Fujiya LOOK Italian Dolce

First, I hope all readers living in Japan are all right after the horrible earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear instability, and that those with friends and family in Japan have made contact with them. Thankfully, my friends and coworkers in Japan are all right, as many of them live south of the devastated areas. My heart and thoughts are with those who were not so lucky. It will probably be a long time before the damage to the country can really be assessed.


Chocolate and chocolate reviews are definite mood boosters, so I'll get right back on track. Even though I posted reviews of other LOOK assortments first, this is the first LOOK assortment I tried after my long LOOK boycott.

The package contained four flavors: Tiramisu, Mont Bianco, Espresso Mousse, and Delectica Limone. I think that last one is basically a lemon tart. I've always been wary of coffee and espresso flavored candy, but it has been growing on me lately.


Delizia Limone seemed like my safest bet, so I started with that. The milk chocolate coating was sticky, but the lemon cream center was tart and cakey with crunchy candy bits. It was really tasty, and my favorite of the bunch.

Espresso Mousse had a good, slightly bitter espresso flavor and a truffle-like filling, but it didn't wow me like the lemon flavor did. Again, the milk chocolate was sticky and sweet, but the bitter-sweet balance was all right.


Mont Bianco was delicious with a delicate chestnut flavor. It wasn't too sweet or too subtle, and it had a very refined feel. It was a close second favorite!

Tiramisu was my husband's favorite. Of all the tiramisu chocolates I've tried recently, it was probably the best. Though sweeter that the other flavors in the pack, the mascarpone cheese flavor was just right, and the milky, creamy center was delicious.

To sum it up, if you can still find this LOOK assortment, get it! Here are reviews from Japanese Snack Reviews and Sweets Blog.

A-

Fujiya LOOK website

Meiji Marron Chocolate

I apologize for the unannounced review hiatus. A quick vacation and the game Mass Effect 2 have distracted me, but I've been stockpiling candy and reviews in the meantime. I'm ready to move from one nerdy hobby to another.

This review isn't terribly current, as chestnut is a fall flavor in Japan. That's when I bought the bar, and when I ate it. I misplaced my notes, though, and didn't find them until about a week ago, and since there's a good chance the flavor will reemerge next year, I wanted to post it.


The aroma of this bar was amazing, it smelled just like roasted chestnuts. The smooth filling tasted a bit like coffee, but it was well balanced with the moderately sweet milk chocolate.

The textures of both the filling and the chocolate were wonderful, and the flavors of milk chocolate and chestnut went together perfectly here. My husband and I both enjoyed it thoroughly, and on a side note, the box was very pretty.

A

Meiji website

Tirol Peach - Chestnut - Persimmon

I was a little confused by the name of this Tirol variety pack, as my knowledge of Japanese proverbs is rather limited. The full Japanese is 桃栗三年柿八年 (momo kuri sannen kaki hachinen), which roughly translates to "it takes time for one's actions to bear fruit." More literally, it means "peaches and chestnuts in 3 years, persimmons in 8." Please correct me if my translation is bad.


I loved the cute characters on the bag and chocolate wrappers, although the peach is a little creepy. I'm pretty familiar with peaches and chestnuts, but I have never tried persimmon (even though I do see them at the supermarket occasionally). According to Wikipedia, the taste is similar to plums and dates. However, I'm not sure it matters for this review - I'll get into that in a minute.


First, I tried the creepy peach. It smelled like peach, and had a gooey gummy center. The gummy did have the texture of peach flesh, but the flavor was nearly overpowered by the taste of sugar. It seemed like most of the fruit flavor was in the chocolate. This was too sweet for me, and something about the peach flavor felt a little fake.


Chestnut smelled toasted, and had a strong, nutty flavor with hints of coffee. It wasn't as overwhelmingly sweet as the peach, but the white chocolate could have been a little richer. The glaze in the middle was nice, though, and overall, I was satisfied.


Last up was persimmon, but as you can see in the picture, this one was actually more like chocolate coated senbei. I'm not sure where the persimmon comes in, and am hoping that one of my readers can help me understand. Still, this was my favorite of the three. The milk chocolate (which seemed a little waxy here) went so well with the mild soy sauce flavor of the crunchy cracker center. It was very well balanced, and I would love to have a bag of just this variety (maybe with a few chestnut thrown in). Forget the peach.

On their own, I would say peach is a C+, chestnut is a B+, and persimmon is an A-. Overall, that averages to a B!

Check out another review of this pack at Tasty Japan!

Tirol website

Morinaga Dars Crea Chestnut and Caramel

Orchid64 of Japanese Snack Reviews recently held a contest to win a cool, Japan-exclusive KitKat mug. While I didn't win, she was kind enough to give a couple honorable mention prizes, and that's how I got these cute chestnut and caramel chocolates.

Chestnut is a lovely flavor that's not too common in the United States, at least not where I live. It's great for fall and winter (especially when roasted on an open fire, I hear), and typically goes well with sweets.


The chocolates were very cute! They were about an inch long and smelled like chestnut. The textures of the chocolate and the filling blended together beautifully, as both were creamy and smooth, with a cool and buttery feeling on the tongue.

The chestnut flavor was mild and toasty, giving way to burnt caramel notes that complemented the sweet milk chocolate. I didn't find these to be too sweet, probably because of the small size. Dars is something I've never tried before, but I will definitely seek out other flavors in the future.

Be sure to check out what Japanese Snack Reviews thought of these, too.

A-

Morinaga website

Morinaga Koeda Chestnut

Chestnuts are classic fall food in Japan. I bought these last fall and have had them since, and finally decided to review them. The expiration date was this month, too. I have had mixed experience with Koeda, but I really liked the matcha and I'm always willing to give things a try.

As I said, chestnuts are traditional fall food in Japan. They find their way into ice cream parfait, buns, and candy. Chestnuts aren't too common in the United States (except for at Christmas), but they have a nice, mild flavor.


The stick smelled toasty, and a bit like butterscotch. The flavor was most certainly chestnut, and the light crisps added a nice texture. The chocolate wasn't anything special as far as texture, but the taste was pretty complex.

Although rather sweet, there was a nice hint of bitterness. It wasn't my favorite flavor of Koeda, but it was still a tasty treat. The unique, twig-like shape makes for a fun snack, and I look forward to other limited edition flavors.

B

Morinaga Website (Japanese)

Tirol Kuri Zenzai Chocolate

Tirol multipacks seem to have the 4-5 standard flavors as well as a flavor that changes periodically. I've seen Strawberry Milk, Strawberry Mochi, and this one (more recently), Kuri Zenzai.

Kuri means chestnut, and zenzai is a soup made from azuki beans (sweet red beans) and mochi (sticky rice cake). I've never tried it before, but it sounds nice. The chocolate itself has a cute little picture on the front featuring all three of the ingredients I mentioned.


The chocolate itself is very attractive, with a lighter color on top and darker chocolate on the bottom. I think it was all colored white chocolate, though, and no milk chocolate. It smelled toasty and slightly burnt, a bit like caramel.

The chocolate was lightly flavored and tasted roasted. Perhaps that was where the chestnut came in, because I couldn't taste the nut itself. I didn't taste azuki at all, just sweet white chocolate. The mochi center added a nice, chewy texture with a firmness that offset the smooth chocolate.

Although I'm not sure the flavor was particularly accurate, it was good, and the roasted taste was original and different from what I'm used to. Definitely a fun addition to the Tirol variety pack.

B+

Tirol Chocolate website (Japanese)