Mint Kit Kat 06-13-2012

Feelings: My coworker recently took a trip to Ireland and brought back a box of Mint Kit Kat. There are not many mint related popular chocolate candies widely available in the U.S., and if they are available, they are usually limited edition or often never available at stores. It's a shame they don't sell this delicious mix of mint and milk chocolate. With only 107 calories, these cool minty chocolate kit kats can truly give you a kit kat break on a hectic afternoon at work.

Petit Cheese Kit Kat 05-12-2011

Feelings: Thanks to the daily dosage of probiotic and various vitamins, I usually never catch cold, even though CK attends daycare (otherwise known as the viral petri dish). But the stress of my parents staying at our apartment seemed to have lowered my immune system. This cold is a nasty one. I cannot smell or taste, which is indeed catastrophic when it comes to a food blogger, especially one who delights in subtle flavors. Even my favorite rice burger from Fultummy's tastes like a bland plate of Olive Garden slop.

The last flavor I remember was Petit Cheese Kit Kat my mother brought from Japan. (For those of you who love the unique Japanese Kit Kat flavors, check out other reviews by clicking "Kit Kat" under categories on the right.) The box contains six individually wrapped, white chocolate covered Kit Kat. As I bit into it, the white chocolate layer overpowered the palate, making me wonder where the cheese is in this snack. A few seconds later, a chalky, cheddar like flavor lingered. Cheese and chocolate, in this case, did not mix very well. The saltiness of cheese and the chocolate mixed well, but the chalkiness and the pungent smell of cheddar was an unpleasant one.

Hopefully I'll feel better soon. This cannot be the last flavor I remember.

Adult Kit Kat 11-22-2010

Feelings: Bizarre stereotypes exist everywhere in the world. In the U.S., if a man dresses handsomely or well-groomed, he is considered effeminate. In Japan, if a man does not take care of himself, he is either otaku or an unfortunate plebeian. You may wonder, then what would make Japanese men be perceived feminine? Partially, it is what they eat.

If you go to Japan, you rarely see grown men eating sweets. Eating sweets and candy is considered to be feminine because "real men" apparently are supposed to drink like fish and consume savory dishes and snacks. In fact, I have heard so many men saying, "Sorry, I don't like sweets." If a man said this in the U.S., he would be labeled as a weirdo. This is one of the reasons gender specific products like "Men's Pocky" exist and are ever so popular in Japan. They don't eat sweets, but they would eat "Men's Pocky" because it's bitter and says "Men's" on it!

When I first tasted "Adult Kit Kat,"I was instantly reminded of Men's Pocky for its bitterness and mature packaging. The crushed dark chocolate cookie bits milled in wafers give more texture to this Kit Kat. This is perhaps the best Kit Kat around, especially for people who enjoy dark chocolate and bitter flavors.

Gender targeted snacks seem unfathomable, but now age targeted Kit Kat? This sounds like the Japanese Don Draper's idea, but I just cannot argue with them because it tastes so damn good. They're doing something right.

Kit Kat Tasting Day 07-23-2010

Feelings: After finding out my obsession with Kit Kat, my parents brought me all sorts of odd flavored Kit Kat from Japan. Most of them are pretty standard: Bitter Almond, Dark Chocolate, and White Chocolate. Some are indeed odd and exotic sounding flavors: Mixed Juice, Custard Pudding, Cherry Blossom Matcha, Framboise Cake, Sparkling Strawberry, and Kinako Ohagi (soybean flour and sweet mochi balls, which is coincidentally my nickname for RB).

After conducting some serious Kit Kat tasting with Mum, here is the verdict: The flavor of milky sweet chocolate coated our tongues and masked all the other subtle special flavors, and they all ended up tasting somewhat similar. But if we must choose, the Framboise Cake contained sweet and sour strawberry flavor that was most unique of all. My expectations of Cherry Blossom Matcha and Kinako Ohagi were high, but the both flavors were too subtle and seemed to have lost to the mighty power of chocolate. Mum enjoyed the faint matcha flavor stating that this was the appropriate amount of bitter matcha taste for a Kit Kat bar.

Perhaps the most interesting component of Japanese Kit Kat is the adorable packaging and the excitement for the possibilities of atypical flavors. I recommend having a Kit Kat tasting at your house, however I must warn you the chalky after taste of milk chocolate will linger in your mouth for quite some time.

Milk Coffee Kit Kat 05-09-2010

Feelings: I found yet another new flavor of Kit Kat, "Milk Coffee," during my weekly Jas Mart tour. It has been almost nine months since I, a major coffee addict, stopped drinking coffee due to pregnancy, so I would desperately accept any hint of coffee flavor at this point. "Milk Coffee" is such a Japanglish word, and it means coffee with milk, but when people in Japan hear the word, they would usually picture very sweet coffee with tons of milk or half and half.

These Kit Kat bars are white chocolate with a hint of brownish coffee color with slight aroma of coffee. When I bit into them, I did taste a bit of bitter coffee flavor, but the milky sweetness overpowered the experience. It is delicious, but it does not scream coffee. If you enjoy Thai Coffee, you would enjoy this Kit Kat flavor. I did enjoy a dash of coffee flavor after all, and the anticipation for the day I will re- encounter a cup of coffee has increased greatly.

Royal Milk Tea Kit Kat 03-20-2010

Feelings: Since I had an overwhelming reaction to Ginger Ale Kit Kat from the readers, I decided to go back to Jas Mart for more. Unfortunately, they were all sold out on Ginger Ale flavor, but I found royal milk tea flavor instead. "Royal Milk Tea" is tea that is brewed in milk, and in Japan, this tea with milk is considered to be quintessentially English, thus the packaging of kilt and the cute illustration of Queen's Guard.

It was covered in white chocolate, and the inside tasted like tea flavored cookies. It was quite delicious and had much more expected flavor than ginger ale. I wonder what flavor Jas Mart will stock up on next!

Ginger Ale Kit Kat 03-05-2010

Feelings: SuZK sent me this link explaining the Japanese odd flavored Kit Kat marketing campaign yesterday. (I'm still skeptical about the Soy Sauce Kit Kat.) It seemed to be fate that as I was shopping at Jas Mart today, I found Ginger Ale Kit Kat ($2.49) by the register! I love Kit Kat, and I love ginger ale, so this should be a match made in heaven. It was white chocolate covered, and the inside filling was very citrusy and reminded me of a cross between a white chocolate covered ginger snap and coke flavored candy they sell in Japan. It had a really sweet aftertaste that I didn't enjoy, but I had fun trying.