Reviewed by
Mary
Japanese snack and candy box TokyoTreat is starting 2024 off with a bang with the New Year Snakin’ Party box!
We’ve got a selection of goodies inspired by the Japanese New Year celebration, Oshogatsu.
The lovely menu booklet tells you all about the snacks inside the box, including a useful allergy guide. There is also fun trivia about how new year is celebrated in Japan, including special food, games, celebrations, and culture.
Lucky Red & White KitKat is perfect for the new year. These colours are considered lucky in Japan, and you’ll see them everywhere, especially at this time of year. The KitKats themselves are a combination of milk and white chocolate, a delicious! The Sesame Sweet Potato Sticks are based on a candied sweet potato treat, and also have a delicious flavour of sesame.
The Kabayaki Taro Jerky is one of the more unusual yet traditional snacks, a chewy savoury treat which has the flavour of grilled eel. As a contrast, the Sour Cola Lollipop is a classic combination of fizzy sherbet and a lolly to dip. Another sweet treat, the Mishmash Soda Candy Rope is tastes like the Japanese Ramune soda, which is a popular option for candy, and has a chewy shell and sweet slightly fizzy centre.
Pretty are a favourite snack that comes in both sweet and savoury varieties. These are a Mild Roast flavour, with a gentle sweetness that goes very well with the crunchy pretzel sticks. Different corn puffs are very popular in Japan, and this Choco Corn Puff Stick has a rich chocolate flavour and lovely light texture.
Red beans are eaten in Japan at new year as protection against bad luck, and this Nagoya Donut contains delicious red bean and is soft and light, perfect with a cup of tea. Yamato Aji Curry Crackers have the flavour of Japanese curry, a popular dish eaten all over the country. One of the most famous symbols of good luck in Japan is the tai, or sea bream. The Good Luck Teriyaki is a chocolate-filled wafer shaped like a fish, and with its colourful packaging symbolises good fortune.
The drink this month is C. C. Lemon, a citrus soda that apparently contains twelve lemons’ worth of vitamin C! Given the likelihood of overindulgence in the holidays, any way to get more vitamins has to be a good thing! This month’s ramen is Itomen Yamaimo Soba, which has a delicious savoury bonito flavour, and soba noodles, eaten at new year to promote long life and prosperity.
Seaweed & Salt Potato Sticks are another crunchy snack, this time made from white potatoes with a wonderful salty flavour from the seaweed. Fried Potato Snacks are a Japanese take on French fries, and are light and crispy. Both of these are great as party food, perhaps with a nice cold beer! Moving from the regular savoury taste, Agemochi Bites are flavoured with slightly sweet soy sauce, so these crispy fried fried rice crackers have a delicious sweet-savoury flavour that is extremely moreish.
