Japanese version of North American Chocolate bar snacks [review]

Aero, Crispy Crunch and KitKat

Hey Everyone!

I hope you are all great!! I hope you all have been following me on Facebook where I do short reviews and updates! Sometimes certain products are quite hard to write full reviews on, so I would just give a short simple review on my Facebook page.

Aero:

Because of the square-ish shape and larger size, this Japanese version of Aero forced me to bite into the chocolate instead of letting it melt like the North American version. It does maintain it's taste but there is a weird sugary residue left in your mouth after you have indulged the chocolate. But, it did have Aero's special bubbly feeling when it was  partially "melting".

I might be biased, but I prefer the Canadian/North American version because it was smaller and easier to melt in my mouth. It also did not leave a weird sugary residue.

score: 5/10

Crunch:

This was the best out of these 3! There were lots of rice crisps in each piece and they made the chocolate so much more exciting and flavourful. The texture was very "crispy". Since there were more rice crisps, the flavour was more rice "cakey" and less chocolate. Either way, it was tasty!

I prefer the Japanese version to the American/Canadian version because there were a lot more rice bits.

score: 9.5/10

KitKat:

quite disappointed... I see why the Japanese KitKat company is always innovating new Kitkats (e.g. roasted KitKat, Matcha Kitkat, Sake Kitkat... etc.) because their original Kitkat kind of taste bad...

The North American version is SOOOOOOOO much better... compared to the Japanese version, the North American version is filled with a creamy layer of sweet milk chocolate whereas the Japanese original Kitkat has a weird bitter cocoa taste (not dark chocolate kind of cococa...) that makes it taste bad... the lack of milk taste in the chocolate also adds to bad taste (cocoa does not have a strong taste either).

score: 7/10

It was definitely interesting trying these 3 candy bars in Japan. When I found them, I didn't expect them to taste any different from the North American versions... I thought they were the same... however, my tastebuds told me I was wrong. The next time I head back to North America... I am definitely stocking up on Kitkats and Aeros!

website: http://nestle.jp/brand/

Dalloyau huge Easter egg collection GOLD 'N EGG [review]

Dalloyau's Gold 'N Egg

In my previous Dalloyau Easter egg review I reviewed the smaller Easter eggs... here comes the larger one!

name: GOLD 'N EGG

consists of: 62% dark chocolate, single origin from Brazil, touch of gold

I was laughing when my cousin gave us this Easter Chocolate egg, it is so big!! I loved the design so much and didn't want to eat it... I love the subtle gold dust and the detail they put into making this egg look so pretty. This egg was sitting in my room for over 3 weeks before we decided it had to be eaten... I was cringing when we had to "smash" it up :'( 

close up of the egg... see how huge it is against my hand

impressions:

• awesome dark chocolate
• authentic French chocolate
• creamy
• bitter sweet

This is the best Chocolate Easter egg out of their collection, it is so chocolately. The dark chocolate is incredibly creamy and rich in cocoa taste. I love how the cocoa gives the chocolate a strong bitter cocoa taste and at the same time, the amount of sugar added was just perfect to balance out the chocolate to make it bitter sweet. Because of this egg... I will definitely be going back to try Dalloyau's other chocolate items!

score: 10/10

website: http://www.dalloyau.hk/seasonal_special.html

Address: Shop 403, Level 4, Ocean Centre, Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Dalloyau Easter Egg Collection EGG 'N THREE [review]

My cousin got me some Easter Eggs for Easter (sorry, I know that it took way too long to post these up).

This will be a quick short review and overview of each of the chocolate eggs. 

The name is: EGG 'N THREE 

Consists of: Milky, toasty, nutty chocolate

bunny/rabbit design Caramel Chocolate

I found this chocolate to be slightly sweet and I didn't really like the "sticky" feeling it had.... I love the bunny though :)

chicken design milk chocolate

this milk chocolate was coated in a shimmery gold dust powder layer making it look really nice... this was my favourite of all the three eggs.

bow design white chocolate

I liked the design... (I am a huge fan of bows) the white chocolate was quite sweet.

(review of the bigger egg here!)

score: 7/10

website: http://www.dalloyau.hk/seasonal_special.html
Address: Shop 403, Level 4, Ocean Centre, Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Meiji Almond Chocolates review

Meiji Almond Chocolate package (please excuse the background)

For those who have been following my blog for a while, you might have noticed what a huge Meiji fan I am... I found these at a local grocery store and decided to try them out... I find there is something magical about almonds and chocolate... they always go together so well!

Impressions

• Chocolate is dry
• Hint of coffee
• Almond tasted quite good

nutrition information and ingredients

I was quite happy that there wasn't too much chemicals...

how the packaging looks

There isn't a lot... but considering these were $1.50/pack... it is... "ok"

sorry for the blurriness of this picture

I had high expectations for this product... unfortunately, I have to say I was a bit disappointed... 

1. I didn't really like the coffee taste...  I normally like coffee... but adding coffee to this chocolate made everything taste weird... the coffee taste didn't even blend well with the almond.
2. The chocolate was extremely dry... nearly powder-ish.... even the warmth of my mouth couldn't properly melt it... it was simply too dry...

Thankfully, the almonds were fresh...  I don't think I would be purchasing these again...

score: 5/10
website: http://catalog-p.meiji.co.jp/products/sweets/chocolate/010102/20168.html

Meiji Milk chocolate & Black Chocolate review

piece of Meiji milk chocolate unwrapped

 I am an actual a sucker when it comes to packaging, if a product is bad, all you have to do is package it right, and I will most probably buy it. I guess that's how most people are like. That's why packaging is so important. Also probably why people like things from Japan (other than their good quality and uniqueness of course)

Lucky for me this time, Meiji's chocolates not only have great packaging, but the product is good quality. Meiji or (明治乳業株式会社) is a company established in 1917 in Japan. For those who haven't been to Asia are probably not familiar with the brand, they are huge in Asia, aside from "milk" products like Cheese, milk and chocolate; they also have sports drinks, pizza and baby formulas.

image source: http://www.meiji.co.jp/english/business_guide/

When I saw these on the grocery store shelves, I knew I had to buy it aside from its packaging (hehe). I ended up buying both the Milk Chocolate and Black Chocolate version. The price was reasonable.

Meiji Milk Chocolate

The website introduces this milk chocolate: 

永遠のピュアチョコレート
芳醇なカカオとミルクの味と香りが味わえる、明治を代表するピュアチョコレート。食べやすいひと口サイズです。 

(literal translation - forgive me if there are any errors)  

Forever Real Chocolate

The simple and thick aroma and taste of the milk and cocoa of this chocolate represents Meiji's aroma and texture. This is bite size which is easy to eat.

The milk chocolate version tasted really good, I know that a lot of people complain about Japanese chocolate, but I guess they haven't really gotten a chance to try "real" Japanese chocolate by Meiji. It is different from chocolate from Switzerland as it is not very creamy nor has a strong cocoa taste, but it definitely has a special unique taste that can be very addictive to eat. It also is "light tasting" so you won't have a guilty feeling after eating one too many.

These milk chocolates tasted very classy and basic. I think they used Hokkaido milk (if you haven't and you get a chance in the future you NEED to try it, it is good!), it was a bit sweeter than the black chocolate version.

When you put it in your mouth, it doesn't melt, it is kind of dry, you need to "chew" it a bit (it is quite soft unlike the "Western" chocolates we are use to). It is kind of like breaking the "barrier" once you chew it, it will start to melt.

Meiji Black Chocolate (sorry for bad lighting)

The official website introduces this Black Chocolate as:

コクのあるカカオ感とキレのある後味

華やかでコクのあるカカオ感とキレのある後味が特徴のビターチョコレート。食べやすいひと口サイズです。

(literal translation - forgive me if there are any errors) 

A feeling of strong cocoa lingers.
The strong essence of cocoa and gorgeous bitter taste. A full-bodied strong tasting cocoa is present as an aftertaste, this is a feature of the gorgeous bitter taste of this chocolate. This is bite size which is easy to eat.

I don't know why they called this black chocolate, since to me it is dark chocolate, maybe they wanted to differentiate themselves from "dark" chocolate or they just had a mis-translation, either way, it doesn't affect the taste of this chocolate, so it is ok, whatever they choose to name it as.

There is definitely a strong tasting cocoa to this chocolate. It is still sweeter than the other "dark chocolates" we are used to eating (western ones, specifically Lindt).

Also, like the milk chocolate, it is dry, so you need to chew it. I think this is "drier" than the milk chocolate, so chew more (hehe) it is also less smooth.

Both are very similar, there are "small" differences that make them unique against one another. I would prefer milk chocolate because it tastes much more classier, smoother and milker.

Rating:

milk chocolate: 7/10

dark chocolate: 6.5/10

milk chocolate: http://catalog-p.meiji.co.jp/products/sweets/chocolate/010101/00954.html

dark chocolate: http://catalog-p.meiji.co.jp/products/sweets/chocolate/010101/00939.html

Godiva Chocolatier - 85% Cacao review

Surprisingly this was the first time I had laid hands on Godiva's Chocolate of any kind. I must say, Godiva's Chocolate is usually quite pricey, so I contemplated when deciding to make this purchase. I like the detail they put on each chocolate to enhance the look of it.

As the description says "Extra Dark Chocolate", they were not kidding, besides Cacao, I hardly taste the other ingredients.

However, if I had to choose, I would prefer Lindt's version of 85% cacao because it feels creamier and tastes less "rough". If you are a die-hard Cacao fan, then the Godiva's 85% Cacao is for you!

Lindt's new collection review

Yesterday, I walked into a store and discovered a whole new collection of Lindt's chocolate bars. Being a fan of Lindt, how could I resist buying them all?

I got these four:
1. Hazelnut & Blueberry with Milk Chocolate
2. Extra Creamy
3. Sea Salt
4. Chili

The first two tasted quite normal. The last two really surprised me.

First, the Sea Salt, it really does enhance the sweetness of the chocolate while adding some saltiness, I found my tongue fighting its way though the chocolate to find pieces of salt, its quite fun to eat.

The Chili chocolate version contained pieces and bits of chopped and sliced chili buried beneath a thin layer of chocolate. The taste is indescribable. While you take a bite and let the chocolate melt, you are given slight hints of spiciness. I recommend it if you want to try having an interesting taste in chocolate (not so if you are a chocolate lover/addict).

Overall, I was happy with my purchase! :)