Hi-Chew is one of the most reviewed snack foods among those who talk about such things. Prior to this post, I was a Hi-Chew virgin. Yes, I've been in Japan for 20 years and never felt compelled to sample one of these. In fact, I can't honestly say that I was compelled this time since my husband bought this for us to try.
This Hi-Chew flavor is somewhat special in that it can only be purchased at "New Days" convenience stores in Tokyo, at least that's what the sign at New Days said. They could be trying to express unfounded Hi-Chew Honey Lemon superiority. That being said, I'm not sure why they'd make such a bold claim if it weren't true. New Days is a chain of stores that is only located in Japan Railway (JR) stations.
If like me, you have never had a Hi-Chew before, it's a soft blob of candy which is like non-sticky taffy. It greatly feels like gum that melts in your mouth as you chew it, which is no surprise considering the name includes "chew". It smells vaguely of honey and gum and oddly had little or no lemon scent.
The taste at first is mostly lemon, and a strong flavor at that, followed by the honey. Both flavors become quite present as you chew. It reminds me of a lemony honey cough drop without the medicine aspects. It's good, but it hurt my teeth as I chewed it. It could be just that my teeth were sensitive at the time, but it rather turned me off to eating more of them. Each candy is 18 calories and there are 12 of them in a pack for about a dollar (99 yen).
These are nice, but the honey lemon pairing is a little too etched in my mind as something that goes with cough drops rather than with candy. These are immensely flavorful and the texture is quite nice, but they're not my cup of tea.
A friend of mine sent me some New Days exclusive Grapefruit Hi-Chew a couple years ago, doesn't surprise me that they managed to get another exclusive flavor.
ReplyDeleteHmm, yeah, honey lemon = cough drops for me, too. But I really recommend Hi-Chew, personally. They do an excellent job with many fruit flavors (although they do miss sometimes). They had a limited edition pineapple that was phenominal.
ReplyDeleteoh these sound good. send me some ^^
ReplyDeleteHi Chew are great for kids because they feel like gum but can be swallowed.
ReplyDeleteI was personally put off hi-chew after the rubber-gloves-in-the-hi-chew scandal in Japan just recently. I used to eat them all the time before that.
The plain lemon ones are my absolute favorite...they've started selling them in the States these days. Ever had the yubari melon from Hokkaido?
ReplyDeleteInterested in linking to your blog from mine...please check it out!
Yubari is yum!
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