Fujiya LOOK Baskin Robbins

It's been a while! Sorry for being so quiet. I'd like to say that I've been too busy with work and graduate school to post, but the truth is, I've had free time, I've just been doing other things. I did notice some new followers, so thanks for being patient with me!

Getting back into the swing of things, I thought I'd give LOOK chocolate another try. LOOK has been hit or miss; their French- and Italian-themed collections were fantastic, but their plain chocolates left a lot to be desired. This is the Baskin Robbins collection, so naturally, the four flavors are ice cream inspired.


It's fitting to start off with Jamocha Coffee because the coffee flavor seemed to find its way into many of the adjacent chocolates. On its own, it was all right. The milk chocolate went well with the mild coffee flavor, and it definitely reminded me of a blended iced coffee drink.

Strawberry Cheesecake had a slightly tart berry flavor with a hint of yogurt. It didn't really taste like cheesecake, but it was still tasty. As I mentioned, I think there was some flavor mingling going on, because some of the Strawberry Cheesecake pieces had a weird and off-putting coffee note.

Matcha, always the flavor I look forward to the most, had a slight bitter matcha flavor, but it was so subtle that it was easily overwhelmed by the milk chocolate. It was disappointing. One of the Matcha pieces tasted like coffee, too.

Vanilla had a sweet fake vanilla flavor. It was pretty standard fare, but the coffee essence seeped into a couple of these pieces, too. It wasn't too bad for this flavor.

Overall, when the non-coffee flavors didn't taste like coffee, they were fine, but flavor mingling was an issue in this package (even though they were well within the expiration date). It didn't happen to every piece, but I'm thinking the fresher you can get these, the better.

C+

LOOK website

LOOK Chocolat 18

I've been going a little LOOK crazy as of late. Since I've been enjoying their various flavorful fillings, I thought I'd give their plain old chocolate a shot. LOOK Chocolat 18 has 18 small pieces of chocolate rather than the usual 16.

Three varieties were included: Chocolate Mousse, Truffle Creme, and Ganache Creme. Right away, I was skeptical about LOOK's ability to distinguish between such similar textures, especially in such a tiny package. However, I was definitely in love with the cute little modern designs on each piece!


Chocolate Mousse smelled like average milk chocolate. It had a creamy, sweet flavor, but it was very flat. The center was slightly fluffier, but it didn't have that whipped texture of mousse.

Truffle Creme smelled a bit richer (but I could have been imagining it) and the cocoa flavor seemed a bit stronger, but it was still quite mild. The center had a firmer texture than the mousse, but it was lacking in the rich, smooth texture of a truffle.

Ganache Creme had the stickiest texture of the three, and the most cocoa flavor (I think). It didn't have the smooth, luscious texture of a ganache filling at all, not even a cheap ganache, but it did have the best cocoa flavor of the three.

This just was not LOOK's best offering. The small shapes and simple, classy designs were fun, but the fillings weren't even close to mousse, truffle, or ganache. The chocolate certainly wasn't bad, but I'd pass on this one in favor of LOOK's more flavorful offerings.

C

Check out another review at Sweets Blog.

Fujiya LOOK website

Fujiya LOOK Dessert aux fraises a la Francaise

After thoroughly enjoying LOOK's Italian-themed chocolate assortment, I was compelled to buy this collection of French desserts with strawberries. The box is adorable and inspires me to work hard for my French class (at least that's what I tell myself).

The flavors, all strawberry based, are a bit ambitious. We have strawberry mille-feuille (a dessert made of layers of puff pastry, custard, cream, and strawberries), strawberry mousse, strawberry fromage (which might be fromage blanc, which is sort of like cream cheese), and strawberry champagne dessert.


I apologize for the lack of a cross-section photo
Strawberry Mille-feuille had an odd texture. There were tiny chunks of wafer that gave a crunchy texture to the creamy filling (to give the feeling of puff pastry). The filling didn't really taste like cream or custard, but was dominated by a bland cheese-like flavor. There was a layer of strawberry jam on top of the cream filling, which, while nice, was too mild to make a difference.

Strawberry Mousse had a stronger strawberry flavor than the mille-feuille, but the chocolate and cream had a very sticky mouthfeel. I'm not a big mousse fan, so it was a pretty good imitation of strawberry mousse in that it was rather dull.

Strawberry Fromage had the nice, tart pop of strawberry I was looking for, as well as a good, creamy cheese flavor. Everything went nicely with the chocolate, and it was pleasant. It was almost like it was a stronger version of the previous two flavors, though.

Compared to the rest of these wimpy flavors, Strawberry Champagne Dessert was a big surprise! The initial kick was quite boozy, but the underlying dry champagne and tart strawberry flavors were excellently matched with the mild chocolate. It was my favorite of the bunch!

I wish there had been more variety in the flavors, but I suppose the strawberry theme was a bit limiting. Though this assortment probably wouldn't disgust anyone, with the exception of the champagne flavor, it was underwhelming.

Check out a different take at Japanese Snack Reviews.

B

Fujiya LOOK website

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

Fujiya LOOK Buche de Noel

Before college, I studied the French language for 5 years, but at the end of high school, I started studying Japanese. At university, I focused on Japanese and forgot nearly all of my French. Recently, I started taking a French class at a local club, and I am enjoying the challenge.

My stepmother-in-law is also taking French with the same club, and for Christmas dinner last year, she and my father-in-law were inspired to make Buche de Noel for dessert. It was delicious (especially since they carved a little knot in the frosting to make it look extra log-like), so when I placed my last napaJapan order, I had to try Buche de Noel chocolate.


I was once wary of LOOK chocolates (I had some matcha LOOK a few years ago and was not impressed), but after reading a review at Sweets Blog, I decided to give them another chance, and I'm so glad I did! The Buche de Noel pieces were coated in sweet, milky, and slightly cool chocolate, and they had truffle-like centers.

Rather than cake, there were tiny bits of wafer in that truffle-ish filling, and the wafers added both a subtle almond flavor and a light crunchy texture. I could taste vanilla as well, and though sweeter than the Buche de Noel my in-laws made, the chocolates were delicious. I wish I had given this brand another look sooner!

A-

Fujiya LOOK website

Country Ma'am Ujikintoki Cookies

Since I don't live in Japan, Country Ma'am cookies are something to which I have very little exposure. On my last visit to Kyoto, I tried a kinako version that was tasty, but I think that's the only time I've had them. You can read several reviews of different types of Country Ma'am cookies at Japanese Snack Reviews.

Ujikintoki is a type of Japanese shaved ice dessert (kakigori) made with matcha syrup and red bean toppings. The package suggested putting the cookies in the refrigerator to simulate the shaved ice dessert. To get the full effect, I tried three different preparation methods: straight out of the bag, one hour in the refrigerator, and 20 seconds in the microwave.


Straight out of the bag, the cookie was grainy and very sweet, but it had a soft and chewy texture. The matcha and azuki flavors were subtle, and I also tasted brown sugar. The chocolate chips seemed downplayed by the other flavors.

Refrigeration brought out the chocolate and azuki flavors, but the matcha was almost undetectable. Also, the cold made the cookie a little crunchy and I prefer a softer chew.

I'd definitely recommend going with the microwave option. The warm, buttery cookie had a nice chocolate and matcha scent, and they were so soft and gooey. They tasted like brown sugar or molasses with less azuki flavor and a little more matcha.

A-

Fujiya website