Meiji Apollo Vanilla Pudding

Custard purin (or pudding, similar to flan) is one of my husband's favorite desserts. We made a point of trying the famed Kobe purin, and it is as tasty as they say. This was the reasoning behind purchasing this particular flavor of Apollo, which a typically lackluster Meiji product.

According to the box, this is a special release for the 40th anniversary of the snack, and vanilla pudding was the number one requested flavor, I'm assuming by popular vote. This explains why the quality of the product seemed better than usual, as described below.


The candies smelled like milk chocolate, and the top portion had a nice, mild vanilla flavor with some caramel notes. The two sections of chocolate blended well, and the cocoa was neither underwhelming nor overpowering. It did taste like purin, and was better than the typical Apollo.

Normally, Apollo chocolate can seem kind of cheap, and it did feel a bit oily at the end, but the flavors were good enough to make up for it. It's certainly not gourmet chocolate, but it had a nice, milky, distinctly Meiji flavor.

B+

Meiji website

Meiji Hokkaido Melon Apollo

Despite mixed feelings on Apollo, I bought this box of limited edition Apollo at a Japanese import shop. Since it's a premium pack, the chocolates are much larger than the normal size and come individually wrapped.

According to the box, this is from Meiji's Hokkaido line, and both the white chocolate and the melon flavor come from Hokkaido. Specifically, this is Furano Melon, or melon from Furano, Hokkaido. Fancy melons are quite the treat in Japan, and it's not uncommon for them to cost hundreds of dollars.


The chocolate smelled like what a melon buttercream frosting might smell, and it tasted like that as well. The flavor, despite containing 4% Furano melon, tasted a little fake to me. It was very interesting, but maybe it just didn't blend with the white chocolate as well as I wanted it to.

The white chocolate was sweet, of course, but could have been a lot sweeter. It was creamy and rich at first, and then the fruity flavor kicked in. My husband thought the quality of the white chocolate was very good, but also wasn't crazy about the melon flavor. I'd still like to try real Furano melon, but for the time being, these provided a cheaper tasting experience.

B

Meiji website

Meiji Cheesecake Apollo

I have a confession to make. I am not a huge fan of cheesecake. Oh sure, it's delicious, but it's so rich and filling that I just can't eat very much of it at a time. Plus, my lactose intolerance might factor into the equation. But I rarely choose cheesecake if there's an option. Here, Meiji has solved my problem - cheesecake chocolate. Hokkaido is famous for dairy products, and apparently, this cheesecake Apollo was inspired by the tastes of Hokkaido. It was made with 0.9% cheese powder, but I think I'll be OK without a Lactaid.


The chocolate has that Meiji taste for sure, and the cheesecake-flavored white chocolate hits the mark pretty well. It's a little lemony to try to mimic that tangy sourness of cheesecake, and it mixes with the milk chocolate very well. The chocolate is smooth and silky, so this is definitely enjoyable.

It's not my favorite kind of Apollo, but it's nice to have something cheesecake flavored that's not as rich as the real deal. I would definitely buy this again, and all my friends who tried it seemed to really like it.

B+

Meiji Website (Japanese)

Meiji Blueberry Apollo

It's no secret that I love Meiji chocolate. I even made a Flickr group for it. I have yet to try something I don't like, although I think the 99% cacao bar would do the trick.

The blueberry Apollo were no exception; they were also quite tasty. Apollo has such a fun, fancy (and educational) shape. These were bigger than the usual Apollo, and they were individually wrapped in shiny packages. There was a pleasantly sweet bluberry aroma upon opening a package, which I appreciated. Too often, blueberry candy or chocolate just sort of tastes remotely berry, but you can't pin down with one.

The white chocolate bottom was harder than the usual Meiji fare, but otherwise it might have been mushy. The blueberry top reminded me of yogurt, and it had a definite blueberry taste. Together, they were lovely and did not disappoint. However, it was entirely too easy to eat the whole box at once.

I've also tried their matcha brethren, but it was too long ago for me to write a review.

A-

Meiji Website (Japanese)