4 posts tagged “snacks”
Our last KitKat report was almost two years ago & the flavors underwhelming, so it's high time for another, and have I got some lovely new boxes to show off. I heart Japanese candy packaging -- not exactly zen, but definitely elegant!*
First off, matcha choco is yet another green tea flavored variety, although in contrast to our previous friends, green tea and green tea with azuki bean, these aren't coated in nummy tea-infused white chocolate. Instead, we get familiar standard milk chocolate coating with green tea filling between wafer & shell. Normally, I adore all matcha-based desserts, but I think chocolate overwhelms here ~ v. sad. Couldn't taste green beyond a vague sense of "creamier-ness" -- much, much prefer its white choco-based cousins.
Ringo choco, clearly from the same "release," comes in an identical form factor: two solo-wrapped, chubby bars inside a tall, thin box. These are wearing the same milk chocolate cocktail dress, but sport apple-flavored intimates this time. The apple? Totally fake & supercharged with sweetness but in a classic, candy way, and as such can't be overpowered by the cocoa, which makes it automatically more successful than the matcha. Was reminded of Miranda's bizarre choco / apple gummy panda cookie, and these are similarly simultaneously appealing & disturbing. My reshuffled pantheon of fruit-flavored KitKats is now ranked thusly: Wine (yes, please!), Strawberry, Ringo choco, Orange, Banana (yuck!).
Finally, chestnut brings us back to lovely white chocolate-based goodness. Again, we're bordering on too sweet, but there's a pleasant nutty, woody, almost smoky flavor present that recalls, if not specifically roast chestnuts, something in their general neighborhood. The flavor's definitely the most complex of the three, and bears further "study." However! Am feeling guilty now after three KitKat bars, so... will have to wait a bit on that.
*it remains impossible to reconcile this elegance with Japanese candy commericals. w. t. f.
**though I do like this one -- I mean, Ayumi Hamasaki!
found these at the local british pantry: golden caramel and tiramisu flavored "kitkat editions" candy bars. they're each roughly the size of a big kat, most of an inch thick, and the wrapper is matte and very classy (especially love the typog!). of the two, tiramisu is definitely more distinctive, & quite an authentic reproduction of the dessert's flavor. i'm hard-pressed to figure out what makes golden caramel different from plain old, but -- as you all know -- i am in thrall to caramel and cannot find fault in it.
of course, these are from the u.k., and typically, all good kitkat varieties originate overseas. this is because nestle owns the worldwide kitkat market, having acquired rowntree, the original makers, in the sixties. however, in the united states, hershey's has rights due to prior licensing and supplies the domestic market. hence, no green tea, no coconut, no "wine" and "noir" boutique flavors -- and definitely no azuki bean! -- here.
although, wonder of wonders, hershey's does list a few limited edition flavors on its product site for kitkats. no telling if they're still current, but if anyone does find orange creme* or milkshake out in the wild, please let me know!
* i have tried regular orange kitkats, and was decidedly unimpressed. my personal favorite? strawberry!
taiwan is apparently mecca for snackers, a melting pot for all foods asian -- very like hong kong, but over there you couldn't find "korean kimchi" flavored lay's potato crisps! and since they also have these in flavors like "seaweed," "thai leaf chicken," "black pepper steak" and "onion crispy crab," you could probably snack for years without resorting to anything as mundane as "sour cream and onion."
these are more like pringles than the lay's you'll find in the states, made from shaping dried potatoes into uniform saddle-shaped rounds. they're positively miniature compared to real pringles, though, with a stack of crisps fitting inside a box roughly the size of a package of carr's table water crackers. but small is good, since i can nibble on a few more per day than i usually allow myself.
taste-wise, they do a pretty good job of getting the essence of a "young" kimchi, with strong tones of garlic and hot chile flakes. there's a touch of tang, too, presumably to suggest pickling, though here it comes across more as sweetness. there's none of the pungent, fermented flavor one finds in a really ripe kimchi, which probably means even people who dislike that may enjoy this. overall, a good flavor match for a potato crisp. besides, i just love the novelty of it.
handily beats the one unusual flavor i tried in hong kong, which was an imported japanese "steak" variety. ugh! completely misguided.
someday i simply must find thai leaf chicken lay's. don't they just sound so good?
followers of neon epiphany will recognize a long-standing obsession with exotic varieties of kitkats, so it's no surprise i had to pick these up when i saw them at the duty-free. these are apparently designed to taste like the local japanese variety of asia's ubiquitous shaved-ice and red bean desserts, with a green tea & white chocolate coating (seemingly identical to normal green tea kitkats, and a red bean creme filling between its inner wafers. the taste is creamy and sweet, much like the dessert -- distinct flavors of tea and red bean -- but maybe a little too sweet! they're good, but i like standard greens better.
(these were 600¥ at tokyo-narita for a decent-sized bag of mini-bars)
also seen: haagen-dazs green tea crispy ice cream cookie -- oh, good grief, yes. sadly, i ate this before i was able to take an attractive mug shot. mustn't let things get melty, after all.
