Crunky Popjoy
Lotte is quickly becoming one of my favorite candy companies, but these balls of Crunky aren’t anything special. They’re about 3/4 of an inch across and about 1/2 an inch thick, so not huge, but not tiny. They’re exterior is waxy and unappetizing. Definitely would not buy again.

塩&キャラメル (Salt and Caramel) Kit Kat
Even more from Kit Kat! These bite sized wafers covered in chocolate are true to the Kit Kat brand, but a little ugly. The chocolate is tasty, and the interior is a lovely salted caramel wafer. The salt doesn’t hit you to the very end, but it’s perfectly balanced. I’m planning on repurchasing if they haven’t been discontinued.
Read Jen Ken’s Kit Kat Blog’s review of Salt and Caramel Kit Kat.

ぷっちょ (Puccho) Strawberry and Grape
This duo flavor bag contains both strawberry and grape flavored Puccho. The strawberry is a basic fake flavor, but it’s not very strong. The grape is fake, sweet and tart, but like the strawberry not very strong. I don’t dislike these, but they’re not unique enough for me to buy them again.

ポルテ (Porute)
I have no idea what a Porute or Polte is but it looks kind of like a chestnut. The candy is a cookie with a blob of “whip cream”, covered in bittersweet chocolate and cocopowder. Porute are about an inch at their widest point. The candy isn’t very sweet and the cream tastes like bland unsweetened whip cream. I’m not impressed with the thin chocolate or the texture of the cream. I wont be buying these again.

チロル (Tirol)
Tirol candies are available in tins, strips, and as individual pieces. I grabbed this assortment at a local 7-11 for about 30 yen apiece. Tirol’s website has a gallery of their flavors.

Milk – I was thinking that this little square would just be milk chocolate, but it is actually a white milky chocolate candy covered with a thin layer of milk chocolate. It was too sweet for me, so I don’t think I’ll get another one.

White & Cookie Crunch – I love Hershey’s Cookies n’ Cream bar, so I was very excited about this flavor. It lived up to expectations, but wasn’t anything special. The candy is white chocolate filled with chocolate cookies. I will buy again if I can find it.
Read Snack Love’s review of White & Cookie Crunch.

クリームあんみつ (Cream Anmitsu) – Based on a Japanese dessert, I found this candy underwhelming. The gel in the center had a nice texture, but the whole thing was a little bitter. Not getting this one again.
Read Japanese Snack Reviews’ review of Cream Anmitsu.

焼きなこもち (Toasted Kinako Mochi) – This was my favorite of the bunch, and I’ll admit to repurchasing. The exterior is kinako flavored chocolate and the interior is a thin slab of mochi. The chocolate contains puffed rice for a nice crunch, and the mochi is nice and chewy. Great balance of flavor and texture.

まっ茶もち入り (Matcha Mochi) – Similar to the Kinako Mochi, matcha (green tea) chocolate surrounds a mochi center. The mochi has the same texture, but I found the chocolate to be a little grainy. The flavor was true to matcha. I think if I was in the mood I would buy these again, but matcha is kind of a rare mood for me.
Read Tasty Jaan’s review of Matcha Mochi.

Long ago (2001-2003), I lived in rural Japan and taught English at a junior high school.  One day at school, one of the kids asked me I like Hi-Chew.  At first I thought the kid meant Chu-hai (Japan’s version of wine coolers, but better – and yes, I like it), but I got clarification and learned that it’s a “soft candy.”  I bought some after school.  It reminded me a bit of Starburst but with some added deliciousness.  I usually prefer chocolate nutty candy (Snickers, Twix) rather than fruity candies, but I got hooked on Hi-Chew.  For years, I’ve been wondering what it is that makes Hi-Chew so much more delicious than other fruit candies.

Fast forward to last week.  I visited my local 7-11 to buy a Peanut Butter Twix, but found Hi-Chew right next to the register.  I ate half of the pack of the Mango Hi-Chew on the walk home.  It has a much better mouth feel than Starburst.  I looked at the ingredients on the label. What makes it so good?  Is it the hydrogenated palm kernal oil? The paprika and carotene for color?  The traces of milk and soy from the factory in Taiwan?

I pondered these ingredients for a while and then decided to let my fingers do the walking.  I found hichew.com and checked the FAQs.  I now suspect that the je ne sais quoi is the gelatin made from pig hide.  I’m not a vegetarian so I’m not really opposed to eating pork products in candy and to be honest, it’s nice to have the mystery solved.  There is something special in Hi-Chew and it’s pork.  But vegetarians may want to avoid American Hi-Chew.  Six flavors of Hi-Chew are available in the U.S. – melon (new!), mango, orange, grape, green apple and strawberry.  My local 7-11 sells mango, green apple and strawberry.

The Green Apple Hi-Chew tastes quite artificial to me.  I found it a bit too sweet because I’m always thinking that Green Apple will be more tart and Granny Smith-esque than it is in Japanese products. It’s not a bad candy though and I was able to finish the package because Hi-Chew is ridiculously addicting. 3/5

The Mango Hi-Chew is very tropical and yummy.  It has a strong mango flavor without any of the bitter aftertaste often present in actual mangos.  The texture is great.  Mango seems a bit more exotic and upscale than your typical convenience store candies. Seems like a real bargain for $.99! 5/5

Note: Photos in this post are provided by the author/photographer and copyrighted to her. Do not reproduce without written permission from the author/photographer.

Fujiya’s Milky candies, also known as Peko-chan Milky Candies, are a classic Japanese confection. They have been in production for over 50 years and have only made subtle changes to the candy and mascot. Fujiya is primarily a bakery chain, but they also produce a whole range of Milky branded sweets (all featuring Peko-chan), and several types of chocolate. I would be surprised to meet any Japanese person who hasn’t had the original Milky  candy at least once.

The candies are packaged in an attractive 150g red bag (about 40 pieces) with Peko-chan’s face front and center. They are also available in smaller cardboard boxes that are similarly designed. Each half inch candy is individually wrapped in twisted wax paper that is patterned with Peko-chan’s face and the Milky logo. Though the wrappers come in either yellow and green or red and blue, there is no difference between the candies. I really like the use of wax paper since it’s unfussy and very retro.

The individual candies don’t smell more then a little sweet and maybe a little milky. They are rock hard to the touch similar to a very stiff saltwater taffy. After some chewing and sucking the candy softens into more of a carmel consistency that stuck to my teeth like crazy. Unless you are exceptionally enthusiastic, Milky’s stiff consistency makes them hard to finish quickly. They taste like sweetened condensed milk (or cream) that is so sweet it burns a little. The flavor is super smooth, consistent, and doesn’t taste fake at all. I’ve eaten most of this bag and will buy more, so 5/5.

Gregory says: I’d never heard of Milky before Aimee bought a bag. I’m usually more partial to cookie or chocolate desserts, but for a candy—aside from how much they stick to my teeth—they’re really delicious! I couldn’t see myself buying a bag, but I’d be eager to eat one of these if offered. 3/5

Buy Milky from J-List.

I’m not going to lie to you. Just as with my last review, I’m a little biased. Next to Pocky, Puccho is by far my favorite Japanese candy. It’s gotten to the point where I have to physically force myself to buy other candy.

What makes Puccho so perenially delightful? To start with, UHA (which stands astonishingly for Unique Human Adventure) releases new flavors at a rate only rivaled by Nestlé’s Kit Kat brand. I’ve been buying flavors rather regularly, trying not to repeat myself, and I’ve come no nearer to trying them all than when I started. Sadly, this summer’s flavors (including the fantastic 塩レーモン [Salty Lemon]) are moving off the shelf, leaving me to review two of my favorite flavors, コーラ [Cola] and ソーダ [Soda].

Puccho packaging is, in a word, adorable. Ten foil-wrapped Pucchos gather in a brightly colored pack.  I’m a sucker for mascots, and Puccho’s emoticon-esque gummies, a different one for each flavor, are some of my favorites. When plastic phone danglers started to come with the candy a few months ago, I was sure to pick it up.

Similar to Hi-Chew or a softer Starburst, Puccho is at its heart a chewy candy, although never with the boring fruity flavors of those American lines. The genius, or at the very least odd, twist of Puccho is the inclusion of tiny flavored gummy balls, small enough to swallow without notice, or, if one is so inclined, to bite into several smaller pieces. They’re fun, and, even after you’re on your fiftieth pack, unexpected.

Cola and Soda are both part of Puccho’s しゅわ [fizzy] line, as easily noticed by the maru in the ‘pu’ being replaced by a glass of 1950s American soda. The fizziness is readily apparent. As soon as you start chewing, little fizzy pellets make their presence known on your tongue, like chalky Pop Rocks, or an Alka-Seltzer. The effect doesn’t last long, but it does add to the illusion that you’re drinking soda pop.

The candies themselves taste surprisingly, to an American brought up on ‘banana’-flavored candy, like the things they represent. Soda feels like sweetened, slightly limon-y seltzer water from the fountain. Cola is a fair approximation of a flattened Coca Cola (not my preference—as a member of the Pepsi Generation—but this is Japan we’re talking about).

To my mouth, both are a little too bland to eat by themselves. I’d reccomend pairing one or the other with a fruit candy, or even chocolate. These are not my favorite Puccho flavors, but huge points have to be added for the fizzy pellets. Between those, the gummies, and the enjoyable candy itself, both flavors get a half-grudging thumbs-up. Perhaps the next flavors I review will leave me more inspired.

3/5

Read Candy Addict’s review of Cola Puccho.

Read Candy Blog’s review of Cola Puccho.

Buy Puccho from J-list.

When Candy Blog reviewed Morinaga’s limited edition 祭りのハイチュウ (festival Hi-Chew) in りんご飴 (candy apple) and わたがし (cotton candy), I was more then intrigued because when Cybele gives 10 out of 10 you know it’s going to be good. My only concern was that I had only seen the candy apple in stores, and even those quantities were dwindling. Could all of Japan have been sold out of cotton candy? I shrugged off this disturbing thought so I could go buy toilet paper. I went for the first time to a certain grocery store near my home, and was pleasantly surprised by their selection of candy and snacks. Sitting next to the register were both candy apple and cotton candy Hi-Chew, for only 60 yen apiece. I skipped the candy apple and bought two packages of the cotton candy.

The package is bold yellow and blue with a light blue poof of cotton candy and a festival vendor on the front. The matsuri flavors only come with seven candies instead of the usual ten. The candy is a creamy white with bits of yellowish sugar embedded throughout. It has a soft burnt sugar smell with a little vanilla, and something vaguely fruity or floral. I absolutely love the smell because it is exactly the same as a cotton candy flavored gum I used to buy when I was a kid. Hi-Chew are often compared to Starburst, but Hi-Chew are much bouncier, have a softer chew, and are less sticky. The sugar bits in the cotton candy flavor take some getting used to, but add a nice variety of texture and crunch. I think I’d like to see them in other Hi-Chew flavors. The cotton candy flavor is extremely creamy with hints of vanilla and burnt sugar, and there isn’t a weird aftertaste.

I’m giving this 4/5 because they’re awesome, but I don’t really feel like stocking up for when they go off the market.

Buy Watagashi Hi-Chew from J-List.