I'm Going to Eat That

The mango Strong Zero was delicious, the peach one is also pretty good. So when I saw this one at the store I knew I had to try it. I bought a big can but regretted this a bit. Why? Well, we'll get into that later. Let's talk about the flavour first. The peach and mango work okay together. The burning flavour of alcohol was a bit more present than with the mango but not as bad as peach. Peach doesn't work all that well with Strong Zero but it's okay. I think it works okay together. Here's the problem....the calorie content was insane. Normally for a Strong Zero the calories are around 50 - 54 calories per 100mL. This one? 81. 81 calories for 100mL! That's ridiculous!! The moment I saw the contents I almost chucked this out the window. The flavour was mediocre and absolutely NOT WORTH IT in terms of how many calories you're getting out of it. Plus, Strong Zeros are light enough to drink that you can drink one quickly without an issue. A 500mL can has ...

This flavour of Panapp is called "Grape Queen". So in Japan you've got two types of grapes. Purple grapes and muscat grapes are the two main types. Most of what I would call green grapes they call muscat grapes. I saw this panapp at the store. Normally they're under 100 yen but this one was 150 yen. Wow! An extra 50 yen! I adore Panapp ice cream cups. They're soft and have a really strong fruity flavour. This one was no exception. The grape flavour was really sweet and slightly tangy. It melted really nicely on the tongue as well. I absolutely enjoyed this treat. A single cup of this has a bit more than the regular cups. It has 206 calories, 28 g of carbs, 9 g of fat, 3 g of protein and 100 mg of sodium.

This is the BEST specialty Kit Kat that I have ever eaten. Hands down. No brainer. If I could have a bucket full of these I would shove them into my mouth faster than you could say the word berry.  What flavour is it? Well, it's raspberry flavour. Now, raspberries are my favourite berry. If there is a raspberry flavour I will be picking it. For example, one of my favourite special drinks at Starbucks is a half sweet white mocha latte with 1-2 pumps of raspberry. Put raspberry in anything. Well, this Kit Kat is raspberry flavour and they got all the things I love about that beautiful berry. It was a little sweet but more than that...it was tart. It had a nice sweet tartness to the chocolate wihch is what I love about raspberries. They have a beautiful balance of sweet and sour. The bar ended up a little melted in the summer heat but after a little rest in the fridge it was delicious. I couldn't even eat it in my normal way. (I like to nibble the edges of the ch...

Hi. I like ice cream. I think, besides pie, it would be my favourite dessert/snack. And when you combine pie with ice cream I ascend. So, with summers being as ridiculously hot as they are here...it is a perfect time to try out all the different summer ice creams they have available. Let's start out with a kakigori, also known as shaved ice. It's a lower calorie option of ice and syrup. I've had bingsu before in Korea and I must say it is the superior shaved ice. However, in a pinch kakigori will work. This particular one was matcha flavour with red bean paste. It had a nice mild flavour, a little sweet. The red beans on top with the highlight in terms of flavour. However, I typically like to let ice cream melt in my mouth. The beans meant I had to chew a little and then meant crunching some ice. I know some people enjoy the sensation of chewing on ice but I am not one of them. It affects the sensitive teeth in my mouth from when I had my wisdom teeth removed...

The moment I saw these adorable bottles in the supermarket I knew I had to have them. Eevee and their evolutions are my favourite Pokemon. Honestly, it's kinda hard for me to pick a single Eevolution that is my favourite. Leafeon, Sylveon and Vaporeon would have to be my top three picks. They had bottles of this soda and I had to buy it. Only problem? They're all the same flavour. They're all mango soda. No variety! What a missed opportunity! You could have really expanded with different flavours to match the feelings of the Pokemon. The original Vaporeon, Flareon and Jolteon could have been a classic ramune. Umbreon and Espeon could have been a dark colar. Glaceon and Leafeon perhaps a melon soda. Then Sylveon could have been mango. But nope...they're all mango. The flavour isn't bad at all. I've learned I'm coming to appreciate mango flavoured things. But I'm still disappointed. 100mL of the drink contains 34 calories, and 0g of fat.

I went to Kochi last week and since it's a bigger city it has way more available in terms of foods, snacks and drinks. While I was at the train station I popped into the 7-11 to grab a coffee for the train trip home and...lo and behold...there were some new Strong Zero drinks that I had not tried yet. The first one I grabbed was pineapple. Citrus flavours tend to work really well with alcohol and pineapple is a little citrusy. I thought...it was worth a shot. Boy, was it ever! The flavour of this drink was absolutely amazing. Pineapple juice can be a little too sweet for me. Syrupy even. The alcohol addition to it made it crisper but still a little tart and sweet. It was absolutely delicious. A 350mL can contained 192 calories, 80 mg of sodium and 5 g of sugar. Luckily for me, I spotted them at my local supermarket the following week and I was able to pick up another. I'm saving it for a later date!

I'm not a huge fan of mango. I don't dislike it but I don't find mango, as a fruit, particularly pleasing to consume. It's a little slimy and the taste is just...odd to me. However, on my quest to try all the new flavours I see in the grocery store that does mean that...when I saw a mango flavoured Strong Zero I had to purchase it. I wasn't expecting great things. The last time I tried no citrus strong zero I was disappointed. Kiwi is a terrible Strong Zero flavour.  However....I was very impressed with this beverage! This had a lovely fruity flavour. The mango complimented the alcohol quite well. There was not an overwhelming  bitterness to the drink. The alcohol was subtle. There was a pleasant aftertaste of mango that remained on my tongue. It was lovely. It was, by far, the best mango flavoured thing that I've ever had. One 355mL can contains: 186 calories.

Asahi does quite a few varieties of high alcohol chu-hi drinks. It's always hard to tell which ones are new or not though because they seem to do mostly citrus combinations. On top of that, Japan has a plethora of citrus fruits outside of the ones I'm familiar with. Bushukan, bunkan, haruka, etc. There's so many it can be dizzying. This one was orange and lime. A combination I hadn't ever considered before. I've done lemon and lime but never orange and lime. It was really good. There was a strong orange flavour at the beginning. The hint of lime came at the back end of it and left a pleasant tingle on your tongue. It was overall pretty sweet. One 355 mL can contains: 193 calories.

I like strong drinks. Kirin's new lineup has been doing incredibly well in satisfying my taste buds. I've tried their cola flavour and lemon and they've been delicious. When I saw they had a ramune flavour I knew I had to try it. Ramune is a flavour of Japanese soda. It's kinda like a bubble gum mixed with a bit of citrus. It's very, very sweet and not something I ever really seek out drinking. Ramune flavoured candy is pretty good but (once again) sickeningly sweet most of the time. I knew what I was getting into here but I hoped the strong alcohol content would cut down on the sweetness. I was partly right. It was indeed VERY sweet but the underlying alcohol taste did cut through the sweetness. The bubbles were very small and tingled pleasantly on the tongue. It was very good overall. I think I still prefer the cola flavour more but this was a nice one to try. A 355mL can contains 186 calories.

It is no secret to those who know me that I have a *slight* addiction to Diet Coke. Back in Canada I typically drink a can a day. I like fizzy drinks in general, I find the bubbles keep me from drinking it quickly and I can savour the drink over a longer period of time. During the summer, when the Summer Drink Days promotion from McDonalds happens, I drink even more Diet Coke. It's not something I'm particularly proud of but when it comes to vices...I figure it's not so bad. There is no Diet Coke in Japan so I've switched to Coke Zero. It, and Sprite Zero, are some of the few zero calorie sodas in Japan. I like the bubbles, I don't need the extra calories. Though my family will be proud to know that I've reduced my drinking by a lot. While I used to have a can a day I now go through a large bottle every few weeks and I don't drink it daily. For the summer I noticed they had a special Coca Cola drink though....Coca Cola clear! It's lemon flavoured, ...

Another ramen review! This time some Tantanmen ramen. Tantanmen is a noodle dish that originated in China as dandan noodles. It's supposed to be very spicy but that isn't typically part of Japanese cuisine so Japanese versions of this dish tend to be vastly less spicy than the Chinese original. The texture of these noodles was much like my first review of the tonkatsu ramen, thinner and less chewy. I liked them a lot. They were a nice noodle. The sauce packets were a powder and also an oil packet. The oil packet was supposed to be spicy...it wasn't spicy. I like spicy food a lot. I enjoy a lot of Korean foods that are spicy, including Korean fire noodles. So I was hoping this tantanmen ramen would be spicy but it was just...a hint of spice. Just a hint. The tiniest of hints. I was disappointed with that. The powder packet had little bits of meat in it which left the broth feeling a little chunky. It was nice but still oily. I padded out the recipe with some ba...

Kit Kats are very popular in Japan and there are tons of seasonal flavours. We all know this. Unique Kit Kats are one of those Japanese snacks that are very well known. I have already tried several flavours like sake, sweet potato, ice cream, orange, even throat lozenge etc. Though now that it's summer there are some nice flavours to put in your fridge. This particular flavour is cookies and cream ice cream flavour. I'm pretty sure they're meant to be kept in the fridge or freezer. Why? Well, outside of the images on the packing I tried a couple from inside my kitchen cabinets and they were really soft. Even normal Kit Kats have a bit of a crunch at room temperature. The chocolate was very soft. After putting them in the fridge and freezer I had MUCH better results. They're a white chocolate with bits of cookie in them. They were pretty good, non-offensive cookies and cream flavour. I enjoyed them quite a bit. Like other kit kats a single snack bar h...

I enjoy Asahi's strong chu-hi drinks. They tend to specialize in citrus ones and that works in their favour. Citrus goes so well with strong alcohol flavour. Lemon, lime and grapefruit tend to be the norms for most chu-hi drinks because of this.  I saw this limited edition, new, flavour in my store and had to wonder...how does freshly grated grapefruit compare to their normal grapefruit? How did it taste? Pretty much like normal grapefruit chu-hi. I wasn't blown away by the flavour when I compared it to previous ones. I think it was good and I definitely enjoyed it. But I wouldn't say it's anything special. A 350mL can contains 193 calories, 2g carbohydrates, and 67mg of sodium.

Another look at some Maru-Chan ramen. This time the Shoyu (soy sauce) flavour. I enjoy shoyu ramen because it's got a less oily texture in comparison to tonkatsu ramen. This was no exception to that rule. It was definitely less oily than the previous ramens. It had a nice soy flavour to it. The noodles were thicker and I enjoyed their firm texture. They had a nice chewiness to them. I dolled up my bowl of ramen with a hardboiled egg, boy choi, carrots and bean sprouts. I split the noodles and broth in half to make two meals from it as I typically do. One package is a bit lower in calories than the previous ones. A package is 340 calories, 66g of carbohydrates, 4g of fat, 10g of protein and 2,300 mg of sodium. Instant ramen is always going to be high in sodium which is why it's important to be mindful and not eat it frequently. Also to dress it up with as many veggies and good things as you can!!

Strong Zero is probably one of the best things about Japan in my opinion. Fruity cocktails with 9% alcohol? Sign me up! However, they can do a WICKED number on you and give you a ridiculous hangover. This is why I limit myself to only one. (Try to limit myself...in social situations I can sometimes make the error and drink more than one and I pay for it. I ALWAYS pay for it. Why do I do this to myself???) Anyway, I spotted this Lychee Strong Zero at my local Fuji grocery store. I absolutely had to buy it because I adore lychee! So how did I like it? It was definitely the least alcohol-tasting Strong Zero that I've had. It had a really strong fruity flavour. It was the most like juice that I've tasted. It was good, really good. But because it was so fruity I drank it too fast. It's 54 calories per 100mL, 29 carbs and 4 grams of fat. I liked it but I don't think I'll be buying it too often. I doubt it'll be around for long though.

I like light beer. I just do. I also like low calorie beer. I can't help it. I like to get some bang for my buck but I also like to balance my caloric intake. I am a food tracker and that means finding a balance of what I eat. So Japan is a bit of a haven for me in terms of low calorie beer. There's tons of selection! My favourites are Kirin's Green Label and Asahi Style free. Both have low calories (28 and 24 calories per 100 mL) but still a nice 4% alcohol percentage (pretty standard for beer). They're also light and refreshing. I enjoy having them over the weekend, especially on Friday after a long day of work. The other day I was perusing the alcohol aisle at my local grocery store and noticed there are...lots of other low calorie beers available. Now that I started this blog I told myself ' You should try some of these '. So I grabbed a few. I started with, what is possibly, one of the worst beers I have ever had! Though I tried it first because I h...

I prefer my beers on the lighter and more crisp side. Japanese beers suit me so well. It's like a match made in heaven. I don't like hoppy beers so IPAs and I aren't friends. I won't turn my nose up at one, I'll drink it, but I definitely like the fresh and clean taste of Japanese beers. Though sometimes I want something with a bit more oomph in the taste department. Kirin has me covered there too with their Strong, Low Malt beer. This beer has a stronger and deeper flavour but not as deep as your typical dark beer. It's not a dark beer at all really, it's a low malt beer. My kind of beer. The best thing about this beer is that it's 7% instead of the typical 4-5% alcohol content that beer normally sports. It's something I can drink slower and enjoy instead of the quick gulps that a normal beer accommodates. 100 mL is 51 cal, 2.4g carbohydrates, 0.5g of protein and 0g of fat. Overall it was delicious and I really enjoyed it. This is my sec...

Now for a food that I ate last night, 東洋水産 - マルちゃん正麺 味噌味 (More simply, Maru-chan's Miso Ramen). A bit of a background, there are several type of ramen but typically you'll find your ramen falls into one of four broth categories. Salt, Shoyu (soy), Miso or Tonkotsu (pork). This particular one was a miso broth base. The entire thing is 108 grams. A single package is 365 calories, 67.1g of carbohydrates, 6.4g of fat, 9.7g of protein and 2,300mg of sodium. A lot of sodium but that's honestly to be expected with instant noodles. You don't go for ramen without knowing the massive sodium content you're getting yourself into. That being said, I did not consume the entire package of ramen. As I typically do, I cut the block of noodles in half. I cooked a single half and added in lots of veggies and a hard boiled egg. I also weighed out half of the broth. The broth for this particular one is not one you add to the noodles. What you do is cook the noodles, put th...

Latte Base is a drink offered by the brand Boss. Boss specializes in canned coffee and as someone who enjoys coffee...I've had quite a few of their drinks. This particular drink is a Latte base! The bottle is 490mL but it's meant to make 9 drinks! Yes, 9 drinks. How? Well, it's a base for lattes. So you add your desired amount of water or milk to the base to make a drink! Add ice cream to make a float, add soy milk for a soy latte, hot or cold...whatever you like!! This particular flavour is Tiramisu Chocolate. It's incredibly sweet. As of right now I've just added milk to it and it closely resembled the canned coffees you can buy at convenience stores. I plan on trying to add water and making it hot over the weekend if I can. I've only used two of the servings so far! You mix one part base, 3 parts of whatever else you want to add. I'm assuming for black coffee...you just add water (my Japanese reading skills are still developing so this involves a ...

In Japan there is Valentine's Day on February 14th. However, one month later on March 14th it's White Day. On Feb. 14th it's expected that women give chocolate to the men in their lives. Not just their significant other but...all of them. Obligatory chocolate is common in the work place. Men are supposed to return the favour on March 14th but let's just say....this is typically not done. Especially in the work place. Men tend to benefit from these gifts of chocolate but conveniently forget to do anything in return. What does this mean? Well, it means a lot of special snacks went on sale after March 14th in my local grocery store. Lots of them. Buckets full of them. As you can see on the above image, I got this box on a discount! 30% off! This box contains raspberry champagne flavoured Pocky. Pocky, for those of you who live under a rock, are thin chocolate covered biscuits. They normally come in a pack with many of the tasty treats. However this one was quite di...