Lotte Coolish Vanilla Ice Cream: I bought this ice cream out of the novelty of the packaging, a foil pouch where you squeeze soft service ice cream through a small nozzle. It makes it very easy to eat ice cream on the go and eat just as much as you want, though to be honest I ate it at home and in a single serving. The ice cream flavor is really familiar and nostalgic, like soft serve you might get at McDonald's. It's so sweet that you can feel the texture of the ice crystals as you consume it. You have to wait a few mi... (read more) 3.0/5.0
icecream japanese Daiei lotte coolish vanilla ice cream 3.0
Lotte とろ～りれん乳三昧 苺れん乳 Strawberry Kakigori Popsicle: These are unique popsicles that could only be manufactured through modern food science. They consist of a milky outer coating, made with Hokkaido milk, that encapsulates multiple layers. At the top is a viscous syrup, which has a slight tropical pineapple flavor to me though perhaps it's just a type of acidic milk – with my first popiscle, the liquid layer came as a surprise when it came pouring out. Underneath the syrup is a strawberry popsicle, somewhere between a freeze pop and fruit b... (read more) 3.0/5.0
japanese naniwaya dessert frozen lotte とろ～りれん乳三昧 苺れん乳 strawberry kakigori popsicle 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
Lotte Gateau Fromage Petite Choco Pies: I was amused by the "coffee & something" tagline of Morihico, the coffee chain whose "gateau fromage" (cheesecake) is the featured flavor of this limited edition Choco Pie. The petite Choco Pies are pocket-sized and good for snacking, but I typically eat two which may defeat the purpose. Each individually-wrapped pie consists of two layers of cake with a cream filling the color of egg custard, all covered with a thin layer of milk chocolate. The cheesecake filling tasted like it was seasone... (read more) 3.0/5.0
japanese aeon cake lotte gateau fromage petite choco pies 3.0
Lotte Koala March Shortcake Flavor: Koala March is one of those brands that many Asian people are familiar with in the states – I've seen it in groceries stores of all types, including Chinese (99 Ranch), Korean (H-Mart), and Japanese (Nijiya). I grew up eating the strawberry flavored ones, and I was curious how this limited edition shortcake flavor, purchased from Aeon in Tokyo, would compare. Like all Koala March, it features Koala-shaped biscuits with a solid icing filling - this one tasted of a neutral cream filing, like... (read more) 3.0/5.0
japanese aeon lotte koala march shortcake flavor 3.0