by | March 5, 2012

Review: Cheeza 51% Smoked Cheese

Cheeza 51% Smoked Cheese
Reviewed: February 2012
Best Before: June 2012

Oh Glico, you break my heart. I was just about to write the introduction to this review with a dramatic “And now, THE FINAL FLAVOR of Cheeza, Cheeza 51% SMOKED CHEESE!” but I headed over to the official Cheeza Website, http://www.glico.co.jp/cheeza/index.htm, and they’ve added a fourth flavour. It’s not even on the front page, it’s hidden at the very end of the new Cheeza television commercial.

It appears to be some sort of 4 cheese blend… and now my day is ruined.

“Has anyone got $1400 to spare for a ticket to Japan? There’s a new flavour of cheese cracker that I need to try.”

Packaging: Like the other Cheeza packages, this is pretty much perfect. Big images, resealable package, a foil treatment to make it pop on the racks, they’re doing everything right.

Possibly the only problem with this one, and it might be a product issue rather than a packaging issue, is that this product is seemingly only identified as “Smoked Cheese,” rather than saying exactly what sort of smoked cheese it is. I assume it’s a gouda or cheddar, but it’s a bit weird. Actually it’s not that ‘weird’ in the grand scheme, I mean north American food gets away with being ‘cheese’ flavoured (or ‘cheez’ flavoured…) all the time. It’s only because of the quality and specificity of these crackers that I’m even surprised… I’d say that’s a point in their favour… sort of.

Smell: HOLY CRAP. That is a smokey cheese smell. That’s… wow. That is such an authentic,” I’ve got my nose buried in a freshly-unwrapped double-smoked gouda.” That is the most. The most.  Wow. I can’t even tell if that’s good it’s so intense. I guess if you like smoked cheese, this is the greatest product ever made that isn’t actually smoked cheese.

Taste: It tastes even stronger than it smells, if that’s possible? Wow. This is… this is not going to be for everyone. Andrew actually doesn’t like it, and he could eat cheese and crackers every day forever. He even likes smoked cheese. But he can’t deal. Which is fine, it left more for me and once I got past the initial shock of smokey cheese, I really dug it. The cheese flavour builds up nicely, and while it’s still smokey and shockingly intense, I finished the bag didn’t I?

Verdict:  Well I finished the bag, didn’t I? Seriously though, this is just as good and intense as the Camembert, just as flavourful and intense.  The only thing is that intense smokey gouda doesn’t quite go with as many beverages as say, a delicious sharp cheese. In fact I can’t really think of anything it might go with except like…. Red wine? Exceptionally weak beer? Who can say. But getting to the end of the bag I loved it, but it kinda put me off my Chu-Hi. Weak beer next time… and there could be a next time (though this is my least favourite of all three flavours… I mean four flavours… of Cheeza crackers).

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by | March 2, 2012

Review: Cheeza 52% Cheddar

Cheeza 52% Cheddar (Crackers)
Review: February 2012
Best Before: June 2012

As you might remember I reviewed the absolutely amazing CHEEZA Camembert flavoured crackers a while back and my effusive praise for just how delicious they are made many of you quite annoyed at me that they aren’t available here in North America. Well, guess what? There are two more flavours! Get ready for reviews of Cheeza 51% Smoked Cheese, and today’s review of Cheeza 52% Cheddar!

Packaging: Much like the others in the line, this does everything like. CHEEZA in big letters visable across the store and that 51% promise big cheese flavour. Attractive photos of cheddar cheese, and the crackers themselves, shiny package, resealable bag! It has a flat bottom AND a peg hold on top! Everything about it is just perfect packaging.

Smell: Intense, and unlike the previous Cheeza it smells a little bit more processed than I expected. The Camembert  has a really authentic taste and smell, and considering that both of these crackers are made of like 50+ percent actual cheese I was a little surprised. It’s not bad, but it’s not great either.

Taste: Again, it’s just not as good as the camembert. You know it’s not terrible, I already feel like I’ve said too much I guess, it’s just that I was a little let down because the camembert had such a big flavour, and was so tangy and cheesy and sharp, it was kind of awesome. With these being ‘sharp cheddar’ I was a little let down that there wasn’t… more… too them. Still though, they were cheesier than any north American cheese cracker I’ve tried. Crispy crackers, solid cheese taste, and just enough in a package to enjoy as long as you aren’t sharing with someone, good stuff! But…

Verdict: …I’d buy the Camembert next time. But if it weren’t available, this would be a delightful accompaniment to my evening’s beverage.

 

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by | February 29, 2012

Review: Kirin Chu-Hi Grapefruit STRONG

Review: Kirin Chu-Hi Grapefruit STRONG
Purchased: February 2012
Review: February 2012

When you arrive at Narita airport, you’re actually about two hours away from actually being IN Tokyo, and that’s if everything goes according to plan. Going through somewhat scary customs, claiming your baggage, having it searched, navigating the airport and your transportation into the city, it all takes like 30 minutes to an hour. When you’re finally on the train you know you’re 60 minutes away from the lights and sounds and everything you love about Tokyo. And then a woman pushes a cart down the aisle of the train and she’s got beer and sandwiches and Chu-Hi. And you buy a Chu-Hi from her, and a fried pork and mayonnaise sandwich. And you watch farmer’s fields and pachinko parolours whizz by out the window and you drink your drink and you eat your sandwich, and you know you’re in Japan.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s review of the Strong Lemon Chu-Hi, grapefruit isn’t really my favourite flavour of Chu-Hi, mostly because I experience it as “ah, jeez, this isn’t lemon at all” because I can’t read Japanese and sometimes citrus fruit illustrations on the can are confusing. But on its own merits grapefruit isn’t a bad flavour, I guess, or maybe I’m just getting older. ;)

And as mentioned yesterday, thanks to my friend Becca for hooking these up.

Packaging: Virtually identical to the Lemon Chu-Hi can, but the interior of the fruit is pink instead of yellow. I still really like that diamond/triangle can pattern.

Smell: Smells like GRAPEFRUIT. WOW. Much more fragrant than the Lemon Chu-Hi.  Andrew thinks it smells like fake grapefruit. I think it has a really lovely smell, very appetizing. Doesn’t smell boozy at all, surprisingly, but it does smell really intense in the can and I think a big part of that is can. While the absolute experience of drinking a chu-hi is straight out of the can, usually on the street in between where you bought it and where you’re going, I gotta say it smells a lot nicer in a glass.

Taste: That goes extra for the taste. Andrew says it tastes artificially sweet, too aspartamey. I never thought that previously but I can sort of taste it once you get it away from the can. It does taste very strong though, unsurprisingly given the cheap shochu used to produce these beverages.

As compared to the Lemon Chu-Hi, it does have a more artificial taste, but it’s actually less aggressive… just more grapefruit. So your mileage may vary.

Verdict: This is great! I mean, yeah, I prefer Lemon (while surprisingly Andrew has become more a fan of grapefruit as the years have gone by), but there’s certainly something to be said for the fruity, fragrant, burning flavour of this beverage. It’s a staple of all of my visits to Japan, and I highly… I mean STRONGly… recommend it.

Thanks Becca!

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by | February 27, 2012

Review: Kirin Chu-Hai Lemon STRONG

Review: Kirin Chu-Hai (Chu-Hi) Lemon Strong
Purchased: February 2012
Review: February 2012

Chu-Hai is Japanese shochu, a distilled alcohol made of barley, sweet potatoes, or rice (usually the latter two), made into a highball or cocktail with carbonated water and flavoured with something else like lemon, grapefruit, or cherry “juice.” At a bar you’d mix shochu with juice or tea, but when you buy it in a can (at your local convenience store or vending machine) it’s carbonated with a fruit flavour, sort of like alco-pop.

It’s harsh as all hell, too. Seriously, buying a can of Chu-Hai is often like settling in to drink a can of burning citrus cleaner. Until you get used to it, then it’s AWESOME. Seriously, it’s a cheap (cheap!) alcohol flavoured with sugar and a bit of fruit flavouring, and it’s a hell of an acquired taste, but once you get a taste for it you’ll wonder how you ever did without it… and then you’ll miss it for the months/years in between your trips to Japan because it’s not available in Toronto.

For my first Chu-Hai review, we’re going to grab my favourite brands, Kirin Lemon Extra Strong Chu-Hi, picked up on a recent trip to Japan by my friend Becca.

Packaging: Loooooooooooove the Kirin Package design. The best Kirin products have an awesome textured triangle/diamond packaging that makes them easier to grip, catch your eye on the shelf, and basically look awesome, and this does too!  It has basic English declaring it CHU-HI and STRONG and ALC. 8%, though the flavour of this particular beverage isn’t written on the can, we just have an illustration of a lemon… which is actually pretty problematic. Lemon, Yuzu, and Grapefruit can all look preeeeeetty similar depending on who illustrates it, and particularly when you’re buying ‘off-brand’. I’ve been surprised by the flavour of cracking into a Lemon Chu-Hi and getting a sour grapefruit more than once. Learn to read “lemon” in Japanese folks. Learn to read it while you’re already drunk for optimal performance.

Smell: Super artificial, it smells like Lemon Pledge. And it’s strong too. We actually originally bought lemon chu-hi because of the novelty of buying alcohol at the convenience store (we don’t have that in Canada…) and because my husband is big into lemon-flavoured stuff, particularly water and booze. I can say quite clearly that the lemon scent is powerfully delivered, but in a case of “be careful what you wish for.”

Something I’ve never done before: The scent is a lot less offensive when you pour it into a glass, as you don’t get that metallic smell from the can, and that really does affect the taste.

Taste: The taste is very different between drinking it out of the can and drinking it out of a glass. Again I think that’s mostly the smell though, as the can really smells harsh and metallic, and it helps you pick up… heh… all of the harsh, chemical, metallic flavours in the chu-hi. It’s not a positive thing. It makes me wonder about just how much this pretty can affects the flavour of what I’m drinking all the time. Still though, drinking this while sitting on the street with your friends in Tokyo? You’ll put up with a bit of metallic flavour.

Verdict: Not much of a surprise if you read the opening, but I do love me some Chu-Hi. Given the choice I’d normally take the regular brand of Kirin Lemon Chu-Hi over the strong, but given the scarcity of this sort of booze and drink on this side of the Pacific I was overjoyed to enjoy these two cans over the course of this review… Now to go back to silently yearning for another can.

Thanks, Becca!

 

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by | February 6, 2012

Review: Pocky Milk Chocolate Salty

Review: Pocky Milk Chocolate Salty
Best Before: August 2012
Review: February 2012

It’s probably some sort of sin of Japanese snack-food reviewing, but I’ve gotten dozens of reviews into this blog and this is the first brand of Pocky that I’ve tackled…! For those not in the know, Pocky is probably the best known Japanese candy in North America, a cookie/cracker stick, dipped in milk chocolate. There are hundreds of variations on Pocky now though, and a visit to any Asian supermarket or candy importer will reveal at least 6 versions on sale at any given time–though well-stocked stores will sometimes have 2-3 times that number on the shelves.

For my first Pocky review, I’m starting off with one of the brands that caught my eye on a recent trip to Pacific Mall, an Asian import mall located about 20 minutes North of Toronto. I hope to have something written up about that sometime soon…

Packaging: There are all sorts of presentations of Pocky, but the basic set-up is a cardboard box which opens on the top, a picture of the type of Pocky on the outside, and 1 or 2 foil-wrapped packages of les batons chocolat (for freshness and portion control!) contained within. This one hews very carefully to the standard, though the box-top opening with a scoop-cut neck (heh) and fold-over lid was new to me. Also new? A whole new way to open the foil packages, just a pinch-and-pull rather than trying to tear into them like a bag of chips. No more broken/crushed Pocky!

All in all it’s straightforward, attractive, and well desgined. The salt crystals in the product image glitter like Swarovski, silver ink used on the Pocky lkogo. Really well-conceived and executed.

Scent: It’s a strongly scented product, that’s for sure. I often feel with Pocky that the scent is a big part of the experience, because the actual act of eating them is so insubstantial. A little chocolate-dipped stick, only 5 mm thick, it’s a much different experience than biting into a snickers bar. Consequently, the aroma has to pack a bunch because it lingers between bites, and sticks. As for this one, it’s a strong milk chocolate scent, actually a bit darker than I was expecting. I don’t know if that’s the salt, but it does smell a lot richer than the other milk chocolate I’ve been eating lately.

Taste: The idea of adding salt to chocolate or caramel to enrich the flavour isn’t a new one, but it is seemingly one that’s just occurred to Glico. They were smart to wait though, as choclatiers the world over have worked out the kinks and this is a very balanced, enjoyable bite. The appearance is a bit duller than the box would imply, and the salt doesn’t shine, but I dig it.

Taking a bite of the chocolate-covered bits and just letting it roll around in your mouth, you get a real sense of how salty (and chocolatey) it really is. If the whole taste was just this, it’d be far too salty and overpowering to have even 2 or 3, let alone a whole box of them. Luckily the cookie/cracker centre is sort of neutral, and consists of like 60 or 70% of the snack, and the whole thing tastes great in a “did I really just finish the whole package?” kind of a way. It also dials back the sweetness a great deal from regular Pocky, and that in and of itself is a rare thing (I was always a Pretz man, myself, growing up).

Verdict: Nice job, Glico. Although it seems to be faint praise for not messing up a candy release, I’ve had quite a few disappointing candies lately and it’s nice to see someone doing something relatively new (in the world of mass-market chocolate anyway) and doing a solid job of it. While it certainly won’t fool anyone jonesing for a sea-salt chocolate truffle, it’s a cheap and cheerful alternative for snacktime.

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