Meiji Tanpact Cheese Biscuit with Milk Chocolate: I think I'm naturally sensitive to packaging design given my interest in visual design, but being in a foreign country where I don't know the language further deepens my reliance on food photography to make purchasing decisions. When I saw this box of biscuits, I assumed that they were plain crackers with a one-sided chocolate coating. It was only when I got home that I saw the smaller image underneath the product name showing 3 types of cheese (what appears to be blue cheese, gouda, and br... (read more) 3.0/5.0
japanese inegaya meiji tanpact cheese biscuit milk chocolate 3.0
Chichiasu 毎朝快調ヨーグルト: I wasn't expecting to write a review of this yogurt, having now tried several brands of plain yogurt in a sad attempt to counteract the inevitable effects that stay-at-home measures have had on my BMI. But amidst the blur of blue-and-white-labelled standard yogurts was this gem, literally translated to english as Good Morning Yogurt, which is definitely not just a plain yogurt. Sized like kids yogurt, which seems common in Japan, this yogurt pack tastes like a yogurt version of Yakult, the... (read more) 3.0/5.0
recommended japanese inegaya chichiasu 毎朝快調ヨーグルト 3.0
Luna Vanilla Yogurt with Summer Hyuganatsu Citrus: This brand of yogurt comes in 3-packs, all with a different primary-colored label. Unfortunately, my inability to read Japanese made it impossible to know what those colored labels meant, but this particular yellow one shows a bear hugging a large yellow-colored fruit resembling a pomelo, which I assumed to be the flavor. Only after doing some research after I got home did I find that the fruit is a Hyuganatsu, which is a type of Japanese citrus hybrid between a yuzu and pomelo. I was sur... (read more) 3.0/5.0
yogurt japanese inegaya luna vanilla summer hyuganatsu citrus 3.0
Lotte Chocolate Caramel Choco Pie in Ginza : The iconic snack Choco Pie from Korean brand Lotte is available in most places shops in Japan. This particular Ginza chocolate caramel cake flavor is part of a special edition "around the world" series which takes iconic desserts from various cities around the world. For example, it previously featured the NYC cheesecake. I've never actually heard of a Tokyo-specific chocolate caramel cake (and a quick Google Search comes up empty). This is a very decadent Choco Pie, with chocolate cake i... (read more) 3.0/5.0
japanese desserts inegaya lotte chocolate caramel choco pie in ginza 3.0
Lotte Strawberry Toppo: Toppo is another staple convenience store (kobini) snack in Japan. I read somewhere that they're like inverted Pocky sticks, but they're not so much inverted as redistributed: the snack consists of long straws with a neutral biscuit exterior filled with flavored hardened icing such as chocolate and strawberry. The strawberry flavor has a good balance of sweet and tart, reminding me of the Koala's March snacks but less sweet as there is a more balanced biscuit to icing ratio. Like many Jap... (read more) 3.0/5.0
japanese strawberry inegaya lotte toppo 3.0
Calbee Black Pepper Potato Crisps: There are two Japanese versions of Pringles that I've seen on the shelves from major brands Calbee and YBC. Both come in familiar tennis-tube packaging and feature a hyperbolic paraboloid-shaped stackable chip. The differences are minor: the Japanese chips are a bit thicker and tend to taste more of fried potato than of their powdered flavoring. These black pepper flavored chips have a decent spiciness to them and are otherwise fairly expected – neither good nor bad. I recently learned t... (read more) 3.0/5.0
japanese inegaya calbee black pepper potato crisps 3.0