More Japanese Candy!

[thistlechaser]

Tonight's candy: Gravel Choco! (Picture of package.) The text on it reads: "Watch out! Try to eat!! It's nice, isn't it?!" The big selling point is that it's supposed to look like gravel. Yes, that strikes me as odd, too.

Does it look like what they're intending it to? (Photo.) No. It looks like fake plastic gravel that has had pink paint dribbled on it... or perhaps has some odd sort of pink mold growing on it.

The pink can be explained by the flavor. Ignore that 'choco' in the name, it's actually "Ikoi Strawberry" flavored. I think 'ikoi' might be Japanese for freaky. The texture of them is okay -- they have sort of a candy coating on them that makes for a nice crunch. But the flavor? Very strange and somewhat scary. All three Japanese strawberry candy/cookies that I've tried so far have this strange taste to them. It's almost as if it's strawberry yogurt... though that's not exactly right. There's some sort of flavor below the strawberry, and I can't put my finger on it. Sharp and almost citrus. Odd.

I'm really not sure if I'm going to finish them. Not only do they have a strange taste, they leave a really strong aftertaste. And, as much as I like "fun food", the idea of candy shaped like tiny pebbles really does nothing for me. They get a 3 of 10, which is likely more generous than I should be.

Comments

[fealu-bryne.livejournal.com]

Mmm. Reminds me of those candy seashells we used to get at the beach. Didn't look at all like seashells, but dang they were good. These candy commentaries are nifty, keep 'em up!

... Just don't get ill. ;)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Heehee! Glad you like them! I'll keep them up for as long as I have candy, which will be a couple more days yet.

[laurelwood.livejournal.com]

This stuff reminds me of that "Gold Rush Bubblegum" they had when I was a kid- bright yellow, "gravel"-shaped little chunks in a slightly-thicker-than-cheesecloth drawstring bag with Wild, Wild West-like writing on the front- usually sold at places like "Roaring Camp Big Trees Railroad" and "Frontier Village". I might be showing my age, here, though; this was circa 1975 or so.

I'm curious about where you got these Japanese candies- some kind of mail order deal, or did you hunt them down yourself?

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yes, I recall that gum as well.

This batch I got from here:

http://www.maruwa.com/ (English: http://www.maruwa.com/index_e.html )

Though if I get more, I'll hit one of the Japanese shops around this area.