TokyoTreat – August 2024

TokyoTreat has had a little revamp! They’ve improved their contents to bring us more full-size snacks, added more classic Japanese brands, plus the box and website have had a little upgrade too, so I’m excited to see what this month’s box brings!

The theme this month is Summer Matsuri Flavourfest! Summer in Japan is the time for wonderful festivals, and the menu booklet gives a fun insight into some of the events and celebrations that go on all over Japan in the summertime. There also a terrific detailed list of all the items in the box, including a handy allergen guide.

This month’s KitKat is a bag of the amazing KitKat Gold. This variety is a special edition with a mixture of caramel and chocolate coating. The packaging also has a special symbolism, the gold representing support for sports clubs in Japan. Also, these are extremely delicious! Super Sour Vinegar Chips are a flavour that people in the UK are probably familiar with, salt and vinegar! I have to say the Japanese version of this yummy snack is excellent, slightly different from the British version but pleasingly tangy and sour.

Kakigoori Gummies are a candy version of kakigoori, which is Japanese for flavoured shaved ice, which is a popular treat in the summer time. The gummies are strawberry, lemon, and ramune (Japanese soda) and have a crunchy texture like the shaved ice.

Another popular snack based is Seven Spice & Mayo Karinto. Karinto are a deep-fried crunchy dough pieces most often flavoured with brown sugar. This version is coated with seven spice, an umami blend that includes ginger, seaweed, and sesame, with a hint of mayo. It sounds like a strange combination but it’s actually really delicious, the combination of spices works brilliantly well.

Manneken Waffle Cookies & Cream is exactly what it sounds like! A lovely soft waffle that contains chocolate chips, and goes beautifully with a cup of tea. Waffles are also a popular street food, especially during the summer festival season.

Edamame beans are a delicious snack, and these Edamame Chips are a crunchy puffed snack version. They look very much like the actual beans, and the flavour is just right, delicious savoury bites.

This month’s ramen is Hiyashi Ramen. This ramen pack comes with Chinese-style soy sauce, which means is is saltier than the sweeter Japanese say sauce. There is also a topping of furikake seasoning, which is a Japanese condiment usually sprinkled on rice or noodles. It’s made from salmon flakes and nori, but it doesn’t actually taste fishy, more like a salty flavour with a little bit of umami. You can made any additions to this ramen, particularly eggs or pork, and the seasoning works perfectly with anything.

7 Stick Choco Cream  is one of those snacks that is called exactly how it looks! There are seven wafer sticks a delicious chocolate creamy filling, and they look a bit like sparklers.

Sometimes, only a chocolate cookie is the answer, and these Chocolate Cookies definitely give it! They’re a package of two wonderfully rich and intensely chocolatey biscuits with a fantastic flavour, and the package is the perfect portion size. Cream Cheese Pancake is one of my favourite Japanese snacks. It’s two pancakes sandwiched together with a filling in the middle, a bit like a whoopee pie. I’ve had several types before, but the filling of this one is made from cheese – gouda, cheddar, and cream. You might think that a sweet cheese filling is very bizarre, but I’ve actually tried sweet cheese Japanese snacks before and they are delicious. They’re definitely not a flavour you will be familiar with, but it works incredibly well.

Don Don Yaki Kimchi have a link with festivals –  ‘Don Don’ is the Japanese name for the sound of taiko drums, played at festivals and events. The snack are little crackers flavoured with kimchi for a spicy hit. These are also a perfect snack for summer weather, as spicy food is a great thing to eat when it’s hot – it’s counterintuitive but it actually helps produce a cooling effect.

Cool Down Candy is a pack of hard candies in fruit flavours. They contain, I think, menthol, which has a pleasing cooling effect, and it’s a great combination with the fruitiness. Ramune Mochi combine one of Japan’s favourite soft drinks with one of their most famous sweet treats. Mochi are soft and chewy rice cakes made from glutinous rice, and the resulting combination is the yummy marshmallow-like texture of the mochi with the sweet ramune flavour.

The next sweet is an actual marshmallow, Marshmallow Streamer, which resembles both twisted decorative streamers and colourful fireworks. Finally, Yaokin Yakisobayasan Taro.  These are dried noodle snacks that are flavoured with Yakisoba sauce, which is a savoury condiment a little bit like Worcestershire sauce. It has a savoury and umami flavour, and these little dried noodles are really yummy.