Lotte Coolish Vanilla

If the astronauts could eat something akin to "real" ice cream, they'd be eating "Coolish". The concept is ice milk that you squeeze up and eat out of a tube, because we like our ice cream eating experiences to resemble things like dispensing toothpaste or hemorrhoid cream. The package is a plastic-coated foil packet which houses some ice milk. You can't eat it immediately out of the freezer, but rather have to let it sit for awhile or warm it with your hands. It won't come out through the tube at the top unless it has thawed a bit.

The ice milk itself has little bits of ice crystals in it and has a texture which is more akin to kakigori with cream or ice cream on it than pure ice milk or ice cream. Kakigori is Japanese shaved ice, which is quite popular in summer and is sold in various presentations. The ice crystals add a unique textural dimension, and I liked it, but some may find it distracting.

Yes, that's a very attractive delivery system. 

The taste is of strong vanilla and it's quite sweet. It's actually quite delicious, though I doubt that it is coming from real vanilla beans. It's also only 152 calories, which is on the lower side for ice milk. I'm guessing this has to do with the way it is cut with ice crystals. This is a low-end product and sells for 100 yen (about $1.24) for a 140-ml. portion (around a 3/4 cup serving). Real ice cream in Japan tends to cost 3 times as much.

The only problem that I had with this was that it gets softer and softer at the end and unless you're sure to have the tube right in your mouth every moment you're squeezing the packet, it'll surprise you and squirt out on your shirt or pants. Well, that's what it did to me. Also, frankly, suckling on the tube feels a bit weird. I think this is supposed to be similar to a lot of sports drinks in Japan in terms of the experience of consuming it. If you're walking around on a hot day (something that happens a lot right now), this is probably a convenient way to enjoy a very cold snack, but it still makes me feel like I'm still on the bottle. That being said, I'd buy this again as long as I could consume it at home.

Schedule Wackiness

Blogger changed the way it does scheduling and it seems to have bumped my posting ahead a day. Even though I chose Monday-Friday as my schedule, it looks like it is following a Sunday-Thursday one. My guess is that this is because it is following the time-line for Japan now (whereas it used to follow Pacific Standard Time).

That means this week is shifted about 14 hours ahead by American standards. I don't know if this will change or if this is the way it's going to be from now on. At any rate, the days on the posts may appear different, but it'll still be the same 5 days of posting.

Morinaga Zoom

Product marketing and positioning is something which I often take note of when searching for snacks. This offering by Morinaga appears to be one of those snack releases which is screaming "volume" at you, though the truth is that it's not so heavy as just "large". The box is 18.25 cm x 8.5 cm (7.2 in. x 3.3 in.) and the vivid yellow with bold logo is very eye-catching. This is part of what drew me to it while perusing the offerings at local convenience stores. This is available at many shops, but I bought it at Sunkus for 105 yen ($1.30).

I imagine products like this are targeted toward young people, and men in particular. It's not so much the size, though that is a part of it. I think that snacks directed at women tend to have each piece individually wrapped so they can eat a small portion and leave the rest without fear of them going stale. Since this is six pieces in a tray, I think it's for bigger appetites (or for sharing). Each piece is only 30 calories which makes for decent portion control.

Though this is somewhat unusual for Japan, it's actually a variation on a crunch bar with less chocolate and more cookie and rice puff than candy. The small twist on this compared to similar bars is that this is made with bits of langue du chat cookies rather than something more pedestrian. Honestly though, I don't think that anyone could tell the difference with the small size of the pieces. They're tiny, about the size of a small bead, and I couldn't much tell the difference between the puffs and cookie pieces.

I consumed this at room temperature, and while it didn't melt in my hand, the chocolate was rather soft and I felt that the texture would have been better if I'd had it cold (I refrigerated the remainder and will try it again). The taste was mild and enjoyable though. The chocolate is closer to a malty milk chocolate, though not as "malty" as something like Crunky. There's just enough "bite" in it to keep the chocolate present along with the flavor of the crunchy cookie and puffs. It's not strong, but still pleasant. 

I rather liked this and would be happy to keep a box of it in the refrigerator at home or at work to satisfy a particular craving now and then. It's not going to be a favorite, but I hope it isn't a flash in the pan and stays on the market for an occasional purchase. It's lighter than a chocolate bar, and sometimes that's the sort of sweet I want.

Contest Winner for Debu Neko Sembei and Snacks

Thanks to everyone who took part in the contest. I was very, very pleased to have 114 responses and appreciated all of the kind and encouraging words that were offered along with them. This was my most successful contest to date in terms of the total number of participants (I had hoped to get around 100, but my expectations were exceeded nicely).

I determined the winner using random.org's random number generator, and the winner was:

Yes, "Lucky 7"... it's funny how it worked out that way. The 7th comment was by "traveling tech". Please e-mail me at orchidsixtyfour@gmail.com with your mailing address and I'll send the prize package off to you.

Thanks again to everyone who took part! And, thank you for following my blog/blogs. I learned that I owe Marvo at "The Impulsive Buy" a drink for all the readers he has sent my way and that my own blogs feed each other pretty well (since so many folks found this through my 1000 Things About Japan blog).

I hope to run another contest in the winter, when I can perhaps send something chocolate off without it melting into a puddle of goo!

Danone Bio Honey Yogurt

When I was a kid, I hated honey. My mother used to love to slather it on bread or toast, but I was so fussy about texture that I hated the way it tended to sink into the bread and make it mushy inside and leave it kind of crusty on the top. Since I was a kid, I didn't realize this problem could be easily solved by slathering the delicious evil of butter on the bread first. I'm sure my mother didn't mind my staying out of the honey though. It meant all the more for her.

I'm also not a fan of the sometimes strong sweetness associated with honey when it is applied too liberally, so I tend to avoid it in general. In Japan, however, one can always assume anything which is expensive will be applied with a light touch, and I imagined this yogurt wasn't going to be cloying. Incidentally, in Japan there are two types of "honey" on offer. These is the real stuff which is outrageously expensive for tiny amounts and there is "honey syrup", which is big bottles of the stuff for a reasonable price but is actually honey mixed with other types of sugar syrup. If you're shopping and want it for health benefits, it's best to avoid the latter.

Danone is the name of a French company which sells healthy foods and operates in Japan in conjunction with Kirin (best known for its beer). The brand in Japan is focused pretty much on yogurt packaged in very small containers. Four 80-gram (2.8 oz.) cups cost 218 yen ($2.72) at Seiyu supermarket so it doesn't come cheap. The "Bio" line includes live yogurt cultures to improve digestion.

I picked this up partially out of curiosity about the taste, but also because I now pack a lunch twice a week for part-time work and this seemed like a good addition. The portion size allows for about 4 spoonfuls of something sweet and nutritious at the end of lunch and at only 71 calories per serving, it's no worse on the hips than a mini KitKat (and a whole lot better for me).

There is no visible indication that honey is mixed in, but the flavor is definitely there. It's just strong enough not to be lost in the slightly sour yogurt without being overbearing. The place where the yogurt really shines though is the silky, rich texture. This was incredibly smooth and creamy. I have a feeling that, when I go back to the U.S., nothing short of high quality Greek yogurt is going to live up to the incredible texture I sometimes experience in consumer-level Japanese yogurt. Yes, the portions are small, but they really make you want to savor every bite.

I really enjoyed this, and was sorry to consume the last one. That being said, my very positive experience with this makes me more inclined to sample the other flavor varieties that are out there. If you enjoy a bit of honey with your yogurt, this is a definite "don't miss".

Just a gentle reminder that there is a contest running for two weeks to win a few snack and snack-related goodies. If you'd like to enter, the details are in this post.


The contest winner will be announced this weekend. Thanks to all who took part!