Random Picture #157

I used to think that the displays of soy milk flavors in Tokyo were a bit ridiculous. Do consumers really need the level of choice that tends to be displayed? In this picture, which by no means represents every possible option, we have chocolate, red bean soup (oshiruko), coffee, ginger, banana, sweet potato, green tea, black tea, chestnut, and various types of plain old soy milk. It seems, however, that the selection of soy milk seems to pale in comparison to the types of coffee creamer sold here in America (chocolate, vanilla, caramel, hazelnut, plain milk, mocha, amaretto, coconut, cinnamon, creme brulee, peppermint, pecan, pumpkin, etc.). I'm all for variety, but sometimes it seems that there's more to choose from than even the most fickle consumer should require.

Kikkoman Marron Soy Milk

There's no picture of the soy milk poured in a glass because it's just off-white liquid. You're not missing much.

Kikkoman is one of a few Japanese brands which is very familiar to most Americans, even those who are younger than the current crop of anime-watching, Pocky-crunching, Hi-Chew chewing Japanophiles. The reason for this is that Kikkoman's soy sauce was a staple featured product on game shows since the 70's. I remember watching "The Price Is Right" and having people guess the cost of a bottle of their sauce. I also remember their products being offered as "parting gifts" to losers on a variety of game shows. When it comes to brand name recognition, I'm guessing no Japanese product would cross demographic lines like Kikkoman does.

That being said, I never really paid attention to their other products, not even in Japan. Until I looked at the manufacturer of this soy milk, it didn't know Kikkoman made it. It's not that it even matters and it surely makes sense that a soy sauce maker would make soy milk as well, but mentally my brain isn't capable of lumping "black, salty sauce maker" with "white sweet milk maker". My brain has some issues, as I'm sure readers who catch my typed brain farts can attest to.

As I've mentioned before, I like soy milk just fine, but it has a lot of fat and sugar in it (at least in Japan) and is more expensive than cow's milk. It took this very unusual flavor to get me to pop for my own carton of soy milk. I found this 200 ml. (1 cup) serving at Seiyu supermarket for 100 yen ($1.31). It mentions tasting like mont blanc cake, my favorite cake in all of the known universe. It's usually sold as a sponge cake with whipped cream and a pile of sweetened chestnut cream piped on top of it. I guess one might consider this a nutritious dessert drink, but there are a lot of additives in it including acacia gum, sorbitol, and dextrin. Sugar is also the second ingredient.

It should be no surprise that this is quite sweet considering the ingredient list. The flavor is intense at first, but mellows out as you drink more. It really does taste a lot like mont blanc, but without the accompanying textures and varying flavors (whipped cream, sponge cake), it feels "wrong". It's like eating the topping off the mont blanc cake without the satisfying texture. And, of course, it's hardly exactly the same since it also tastes like soy milk. That's not a bad thing at all. I liked this a fair bit, but I'm not sure I'd have it again because I'm not convinced it's good for me. On the bright side, the whole carton is only 104 calories so it's a modest indulgence.

I think I'd buy this again, but I don't tend to drink my sweets very often. I tend to prefer to eat them because I'm a texture junky. That being said, I think this might be a nice morning sweet drink with something blander alongside it (like a piece of toast). It'll also be a refreshing pick-me-up in the afternoon. Still, I can't see drinking it often because it is rather intensely sweet.

Cherie Dolce Oishii Soy Latte

I know my readers sit around believing I live the glamorous and fast-paced life of a small-time snack food reviewer. While you may believe that I'm showered with freebies from companies who are grateful to have their products displayed on my puny blog and that I'm sitting around in an evening dress and heels delicately ingesting delicious tidbits, the reality is quite different.* I am constantly torn between my desire to just eat what I buy and the need to take pictures of things and write a review as I enjoy something. Because of this, I often take a few crappy pictures (ample evidence of that on this blog), enjoy my food or drink and then place my garbage in a discreet location until I'm actually ready to write something. I have to keep the packaging until the review is done in such cases because I may need to refer to it. Also, it reminds me that if I want to stop attracting flies and roaches, I'd better get a review written before too much time passes.**

I found this for 160 yen ($2.02) at Sunkus convenience store. Cherie Dolce is their line of fresh snacks and drinks. It's something which I have little experience with because I tried some cheesecake type sweet from that line a long time ago and there were tiny little stale croutons at the bottom of it. I'm not exaggerating.*** This caught my eye on one of the many sweltering days we've been experiencing. I thought a cold coffee sounded good and was won over by the fact that a 190 ml. cup has only 106 calories. That makes it similar to what I'd make at home on the calorie front, though quite a bit more expensive.

This was quite sweet with a good strong, but not overbearing coffee flavor. The soy flavor seems fairly indistinguishable from milk-based lattes offered by other companies. Only at the end of a sip could I detect it rather slightly. All of these coffee drinks in Japan (and there are a lot of them) are either unsweetened or very sweet. This one was made with both maltodextrin and sugar as well as "creaming powder", soy milk, and coffee (of course).

I'd buy this again, though not often. This isn't because I didn't like it, but mainly because I tend not to buy cold coffee or tea beverages much and this wasn't spectacular. The packaging on these really makes me feel guilty, though you'd think that anyone in my line of low-paid work (snack reviewing) would be better at quelling her cognitive dissonance about the waste created by consuming processed foods. This is a decent enough cold coffee, but I wouldn't recommend anyone go out of their way to choose it over any other.

*That's all a lie. I know no one thinks that.


**That's also a lie. I have to wash trash before I can throw it away so it's actually clean.


***Really, I'm not. They were actually regular croutons like you get in a salad and they were stale.