Reviewed by
Mary
This month, TokyoTreat’s box of snacks and sweets from Japan is taking us to Okinawa, with goodies inspired by this island of sun, sea, and beautiful beaches!
The menu booklet tells you all about the goodies inside, including an allergens list, and you can also read about the environment and culture of this beautiful island. I have to say that it sound like an absolute paradise!
Cookies and Cream KitKat
Ice cream is always a favourite at the beach, and these yummy white chocolate and cookie crumble KitKats taste just like cookies and cream ice cream! They’re also really goof frozen for extra cooling power. Japan has the best KitKat varieties, and this one is a limited edition for this spring/summer.
Okinawa Sweet Potato Chinsuko, Japanese Pineapple Juice, Brown Sugar Sesame Crunch
Chinsuko cookies are a traditional cookies from Okinawa, made with local purple sweet potatoes! The flavour is buttery and not overly sweet, and it’s got a lovely crumbly texture, rather like shortbread.
You can’t think of the tropics without thinking about pineapple, and pineapples are another famous local product in Okinawa! This delicious juice is refreshing and sweet, and is the perfect chilled drink for summer.
These little cubes look rather odd, but the taste amazing. They’re made from brown sugar, black sesame, and kinako powder, which is roasted soybean. Kinako has the most amazing flavour, a little like peanut butter, and mixed with the sugar and sesame these are a gorgeous nutty treat.
Porickey Brown Sugar, Shimi Coco Corn Puff, Grape Whistle Gum
Another specialty of Okinawa is its kokuto brown sugar, and these little pretzel sticks are coated with them for a rather addictive snack! The packaging also features a Shisa, which is the symbol of Okinawa.
Corn puffs are a popular snack in Japan, wither sweet or savoury. This one is chocolate flavoured, and while it’s very crisp and light the flavour is surprisingly rich.
This gum is a lot of fun, it’s grape-flavoured, which isn’t that common in the UK but common in Japan, and the shape with the hole means you can s=actually make a proper whistling sound with it!
Kimchi Don Don Yaki, Pineapple Gummies, Okinawa Brown Sugar Fugashi
Don don yak are little senbei – rice crackers – with a savoury flavour with a hint of kimchi spice. The name is what connects them to Okinawa, don don is Japanese for beating taiko drums, which are used in the traditional Visa dance of Okinawa.
Gummies are always delicious, and we’re keeping with the tropical theme here with pineapple flavoured ones!
Fugashi are another crunchy treat made from Okinawa brown sugar, but rather than corn, these are made from wheat. The texture is amazingly light and crisp, and goes beautifully with the rich sugar flavour.
Chilled Hiyashi Ramen, Piccola Lemon, Kamesen Senbei
I’ve never heard of eating noodles chilled, but apparently in hot weather they are very popular! This ramen is cooked and the cooled with cold water, and it includes a packet of furikake seasoning, which is a savoury umami topping including bonito, nori, and sesame. You can also add extra toppings such as salad, ham and eggs. It’s definitely ramen with a seasonal twist!
Lemons are another fruit grown in Okinawa, as the climate is perfect for citrus. These hollow stick cookies are filled with a lovely lemon cream, which is tart and refreshing.
These little senbei are crunchy rice crackers with a lovely sweet-savoury soy sauce coating. The name comes from the fact that they are shaped like turtle shells, which are native to Okinawa.
Nori Shin Dragon Twists, Koikeya Salited Caramel Chips
In the absence of an actual dragon boat, which have races in Okinawa, these twisted potato snacks are called Dragon Twists, with the picture in front of a coiled dragon. They’re nori flavour, which is delicious savoury salty seaweed.
Salted caramel crisps might sound rather odd, but Japan has mastered the art of sweet and savoury crisps! I’ve tried chocolate coated salted crisps before, absolutely yummy, and this is the next level of sweet savoury crisp flavour. The saltiness stops them being overly sweet, and the combination of potato chips, caramel, and salt is amazingly addictive!
