Reviewed by
Mary
We all know what the most fun thing about October is – Halloween!
This month’s TokyoTreat brings us all the spooky stuff that is loved in Japan at Halloween with the Snacktastic Halloween box.
While Halloween is a relatively new holiday for Japan, it has certainly been embraced by modern culture. Parties, costumes, food, theme parks, and parties, and traditional Japanese folklore comes in to it too. You can read about it in the lovely menu booklet, including kimokawaii, which is a combination of the Japanese words for cute and creepy.
The booklet also tells you about each item inside, including an allergy guide.
Japan does the best KitKats, including seasonal varieties. The KitKat Apple Pie is the perfect complement to the season, with apple pie flavoured white chocolate coating and adorable Halloween-themed packaging.Seven Spice & Mayo Karinto are and original Japanese snack, deep fried for a light and crispy texture and flavoured with shichimi, a wonderful combination of seven traditional spices for a wonderful umami flavour.
These treats are big on the Halloween theme! First Halloween Harvest Karinto which are little fried pieces containing vegetables such as sweet potato, onion, and carrot. The Halloween Pizza Puffs are delicious corn puff balls flavoured with cheese. Boo! Ghost Gummies would be great fun for trick or treating, or just to give someone a fright. They’re flavoured with apple, but they’ll turn your tongue a startling blue colour!
The Rich Caramel Danish might not be obviously Halloween-themed, but the flavour of caramel layered in the soft pastry definitely speaks to the autumnal season. Spooky Spicy Crackers have a serious kick of Japanese pepper – even the bag calls them Spicy Numbing! – so perhaps they might be good for a trick or two.
This month’s ramen is Curry Ramen Noodles, flavoured with delicious Japanese curry for a great warming meal as the weather gets cooler.
Pai no Mi Mini Pies Japanese Pudding are a lovely variety of the tiny fulled puff pastry bites that come in many flavours. These are filled with delicious custard, the perfect sweet combination. There are also two Halloween Choco/Angel Pies. These are a sandwich snack with the outer layers somewhere between a cake and a biscuit with a creamy marshmallowy filling. The while thing is then covered is smoother chocolate.
Some dagashi to finish. The Halloween Snack Stick is a traditional Japanese snack made from puffed wheat and coated with chocolate. There’s also a sachet of Halloween Fruit Juice Potions which is a fruit flavoured powder that changes colour as you mix it with water. Hi-Chew are another famous Japanese candy, and these mini round Halloween Hi-Chew versions are the perfect themed treat. And finally a Halloween Mochi, with a sweet marshmallow outer and a yummy sweet custard filling.
By Evelyn 
