by ordering them online. That does mean that I probably won't be updating quite as often as I have in the past but keep your eyes peeled because there will be new reviews.
Until then let me know what Kit Kats you are trying and what you think of them!
I am both sad and happy about this. I'm sad because I loved my inaka town, my Japanese friends, and hunting for new Kit Kats. I'm happy to be home because I missed my parents, my adorable nephew, and my American friends. But besides general homesickness I had a really good reason to come home and that is because both of my sisters are pregnant! This winter I will have a new niece and a new nephew.
Blah, blah, blah, who cares about babies right? What about the chocolate? you're asking. Well don't worry just because I can't scour the shelves of my local conbini for Kit Kats doesn't mean I can't keep up this blog. I hope to keep the Kit Kat love alive by ordering them online. That does mean that I probably won't be updating quite as often as I have in the past but keep your eyes peeled because there will be new reviews.
Until then let me know what Kit Kats you are trying and what you think of them!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Contest Winner Speaks Out
Back in May I hosted a contest where if you commented you had the chance to win some of the Kit Kats featured on the blog. In June Kate won the contest and sometime in July I finally got my act together and sent her the chocolate.
It didn't take her nearly as long to eat them as it took me to mail them and she kindly emailed me her thoughts. With permission I am posting her reviews here. Enjoy!
It didn't take her nearly as long to eat them as it took me to mail them and she kindly emailed me her thoughts. With permission I am posting her reviews here. Enjoy!
I was a little scared of this one. Like you I always associated aloe with either a funny looking houseplant or a sticky green gel you rub on sunburns. Either way, I'd never been tempted to snack on it. The KitKat wasn't bad though. Mostly I just tasted the white chocolate, which I really like, and a hint of something that reminded me a little bit of raw cucumber. A little odd, but tasty in it's own way. Don't think I'll be ordering more of these or rushing out to munch on an aloe plant though.
This was probably my least favorite. The first thing I smelled was fake banana flavor, which is something I've never liked. There wasn't as much banana flavor as I expected given the smell, but all I could really taste was sweetness with a hint of banana aftertaste.
I have no idea what actual Calpis tastes like, but the KitKat version gave me flashbacks to snack time at Bible School. And every other church activity I went to as a little kid, for that matter. They tasted exactly like the vanilla sandwich cookies that seemed to be a staple of church kiddie snacks, along with red Kool-Aid and M&Ms. Much as I enjoyed the trip down memory lane, I don't think I'll jump at the chance to try Calpis. A couple bites of candy was good, but an entire drink with that flavor would just be too much.
I love white chocolate. I love strawberries. It didn't take much for me to figure out I was going to love this KitKat. And I did :) Even the little bit of tartness just made it interesting and kept me from feeling like I was eating straight sugar.
I agree with your take on this one. It tastes a lot like a UDF orange freeze (my mom's from Cincinnati, so I know my Ohio treats). Very tasty :). Of course, if they're going to make orange KitKats, there should definitely be a mimosa flavor.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Salt and Caramel Kit Kat Bar
New Kit Kats have been thin on the ground recently so I was pretty excited to find this Salt and Caramel Kit Kat at the train station Sunkus. I reviewed the Salt and Caramel Kit Kat Bites previously, giving it the high score of a 9, so I expected that I wouldn't be disappointed with this latest incarnation.
Except that I kind of was. My first problem was that I put it in the refrigerator to keep it from melting in the ridiculous heat we've been having here in Japan so the milk chocolate that normally melts in my mouth did not. I think next time I will let it get a little melty before I try eating it. The other thing, something I am coming to realize after eating a LOT of Kit Kats, is that the Kit Kat Bar and the Kit Kat Little are two different animals. Just because you have the same flavor in both forms does not mean that it tastes the same. With a Kit Kat Bar the flavor is more diffuse while the Kit Kat Little has a very concentrated flavor. This bar had the same great salty caramel taste to it but the coldness of the bar (my fault) combined with a less concentrated flavor led to a less enthusiastic thumbs up from me.
I liked it, don't get me wrong, but my anticipation did not match up with the eventual outcome. Just like I preferred the Strawberry Kit Kat Little I also prefer the Salt and Caramel Kit Kat Bites. But alas, you can't get the bites anymore so you have to take what you can get which is this pretty delicious bar. Just don't eat it all in one go if you are on a diet or used to eating the minis - it has 234 calories of salty caramel goodness.
Final Score: 7
Except that I kind of was. My first problem was that I put it in the refrigerator to keep it from melting in the ridiculous heat we've been having here in Japan so the milk chocolate that normally melts in my mouth did not. I think next time I will let it get a little melty before I try eating it. The other thing, something I am coming to realize after eating a LOT of Kit Kats, is that the Kit Kat Bar and the Kit Kat Little are two different animals. Just because you have the same flavor in both forms does not mean that it tastes the same. With a Kit Kat Bar the flavor is more diffuse while the Kit Kat Little has a very concentrated flavor. This bar had the same great salty caramel taste to it but the coldness of the bar (my fault) combined with a less concentrated flavor led to a less enthusiastic thumbs up from me.
I liked it, don't get me wrong, but my anticipation did not match up with the eventual outcome. Just like I preferred the Strawberry Kit Kat Little I also prefer the Salt and Caramel Kit Kat Bites. But alas, you can't get the bites anymore so you have to take what you can get which is this pretty delicious bar. Just don't eat it all in one go if you are on a diet or used to eating the minis - it has 234 calories of salty caramel goodness.
Final Score: 7
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Cola and Lemon Squash Kit Kat
Sorry to not be posting much but there have been fewer Kit Kats to review and now that rainy season is over and summer is finally here I've been enjoying more summer appropriate treats (as in ones that don't melt all over me in this 35 degree heat.) I highly recommend Lotte Peach Ice Cream and Pure Apple Gummies. But enough about other snacks, let's talk Kit Kats shall we?
This is a two-fer review. Two reviews in one because with this Kit Kat you get two different Kit Kats in one box. That made it a bit of a challenge for me actually because I generally like to eat two of any Kit Kats I review so that I can get a good idea of the flavor. So if you try these and wonder where on earth did I come up with this review then that's my excuse. (I think some of you think that anyway heehee.) Unfortunately, these were not good enough to warrant buying a second box to make sure I was fully appreciating all the nuances but here's what I got.
First up: Cola Kit Kat - 100 calories made with white chocolate but colored a light brown color to suggest cola. It smelled kind of like cola but really more like bubblegum in my estimation. The chocolate itself is cola flavored and there is more of that "soda" powder between the wafers. The same "soda" powder that was in the Ramune Kit Kat and it gave it that same bubblegum/Fruity Pebbles twist. Sadly this addition ruined it for me. The chocolate itself was not too bad, a little on the sweet side, but actually tasted like cola. A little less "soda" powder and it would have been an interesting snack. I think I'd still prefer a real glass of coke though.
Next up: Lemon Squash Kit Kat - for those of you not in the know Lemon Squash is a kind of soft drink sold here in Japan. This bar was also 100 calories and made with white chocolate. It was colored yellow and smelled like lemon. The chocolate had a nice lemon flavor to it. This, too had the "soda" powder between the wafers but it worked better here. The powder has a bit of sour kick to it that went nicely with the lemon. This was definitely the better of the two but it still wasn't something I would choose to eat again. If you're a regular reader of this blog you'll know that I have mixed feelings about chocolate and citrus together and this was another example of that. It was good but not my cup of tea.
Overall this was more fun for the novelty factor rather than the flavor factor. I'm always happy to try new Kit Kats but this isn't one I can enthusiastically recommend or one I will buy again. They weren't bad but they weren't that good either.
Final Score: 5
This is a two-fer review. Two reviews in one because with this Kit Kat you get two different Kit Kats in one box. That made it a bit of a challenge for me actually because I generally like to eat two of any Kit Kats I review so that I can get a good idea of the flavor. So if you try these and wonder where on earth did I come up with this review then that's my excuse. (I think some of you think that anyway heehee.) Unfortunately, these were not good enough to warrant buying a second box to make sure I was fully appreciating all the nuances but here's what I got.
First up: Cola Kit Kat - 100 calories made with white chocolate but colored a light brown color to suggest cola. It smelled kind of like cola but really more like bubblegum in my estimation. The chocolate itself is cola flavored and there is more of that "soda" powder between the wafers. The same "soda" powder that was in the Ramune Kit Kat and it gave it that same bubblegum/Fruity Pebbles twist. Sadly this addition ruined it for me. The chocolate itself was not too bad, a little on the sweet side, but actually tasted like cola. A little less "soda" powder and it would have been an interesting snack. I think I'd still prefer a real glass of coke though.
Next up: Lemon Squash Kit Kat - for those of you not in the know Lemon Squash is a kind of soft drink sold here in Japan. This bar was also 100 calories and made with white chocolate. It was colored yellow and smelled like lemon. The chocolate had a nice lemon flavor to it. This, too had the "soda" powder between the wafers but it worked better here. The powder has a bit of sour kick to it that went nicely with the lemon. This was definitely the better of the two but it still wasn't something I would choose to eat again. If you're a regular reader of this blog you'll know that I have mixed feelings about chocolate and citrus together and this was another example of that. It was good but not my cup of tea.
Overall this was more fun for the novelty factor rather than the flavor factor. I'm always happy to try new Kit Kats but this isn't one I can enthusiastically recommend or one I will buy again. They weren't bad but they weren't that good either.
Final Score: 5
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Aloe Vera Yogurt Kit Kat
Until I came to Japan the only thing I knew about aloe vera was that it's good for sunburns but apparently you can eat it. They put it in yogurt here in Japan, sometimes by itself and sometimes chunks of aloe mixed in with your regular fruit yogurt. I've always shied away from eating it because, well, the idea of eating something I previously only thought of as a topical medicine didn't sound appealing. It still didn't sound appealing even after I saw the latest Kit Kat mini - the Aloe Vera Yogurt Kit Kat. They sat in my kitchen while I ate every other Kit Kat and snack I had while I worked up the courage to try it.
The Aloe Vera Kit Kat comes in a bag of 12 minis. Each is 69 calories. They are tinted a greenish color and smell like a bad sunburn. I didn't get a good sense of any yogurt, which is too bad. Mostly it had a very sweet white chocolate flavor with a hint of something else. Since I don't eat aloe vera often I'm assuming that's what it was. It had a sharpness to it and tasted slightly medicinal although that could be my preconceptions of aloe vera getting in the way. It wasn't bad but it wasn't something I want to try again, especially since the aloe vera hung in my mouth long after I finished the bar.
I wouldn't recommend this to anyone unless you are accustomed to and like eating aloe vera or you are feeling adventurous.
Final Score: 4
The Aloe Vera Kit Kat comes in a bag of 12 minis. Each is 69 calories. They are tinted a greenish color and smell like a bad sunburn. I didn't get a good sense of any yogurt, which is too bad. Mostly it had a very sweet white chocolate flavor with a hint of something else. Since I don't eat aloe vera often I'm assuming that's what it was. It had a sharpness to it and tasted slightly medicinal although that could be my preconceptions of aloe vera getting in the way. It wasn't bad but it wasn't something I want to try again, especially since the aloe vera hung in my mouth long after I finished the bar.
I wouldn't recommend this to anyone unless you are accustomed to and like eating aloe vera or you are feeling adventurous.
Final Score: 4
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