Citrus Golden Blend KitKat

I have whined before that I would not fork over 840 yen ($10.23) for boxes of region-specific KitKats. There is something about standing in an airport knowing that this is the last time I'll be there and have a chance to turn my nose up at these somewhat expensive candy bars that makes me put my nose back down and plunk down my yen. There are lots of regional KitKats around, and many had been for sale just down the street from where I used to work in Shinjuku. With the knowledge that I can no longer go down the street to buy such things in the forefront of my mind, I bought this and another box of regional KitKats for review.

These KitKats represent the regions of Chugoku and Shikoku, both of which grow citrus fruit and I'm guessing that is pretty much where any regional connection is born and passes gracefully away. I say they "represent" because clearly they aren't only sold there if you can buy them at Narita International Airport. The fruit blend is sudachi, mikan (a Japanese tangerine), and lemon. I have seen sudachi before, but thought it was a lime. It's supposed to be zestier than lemons and limes, and I'm pretty sure that I've had it in various Japanese dishes.

The bar smells like a mixture of lemon, orange, and white chocolate. The first burst of flavor is definitely a pretty nice juicy orange task followed by a very mellow lemon. I only ate one small bar (as that would be one serving size), and thought it was pretty good. With any white chocolate candy, I'm mainly hoping that the sweetness doesn't overwhelm and it isn't too cloying. Getting depth of flavor rather than some one-note overbearing taste, is a bonus, and I'm pleased to say that this has that going for it as well.

There are 12 mini bars in one box and each is 69 calories. Breaking down the price, each bar is 70 yen (85 cents), which is not a ridiculous price, but still more expensive than buying regular 4-finger boxes of specialty or regular KitKats. However, this is a pretty tasty variation and worth at least one sampling, especially if you are a fan of citrus white chocolate candy. It may not be the requisite "weird Japanese KitKat" flavor, but at least it's good.

Sudachi Pretz

One thing which I have come to understand as a food reviewer is that depth of flavor is very important when you're sampling a bunch of crap and want to find some way of distinguishing the run-of-the-mill snack food dreck from the beyond-the-mill snack food dreck. The thing that tends to separate the big boys like Glico from the small fries like Riska is that they layer flavors into their products instead of just heap tons of one particular flavor onto them. That being said, I'm pretty sure that most of the people who cram these things into their snack holes aren't paying nearly as much attention to the subtle flavors as the likes of me. Glico's efforts are wasted on most, but I have nothing but love for their devotion of offering a multiplicity of flavors in a lowly pretzel snack.

Because I'm not a food expert and just spend my time with junk food, I had never heard of sudachi before buying this for a mere 100 yen ($1.30) at Okashi no Marche super discount snack shop. Of course, I saw the words on the front, and the citrus fruit and bits of green onion, but I didn't know if that was the name of a particular dish that these were aping or a primary flavor. I assumed those green things on the front were limes, but they are actually a Japanese citrus fruit which is supposed to be "zestier" than lemons or limes according to Wikipedia.

Despite what Wikipedia says, these definitely taste very similar to limes though I will admit that they are very "zippy" in flavor. Though they smell rather funky, they taste very good and have a good savory mix of salt, citrus, and an almost warming finish of onion. I wasn't kidding when I talked about flavor depth and layering. These have it and you'll notice it if you aren't too busy snarfing them down to pay attention to what's dancing across your taste buds.

Each box has two packets of 27.5 grams (about an ounce) which provide you with 136 calories of carbohydrate and sodium fun. I strongly recommend picking these up if you're a pretzel fan and can find them. This is part of Glico's regional Pretz campaign (which appears to come about once a year) and this particular flavor is one that is available nationwide. This is in contrast to the "spicy chicken wing" variety that I reviewed previously that was an East Japan release. These would make a tasty accompaniment to your favorite beverage (provided it's not coffee or tea) or good movie snacking food in a portion controlled package.