review: unagi ice cream

it was just another day.

my husband was out running errands and comes back with a small tell-tale konbini plastic bag in his hand.

"i got you something for your blog!" he exclaims placing the small bag down on the counter.

"oh really?" i replied, examining the contents.

unagi ice cream.

"...serious?" oh god, i think.

"yeah!" he's serious.

so here goes.

eel ice cream, ladies and gentlemen.

now okay, some of you may be aware of japan's...odd ice cream flavours. most of them are like locally produced omiyage type things (like wasabi or beef tongue or...whatever) and not really the type of thing you see at konbini. but maybe circle K is an odd kind of konbini, because there it was.

maybe it's like unagi pie, i mean, that's delicious, right?

maybe it's just got like a hint of unagi sauce, which is just like soy sauce and mirin...so like sweet and salty? 

this could work.

i'm optimistic as i pry the lid off and take a big scoop off the top.

AND IMMEDIATELY REGRET IT BECAUSE OMG THIS IS SO NOT GOOD.

it's nothing like unagi pie because unagi pie is actually edible, enjoyable, downright delicious in fact. this is the COMPLETE OPPOSITE. 

it's sauce overkill. the ice cream is already flavoured with unagi sauce already, but for whatever reason they decided that wasn't enough and put in these broad ribbons of straight up sauce in there too for maximum saltiness impact. it's just bad. it's doubleplus bad. it might be the first time i've ever thrown ice cream out. ugh.

review: japanese chestnut häagen-dazs

häagen-dazs is holding out on you guys back home.

seems like every month there's some new limited edition flavour that i'd never seen in the US.

cafe au lait.

white peach and raspberry.

lemon ginger float.

pumpkin (which i need to review!)

and today, i'll be reviewing the latest fall addition: wa-guri (japanese chestnut).

it's essentially chestnut flavoured ice cream with swirls of chestnut paste -- not like in the marron sense, but in the "i boiled some chestnuts in sugar and made 'em into a paste" sense. it's got a great natural chestnut taste to it -- not too syrupy sweet, just buttery and rich chestnut. i only wish that there was more of the chestnut paste in there. come on, it's like...the width of human hair, give me MOAR!

these guys generally show up at konbini first and then move on to grocery stores, but you can bet i'll be buying it again. seriously, häagen-dazs needs to get their game together and give the US some of these flavours too. 

unless i'm wrong and you do get them? i dunno, someone fill me in.

review: ajiwai marron pino

okay to be fair, i warned you that tons of limited edition snacks come out in the fall, so... i hope none of you are surprised by how many reviews i'm doing.

and besides, i wrote a quirky japan blog last night too, so it's not like i'm...shirking my blog responsibilities or...whatever.

anyway!

first things first, pino (made by morinaga) is another one of those standard japanese snacks. it's little bits of ice cream covered in chocolate, and they bring out LOTS of limited edition flavors throughout the year, so you'll definitely be seeing these guys again.

because it's fall, we have the ajiwai marron which i'll loosely translate into just marron, since it's pretty much saying like "tasty marron"...

look at the fall colours~ 

look at the giant chestnut~

the box boasts using "fragrant italian marron" in the ice cream, which sounds really promising.

until you take a bite.

... *closes eyes and waits for the "fragrant italian marron" to kick in*

... ... ... *still waiting*

... ... ... ... yeah okay, i got nothing.

i wouldn't even know it was marron-flavoured if i hadn't have bought the damn things myself -- there's hardly any marron flavour at all. it's not like it tastes gross or anything, it just tastes like vanilla.

and pino usually does a mildly good job at these limited edition things too...

i guess you can't have a winner every time.

but don't worry, in about 1 or 2 months, another flavour is bound to crop up. so until then!

konbini

konbini 【コンビニ】

oh konbini.

you're on practically every corner of this city ー okay, of this country ー and i miss you when i'm not in japan.

the home of delicious limited edition snacks. of piping hot nikuman and oden in the winter. of alcohol and premium coffee. of bento and breads and desserts.   

oh konbini! you're there when i'm dying of thirst in the summer. you're there at 2 am when i'm drunk and looking for some instant ramen. you're there when i'm looking for concert tickets. and you're there to hold my packages. 

they hold the sum of japan within their walls ー truly remarkable as most konbini aren't even that big.

the major konbini here in hiroshima are:

☆ family mart (or famima)
☆ seven eleven (or sebun) 
☆ lawson
☆ sunkus (or circle K)

☆ poplar (poplar isn't a HUGE national chain like the top 4 here -- they also make their own rice in-store for their bento, so you get warm fluffy rice when you buy them and it makes ALL the difference)
☆ daily yamazaki (owned by the yamazaki bread company)
☆ coco! (they have fresh baked breads in-store -- YUM!) 

biggest brand names are definitely those top 4 though. you can probably find them anywhere in japan.

interestingly enough, the nickname for seven eleven is different in the kansai area than for hiroshima. they call it sebu-ire, taking the first two letters of the japanese for seven eleven, which is sebun-irebun. fun!

here's a list of all the things you can do (that i know of, anyway) at konbini:

★ mail stuff! packages, nengajou (new years cards), letters, takkyubin, etc
★ buy concert/event tickets
★ buy magazines
★ buy porny magazines 
★ pay your bills (gas, electricity...etc)
★ buy cigarettes
★ buy alcohol -- from canned chu-hi to bottles of wine and whiskey and nihonshu, look no further for your alcoholic needs
★ make copies
★ print pictures
★ get soft serve (at least you can at sunkus)
★ buy basic toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, face wash, bath salts, etc)
★ buy basic make-up
★ buy stockings, shirts (not at all of them, but some)
★ get ready-made (cold) food! bento, onigiri, oden, pasta, noodles, salads, sandwiches, side dishes (potato salad, simmered veggies, etc), breads, gyoza, and much more. don't worry, they'll heat it up for you too!
★ get instant ramen! of like every variety! and there are a LOT!
★ get ice cream 
★ get dessert! HUGE trend in konbini nowadays is uchi-cafe or "cafe at home" which means slightly nicer quality private-brand (PB) desserts that you take home and eat (rather than going to a cafe) -- uchi-cafe is actually a lawson brand, but other konbini are ALL doing it now (sunkus is cherie dolce, family mart has sweets＋,poplar has the hito tema series, and seven eleven doesn't have a brand name for it, but they're all over it too)
★ get money! you can find ATMs at nearly all konbini lately
★ get pens and paper and other things stationary
★ buy shuugi-bukuro and fushuugi-bukuro -- these are envelopes specifically for money given on occasions such as weddings, celebrations, having a child, or funerals
★ get energy drinks! millions of them! (and anti-hangover drinks)
★ buy laundry detergent, dish soap, and other cleaning products
★ get fresh ground coffee (and other cafe drinks!) -- this is also like the latest thing
★ buy CANDY! because that's half the fun of konbini! seasonal stuff and new line ups come in about every month, so it's really fun to browse 
★ NIKUMAN! ...need i say more? these warm, fluffy buns are usually filled with ground beef and veggies, but they have a lot of different varieties like pizza-man, curry-man, chashu-man...oh, and only during the fall/winter months
★ get fireworks -- only during the summer months, but hey! fireworks!
★ get hot ready-made food! fried chicken, hot dogs, fries, menchi katsu, korokke, oden... selection varies depending on the konbini
★ get frozen food! pizzas, pastas, udon, takoyaki, ice cream, you name it!
★ buy fresh produce -- not at all konbini, mind you, but at some you can find vegetables and fruits as well as eggs, tofu, etc
★ get drinks! i'm talking non-alcoholic here -- teas (green, black, red, sweetened, unsweetened, etc), coffee (lots of coffee; mostly in cans), fruit juices, smoothies, yogurt drinks, sports drinks, water, sodas, milk...

see? SEE?? you can do everything! and i probably haven't even listed it all!

if you're one of those people who really love going to the grocery store and browsing (like me) then you'll LOVE konbini. but they are kinda dangerous on an empty stomach (much like the grocery store). 

most major konbini also have their own kind of point card/prepaid card for quick and easy payment. in a cash society, fumbling for change while you're in a hurry isn't much fun -- so they have cards that you put money onto and then use for payment at the register. cards can be charged at any of their store locations and you also get points for every X amount of yen you spend. these points can be converted into actual yen. 

for example, seven eleven's nanaco card gives you 1 point for every 100 yen you spend (so like 1 point for every dollar) and you can turn 1 point into 1 yen, so if i have 400 points, i can use them as 400 yen (so 1 point can be turned into a penny). i know it sounds kinda piddly, i mean 100 yen for 1 point, and that point only gets me 1 yen? but seriously, these ADD UP. especially if you're in the habit of going to konbini daily like...all of japan is. you can also earn points at other affiliated stores too. japan LOVES point cards -- i really need to post about that, too. but usually they're free or very minimum cost to join, and are really worth it if you're a heavy user.

oh konbini... what would we do without you?

i hope i never have to find out.