Let's dip into my stash and see what I've got.
Apparently I bought not one, but two tiny bags of orange themed gummies. (I guess I was feeling particularly zesty that day.) It will be more fun to compare them rather than write up two separate posts, so let's see which one is worth a re-buy.
Meiji Marble, in a box? If you're unfamiliar with Meiji products, their candies are often sold in long skinny cardboard tubes with a matching cardboard cap. The only time I've ever seen Meiji Marble in a box, and not their signature tube, is when it's part of a mini-sampler, or a special flavor mix, but this looks pretty normal to me. I can't read much of the packaging, but from what I can see...this looks like normal marble chocolate. I guess we'll open it up and find out.
Poifull may look like jelly beans, but the texture is completely different! The outside is sugary and kind of crumbly, similar to Jelly Belly style beans, but the inside is chewy, bouncy and soft. It's almost like a panned gummy, and it's absolutely delightful! Unlike a lot of American jelly beans, these are also flavored inside and out! The cores are each a different color to match their sugary exterior. For this mix in particular we have four soda-themed flavors, and I'm super excited to give these a try!
I freaking love banana, and I've been waiting for Oreo to release a chocolate banana themed cookie for years. The closest we've gotten are the Banana Split Oreo's, and even though those are one of my favorite limited edition Oreo's of all time, they didn't satisfy my craving.
The second I saw this on the shelves I immediately tossed it into my cart. I've tried a LOT of Meiji products in the past, but never their sandwich cookies. Even though this is an entirely new product for me, I'm going into this review with really high expectations. Let's hope that these cookies will finally fulfill my chocolate-banana-less Oreo life.
This is another case of me wandering around the Asian Food Market and having a pretty package catch my eye. I wasn't a fan of the spiced chocolates I tried this fall, but I wonder...how will a tea infused chocolate taste? I guess I'll find out!
These cookies are made by Meiji, which is a Japanese company, but in the last five years this product has become quite popular in America. You can buy boxes of Hello Panda at gas stations, grocery stores, and even Target. (Which is where I bought mine. Some of you might recognize this from my mini Target haul video.)
Out of all the creme-filled, animal-themed, cookies available, Hello Panda has to be my favorite. That may sound oddly specific, but there are more of these out there than you think. Over the years I have tried a few different flavors, but they always used a vanilla cookie as the base. Will a chocolate cookie really make a significant difference?
We’ve had an ice cream maker for a while, another Aldi special buy, but we have never used it.
I had some overripe bananas, banana candies, and plain yogurt, so why not try to make some fro yo?
Since this was my first attempt I won’t write up a full recipe, but I will tell you what’s in it.
Ingredients:
This was my first time using the machine and it’s pretty easy. I look forward to making more frozen treats!
- 2 cups of plain yogurt
- 3 overripe bananas cut into little slices
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4th a cup Chopped semi sweet chocolate chips
- A few Banana Choco candies broken up into bits (About 12 candies)
© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.netLike me on facebook to keep up with all my adventures!
This is the third flavor of Meiji Almonds I have tried. (I have already reviewed the Melty Kiss and Crispy Puff versions.) This candy is foolproof. Almonds AND chocolate? Toss anything into that mix and you have a winner. (Unless you’re allergic to nuts.)
The packaging is similar to the Melty Kiss version. It’s the same size, shape, and it opens the same way. Personally, I preferred the Crispy Puff box with a sliding tray, but both designs function as needed. The color scheme and design for this package both have an earthy feel that plays off the cereal/oats flavoring, and I think this is the most cohesive design of the bunch.
What? Even MORE Chocorooms?
My other Chocoroom flavor reviews:
This is the last box of Chocorooms I have in my stash.
- Original (Chocolate)
- Caramel
- Strawberry
- Purple Sweet Potato
- Macadamia
The packaging for this flavor is very vibrant. The combinations of red-violet and green are stunning. I think this is meant to be a fall flavor and design, but I’m not sure. (The Purple Sweet Potato was definitely a fall release with an obvious fall color scheme.) The box is smaller and thinner than the Macadamia version I reviewed a few days ago, so it’s more like the original Chocoroom box than any of the specialty flavors I have had.
Even MORE Chocorooms!
My other Chocoroom flavor reviews:
- Original (Chocolate)
- Caramel
- Strawberry
- Purple Sweet Potato
This box has a blue color scheme and a winter theme. (Similar to the purple sweet potato version and it’s fall theme.) There is a little village covered in snow with scatter snowflakes all over the box. While I do like the overall look and design of this package, I hate that I need to tear the front cover to open it. I mean, you really could open it any way you wanted, but the suggested way of opening it is to lift up a perforated flap on the front of the box. It always seems like a shame to rip a pretty design, but that is just my opinion.
This specific brand has gotten quite popular here in America. They have become widely available. You can now find them at Wegman’s and a lot of convenient shops. (Recently I have seen these at 7-11.)First off, we will look at a brand many of you have probably seen, Meiji’s Panda!
Meiji’s Panda may be widely available and well known, but it does not offer much variety. There are currently 4 flavors available in America.
There are savory varieties available in Asia, but I have yet to see them in America. Time to taste test these pandas!
- Vanilla Cookie x Chocolate Filling
- Vanilla Cookie x Strawberry Filling
- Vanilla Cookie x Vanilla Filling
- Chocolate Cookie x Chocolate Filling
The biscuit cookie is crisp and light, it isn’t very sweet and it reminds me of a Pocky stick. (Please see my past article on Pocky to learn more about that!) The cookie is hollow, and inside you’ll find a soft icing-like filling. I have chocolate and strawberry varieties.
The chocolate tastes a lot like canned frosting, but it has a drier and thicker consistency. It is a bit sweeter than the coating on a chocolate Pocky stick, but nothing that will induce a sugar coma.
The strawberry filling is very similar to the flavor of strawberry coated Pocky, most strawberry Asian snacks have that artificial flavor to it, I am not a big fan of the flavor, but I am not put off by it.
Next up, Lotte’s Koala’s March.
This is another popular brand in Asia, but it is not as easily found in America. These can be found in almost every Asian grocery, but I haven’t seen them in any American convenience shops. They follow the same formula as Meiji, but these little koalas come in a wider variety of flavors. The ones I have here are creamy café latte flavored.
The biscuits this time are pinched in at the sides, and not round like the pandas, and the overall biscuit flavor is the same. The only thing different about the cookie portion is that the koalas have a denser cookie shell, while the pandas are lighter.
The latte filling has a nice milky coffee flavor to it, which I really enjoyed. Overall, I prefer the lighter cookie crunch of the pandas, but I like the variety of flavors you can find with the koalas.
Last, but not least, we have Ego’s Golden Bear.
Ego seems to be the weakest of the three brands and they are a little difficult to find, not every Asian grocery carries them. Like Lotte, they are available in more flavors than Meiji’s Panda, but they are just a bit different.
I think Ego might be the lesser of the three companies, because this packaging and the product inside make absolutely no sense. The outer box shows a realistic koala, but the cookies are little cartoon bears. Inside there is a different koala on the baggies, and the images on the cookie seem to be koalas. Then, the actual cookies themselves have a wide variety of images and creatures. Bears, koalas, teddy bears…this package was really random. (I kind of enjoyed that.)
These bears don’t come in as many flavors as the koalas, but they have a wider variety than the pandas. Here we have honeydew melon filled centers.
The cookies have that denser cookie-crunch, like Lotte’s koalas, but they almost taste stale. With all the packaging I was expecting a crispier cookie crunch. The filling does taste like artificial honeydew melon, which is nice and something I haven’t seen the other two brands do.
This time I have some more Gummy Choco, but this time it is a beverage themed pack.
The packaging is really cute and has illustrations of all three beverages on the front, they match the colored candies to the flavors and show the gummy insides. I really like that this package gave us so much visual information, because they don’t always provide English and sometimes I have no clue what I am eating. The box design is really helpful as well, it has a special lid that lifts up to dispense the candy more easily. This also helps with resealing the box to save some for later.
Unlike the Gummy Choco I had before, there doesn’t seem to be a milk chocolate layer between the flavored white chocolate coating and the gummy.
Gummy candy and chocolate? A lot of people I know dislike the combination, but I actually enjoy it. My favorite example of this combination is milk chocolate covered gummy bears. (I buy them in a little tub at Wegman’s.) This is a product with a similar idea.
These are little gummy centers that are coated in a very thin layer of milk chocolate, and then coated in a white chocolate coating flavored to match the gummy center. In this mix the flavors are strawberry, muscat, and orange.
I love this tubular packaging. It is very easy to store, easy to share, and it doesn’t take up much space at all in a bag or drawer. Meiji offers a lot of their candies in these tube-type packages as well as the traditional boxes, which is nice, but I prefer the unique look of these tubes.
Sorry for the lack of updates the last two days, I just got back from Otakon in Baltimore and my queue had run out.
This is the last flavors of my mushroom-themed snacks. This time, it’s a pretty well known flavor, caramel.
The box is smaller and thinner then the strawberry and the yam versions. It’s about half the size! This time the art seems to have a snowy theme, so maybe caramel is considered more of a winter flavor in Asian countries? I like the combination of the colors on the box and I think they are really appealing.
After being disappointed in the yam version, I decided to try strawberry Chocorooms.
The box is just as cute as the Yam ones, but the art doesn’t match up to the perforations well. I hate tearing up beautiful box-art to get to the candy inside.
More Chocorooms! This time I have purple sweet Potato with white chocolate and black sesame seeds!
After trying the original, reviewed here, my sister was eager to try more! She loves this line! (It’s so cute!) I picked up a few flavors, so soon you’ll see reviews on strawberry and butterscotch soon!
The box is bright and eye catching. Judging from the image, I am guessing roasted sweet potatoes are a fall treat in Japan. There seems to be a fall theme to the box with leaves being Autumn colors. The package opens in the front, a lot like the Meltykiss Almonds I reviewed the other day, but the layout is arranged around the perforations so when I do open the box the design isn’t destroyed.I like that a lot!
Another special flavor of Meiji Almond, this time it is Meltykiss. What is it? Judging from the box it looks like an almond is first coated in white chocolate, then in milk chocolate, and finished with cocoa-powder. Sounds good to me!
I like the look of this box much more than the Crispy Puff one. This design is more elegant with the blue and white ribbons and gold writing. The only thing I don’t like is that when you open the box, you have to rip the front open. I prefer the drawer-style opening from the Crispy Puff box.
I have heard a lot of good things about Meiji Almond. It is just a chocolate covered almond, what is so special about that? I grabbed two of the special flavors, Crispy Puff and Melty Kiss, to try. (My sister was dying to try these!)
The packaging is very bright with an orange square right in the middle. I feel like they are trying to make it look more like an American candy. The box design is actually really neat! It has a slide out section, like a drawer, that is full of the delicious little almonds.
This is the last item from my mini Meiji samplers!
Again, I couldn’t find any formal name for these candies (just like the Strawberry ones.)
The little lemon mascot is every-bit as cute as the strawberry one. I love all of Meiji’s box-art. The candy itself is the same as the strawberry and yogurt variations. Little Mentos-like candies, this time with a soft lemon color.
Like the strawberry flavor, these smell like tea. Maybe a citrus green tea, it’s such a lovely scent!
When I popped one into my mouth the candy coating is generic and sweet, then it give you a tea like flavoring! When I bite into the candy the inside is soft and crumbly and tastes like a delicious glass of lemonade, followed by a zesty lemon taste.
These are refreshing and wonderful, a fantastic summer candy!
Photos© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.netLike me on facebook to keep up with all my adventures!
I couldn’t find an official name for these anywhere on the net, they are similar to the yogurt candies, so maybe they are just a strawberry variation?
I love the little Strawberry mascot. Super cute!
When I opened the box they seemed to have a fruity tea-like smell wish a light hint of spearmint, and it was really lovely! I wish this was a perfume.
They look just like the yogurt based candies, reviewed here, but in a light pink color.
The shell has a soft strawberry yogurt-y taste, and inside the candy center is crumbly and sweet. They taste just like the Strawberry Gummis made by Kasugai (one of my favorite candies EVER.) The center also has a hint of ramune, or club soda like flavoring.
These are fantastic! I would buy a HUGE box of these. If you like Kasugai Strawberry Gummis, give these a try!
Photos© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.netLike me on facebook to keep up with all my adventures!
