February is the month of love, and because I LOVE Zenpop so much, I'm sharing a double dose of their wonderful Japanese snacks with you, my lovely readers! I'm sure you'll particularly enjoy their current theme, so why don't you go ahead and discover what it is?
They kindly *sponsored* this blog post and sent me a free Japanese Snack Box to review, I can't wait!Each Snack Box includes:
- New and trendy snacks from Japanese supermarkets and convenience stores
- Popular instant noodles and beverages
- Candy and gummies unique to Japan
- Indulgent sweets like chocolates, cookies, or wagashi
- A variety of salty and savory snacks to delight and surprise you
- At least a dozen or more new things to try in every box!
The theme for the March 2023 box is Ghibli Nostalgia and, as explained in their booklet (which can be downloaded from a QR code), Get ready to snuggle up with some hot cocoa and your favorite Ghibli films, because winter is officially movie time! And let's be real, there's nothing quite like a heartwarming anime flick from the masters at Studio Ghibli. To make the experience even more magical, we've curated a fantastic selection of snacks straight from the movies themselves! So go ahead, grab a treat and pay close attention - you just might spot the snack you're munching on in the film!
Awww, I love Studio Ghibli films!! Let's see what amazing treats Zenpop has put together for us and how they connect with the movies... *The following are in order as they appeared in the booklet.
Chicken Ramen Donburi from Nissin
Let’s start this wonderful Ghibli Nostalgia Snack box with a classic Chicken Ramen (チキンラーメン) from Nissin. Why? Because when we saw Ponyo on TV the other day, we couldn’t help but crave those after seeing that scene where she gulps up an entire bowl! The main ingredient for this bowl is usually "Katama" (かきたま), which for a twit of originality has become "Torofuwa Tamago" (とろふわたまご). It’s fluffy and thick, filled with smooth oysters and a lovely egg flavor. We recommend you to add a few extra toppings to your ramen such as green onions, a little ham, and a boiled egg. With those, you’ll really get the Ghibli feeling at home. While you’re letting the boiled water cook your dish, we invite you to dive deeper into this awesome selection of snacks we prepared for you! Keep scrolling.
This was absolutely fantastic, I've never enjoyed a ramen cup so much! I could smell the chicken as soon as I opened the lid, and it took a lot of willpower to wait the three minutes it took to cook. Utterly exquisite. What I also liked about this ramen cup was that, even though it was a bit smaller than the Demon Slayer cup from the previous box, it felt like there was really a lot of ramen—to my contentment—and I was quite full when I finished it.
Lemon Squash from Fujiya
Fujiya Lemon Squash is a limited edition drink that is only available this month in Japan, and we made sure you could try it at your home too! It’s made with lemon juice, lemon purée, and lemon paste for the most refreshing drink. Just like the pilots in the Ghibli film Porco Rosso, who all need an energizing refreshment after a thrilling workout!
I was afraid the lemon flavour would be too strong for my liking, but this drink is actually not that bad. It tastes like Schweppes and it's fizzy. One thing I recommend, though, is to keep it in the fridge until you drink it, it tastes way better!
Kit Kat Mini Matcha Latte from Nestle
Ready for your dose of original Kit Kat flavors? Classic Mini Matcha for a uniquely Japanese experience. Prepare your cup of tea, set yourself up nicely by the window, soak in some lovely sunlight and enjoy every bite! Did you know that in Spirited Away, there is a scene where Chihiro can be seen snack on Kit Kat as well?
I was very eager to try this KitKat, and my verdict is definitely a thumbs up! Although the taste of matcha is quite faint, I genuinely enjoyed this chocolatey snack. And the packaging is super cute, don't you think?
Onigiri Senbei Gin Shari from Masuya
And those little treats are one of Chihiro’s favorite as well! Onigiri (おにぎり) and Senbei (せんべい) are both classic Japanese foods. Combined, they are a real treat for your senses. Masuya added grains of salt (銀しゃり) of different sizes are added to the surface to bring out the umami of the rice. It’s simple with very rich flavors!
Okay, this is hands down my absolute favourite snack of the entire box!! You know I love senbei, and you know I'm always down for savoury treats, and this Onigiri senbei is all I could ask for. And I'm grateful that we've got a big bag of this!! Thank you, Zenpop, and thank you Masuya for this utterly delectible snack!!
Choco A~nnpan from Bourbon
People in Japan looove bread. Of course, they also have very sweet taste buds, and those bite-sized cute bread baked with a unique method and filled with soft chocolate (チョコあ～んぱん) were made to satisfy those. Bourbon (ブルボン) is a classic manufacturer of sweets & treats, and has a reputation for quality. Those fluffy breads are a yummy snack for in between 2 meals! They are also sold by Kiki in the 1989 Ghibli movie Kiki’s Delivery Service! Look at the display counter, she’s bent over on the Japanese movie cover poster: a freshly baked tray of Choco Anpan! *Bonus Tip: gently warm it up for a few seconds in the microwave for an even better experience.
I can totally get why people in Japan love bread! This cute—and yummy—treat was quite a delight! These little dough balls are shaped like hamburger buns (complete with crunchy bits on top that look like sesame seeds) and they have a soft chocolate filling. I followed Zenpop's tip and warmed them in the oven for a little bit, and it was like eating bread with Nutella... Yum!
Milk Charamel from Morinaga
Morinaga (森永) never disappoints with their snack selections. This caramel (キャラメル) is easy to eat and share, with just the right amount of sweetness and richness of milk (ミルク) that gently fills your heart. In the movie My Neighbor Totoro, Satsuki gifted this very caramel to Mei-chan and her dad. And now it’s our turn to gift it to you know who!
What a delicious snack! The caramel flavour was just the right amount, and it was so good that I couldn't help but eat it all by myself... Sorry! (#actuallysorrynotsorry 😜)
Tongari Gashi from Saka Seika
Tongari Gashi (トンガリ菓子) are nostalgic little snacks that all the kids in Japan have eaten at least once! Enjoy that feeling of traveling back in time and discover the flavors that children in Japan grew up with in the 80s.
This snack was a total surprise! It's shaped like a gelato cone (and the flavour is there, too!), but I didn't expect for the white filling to be inside the cone as well! It felt like a hardened version of cotton candy. Although I am not Japanese, it made me feel a little nostalgic because it definitely looks like a sweet treat I would eat as a child. I did grow up in the 80s, so I can totally relate!
Yawaraka Kajitsu Jelly from Nobel
We’ve gotten you this awesome assorted fruit jelly (果実ゼリー) famous for its soft texture and rich taste! It’s perfect in its simplicity. If the texture is a little too soft and chewy for you, try cooling it down in the fridge for a while before eating!
The orange one was my favourite, the sugar on top wasn't too much, so I was able to enjoy the flavour. The fun thing about this jelly was that it was squishy but firm at the same time!
Sankaku Milk from Sakuma
Sakuma's milk series (strawberry, lemon, grape, mandarin orange) are triangle-shaped little milk-candies from Sakuma (サクマ). We wrote 1 article about milk candies from Japan and why they are so good: it’s because of the quality of the milk used to produce them. To learn more about it, head over to our blog, where we have everything you need about Hokkaido Dairy Production and the Best Japanese Milk Candies!
Milk candies are the best snack to have at hand if you're craving something sweet. And since the milk comes from Hokkaido, you can expect greatness! As you can see, I got the grape ones, but I think the packaging is very very cute!
Kani Bis from Sanritsu Seika
Delicious crab-shaped biscuits from Sanritsu Seika. You can see them in the movie The Borrower Arrietty! It’s a lesser known Ghibli movie, but just as much a pleasure to watch as are Ponyo or Spirited Away. Those snacks are cute, crunchy, and a lovely little treat!
To be honest with you, I thought these were going to be savoury crackers, so imagine my surprise to find out they were actually sweet! Not only that, but the biscuits had cute faces!! Definitely 10/10.
Tongari Corn Yaki Toumorokoshi from House Shokuhin
If there’s one Ghibli character that for sure loves corn, it’s Mei from My Neighbor Totoro, and as it happens, we’ve got this delicious Tongari Corn Yaki (とんがりコーン 焼), fried corn puffs. They are made of 50% whole soybean soy sauce, which is characterized by its mellow flavor and finished with a fragrant and delicious taste that you will never get tired of.
I never turn down a corn snack, especially if it's good as this Tongari Corn Yaki from House Shokuhin. I enjoyed it even more because it reminded me of a similar snack (both in flavour and shape) I used to like as a child. Hope I get to eat it again soon!
Baum Roll from Bourbon
Baumkuchen was first introduced to Japan by, well, a German baker named Karl Juchheim nearly a century ago. It got so popular that you can see them at the banquet of the 2002 movie The Cat Returns! Nowadays, Bourbon makes this rolled version of the cake called BaumRoll (バームロール). It’s a mini roll cake wrapped in mild white cream. It has a soft texture and the harmony of milk flavor.
It's unfortunate the filling was very thin, so I barely tasted it, but I really enjoyed this sweet snack! The flavour is similar to another called Madeira cake, so it was very tasty.
Calpis Mashmallow from Eiwa
Calpis is one of Japan’s most famous drinks, also known as Calpico overseas! But that’s not all, they also make those fluffy marshmallows as seen in the tragic Ghibli movie Grave of the fireflies. If you’re looking for an emotional movie night, you gotta get your marshmallows ready, pillows, and a stash of tissues before you start this one!
I always enjoy marshmallows—in all its shapes—and this was a fun snack because it kinda looks like an egg. The gelatin filling was very sweet, so that was a really lovely touch.
Shoyu Nakamaru from Kawashima ya
Those delicious Nakamaru (中丸) can often be found as a welcome gift in traditional Japanese hotels, Ryokans (旅館). They are very crunchy, soy-sauce flavored rice crackers, usually enjoyed with a fresh cup of Japanese tea, or like Mei in the movie Totoro!
Give me a senbei and I'll be a super happy woman! This nakamaru totally tastes like the rice cakes I mentioned in my Zenpop Hello Halloween review, but crunchier. The soy sauce flavour was quite strong and I loved it!
Umaibo Teriyaki Burger from Yaokin
If you’ve watched Pom Poko, you know that the badges loooove snacking! No surprise, they also like the all-time classic Umaibo (うまい棒), translatable as tasty stick. It’s puffy, it’s crunchy, and comes with this original Teriyaki Burger flavor (テリヤキバーガー) which is perfect to get you hungry before dinner!
This was a bit of a miss for me, I feel like I've been unlucky with this particular type of snack. The teriyaki flavour was a little too strong for me so I couldn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would.
Grape Marble Gum from Marukawa Seika
This very retro packaging is nostalgic for many. Marukawa Seika (丸川製菓) is a company from Nagoya, in central Japan, that has been around since 1888. Can you imagine? The gum is very simple, however, it’s all in the flavor. This Grape Marble Gum (グレープマーブルガム) is actually, and has been since its release, an iconic candy in Japan and delivers very refreshing flavors!
I love when Zenpop includes snacks with retro packaging! I'll admit I was a bit reluctant because I haven't been a fan of grape-flavoured treats so far, but this wasn't too bad. At least I have a few left if I get cravings. Thanks, Zenpop!
Fruits Candy from Kikko Seika
The Kikko Confectionery (キッコー製菓) created those yummy and fresh fruit-flavored candies for the pleasure of our tastebuds. They are gently coated in granulated sugar, which adds a lovely amount of texture! Did you know that they can be found in the Ghibli movie Castle in the Sky? Time to turn on the TV and find the scene (while eating them is even better)!
This sweet candy tasted like a mix of berries, actually, which was really nice. It kinda felt like hard rock candy, but the granulated sugar gave it a delicious, sweet texture. Wish I had more!
Wit Number Choco from Chirin Seika
Do you remember Smarties from when you were growing up? Those little treats are the Japanese version: small, colorful chocolate candies. The packaging is shaped as a number, as this was initially a candy designed and packaged for children. Numbers are going from 0 to 9 and are commonly used to teach children how to count while enjoying a little chocolate! For the young parents among you, this is the perfect bribe to get your kid to study!
I definitely rememember eating entire tubes of Smarties, so how could I not enjoy this too? And I think shaping the packaging as numbers to teach children how to count is absolutely brilliant!
Ao Ringo Gum from Marukawa Seika
Did you know that Green Apples are blue in Japan? It’s not a joke! In Japan, Green Apples are called “Ao Ringo” (青りんご), which literally translates as Blue Apple. Of course, they are also green, just like the Green traffic light (also blue in Japan)! Confusing, right? In any case, this gum (ガム) is chewy, tasty, and comes with a punch of Green apple flavors!
Just like with grapes, I am not a fan of apples either. However, even though green apples are my least favourite (mine are red) of the bunch, I truly enjoyed this gum, also because the flavour lasted a long time.
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Undeniably thrilled with this Zenpop Japanese snack box! I also need to step up my Ghibli game and catch up with the films I have missed to see all the tiny little details Zenpop mentioned... while rewatching those I love, obviously.
Get $5 off your first box by using the code MOCHI5 at checkout!
Are you a Studio Ghibli fan? Let me know in the comments if you spotted all these snacks!
次回まで。♥
6 comments
You had my attention as soon as you said Ghibli Nostalgia! What a fantastic theme, and what interesting snacks! I wouldn't know where to start, but I think the WIT NUMBER CHOCOs are really unique with the number-shaped package. Honestly, I feel like I want to be a kid again just to learn how to count again in such a delicious way 😋 But, I don't need to be a kid to fully enjoy the CHOCO A~NNPAN, and I think you know my eyes (and stomach) immediately went there *hehe*
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing another fantastic ZenPop box with us, Fran, and kudos for the photos, you had a really good idea! 🤩
I knew you'd love my post as a fellow Ghibli fan! I totally agree, the Wit Number Choco were really adorable, and I was eagerly waiting to find out your thoughts on the Choco Anpan 😁
DeleteGlad you liked the pics!!
Ghibli! Can you believe I've never seen a Ghibli movie? I know! Anyway that first ramen has made me immediately hungry... I can almost smell the aroma wafting up from the cup. I even love the packaging! And I love lemon so that drink sounds fabulous too...
ReplyDeleteI need those biscuits too...
Nice work incorporating some of the movies into your post! I need to binge some...
What!!! You have some serious catching up to do! 😅 I'd be happy to give you recommendations, if you'd like.
DeleteAh yes, I can testify that the smell was heavenly 😌 And everything else was great as always. The lemon drink was very refreshing! I wanted to just take occasional sips every now and then and keep it in the fridge, but in the end I drinked it all in one afternoon!
Yes, I would love tohave any recs you can offer! I confess I love everything Japanese but am not sure where tostart with anime...
DeleteWell, the most obvious choice would be to start with My Neighbour Totoro. Ponyo is really good, and also Howl's Moving Castle. A couple who didn't get mention here but are definitely worth watching (in my opinion), are The Tale of Princess Kaguya (which is my absolute favourite of them all) and The Girl Who Lept Through Time. The latter is not part of Studio Ghibli, but it's a really good animated film.
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