Nihon | Living with Food

This is something I was really exited for and have been wanting to try for a while now: Mochi. Since getting fresh Mochi in Europe is close to impossible I had to settle with these:

Royal Family – Green Tea Mochi

They are produced in Taiwan, so they are not “original” Japanese mochi. I chose the green tea flavor since it appealed to me the most. Little did I know that this decision probably wasn’t the wisest.

inside the box

There are six in one box, each of them in a little paper cup:

single mochi

For some reason these are green. Probably because of the added food grade colors. Maybe they weren’t green enough for green tea mochi. But this made them look completely different from the ones displayed on the box:

box vs. reality

I honestly think the food coloring wasn’t necessary. It just takes away from the “mochi-look”. I am no mochi expert though… Those being my first mochi and all. Here is the inside:

mochi inside

These were really underwhelming to be honest. They also had a very powdery taste that I didn’t like, which might entirely be because of the green tea flavor. It lists green tea powder in the ingredients. The rice part wasn’t bad at all, the filling just wasn’t the right thing for me. They also were a little big and seemed to be very filling so I don’t see how it would be possible to eat 6 at once (unless you shared them with 6 people, of course).

These probably won’t be purchased again. I’ll try a different flavor, though. I won’t give up on mochi just yet.

What’s in them?

Ingredients*:

Maltose, sugar, sticky rice, starch, vegetable oil, green tea paste, green tea powder, flavor, E133, E102, E110, sorbic acid

Net weight: 210g (7.4oz)

It is also halal, if this is important to you.

Here are the nutrition facts:

Serving size: 1 pcs (35g/1.2oz) Servings per Container: 6
Amount Per Serving
Calories	115
Calories from Fat	1
		% Daily Value
Total Fat	0g	0%
Saturated Fat	0g	0%
Trans Fat	0g	0%
Cholesterol	0mg	0%
Sodium	15mg	1%
Total Carbohydrates	28g	9%
Dietary Fiber	0g	0%
Sugars	9g
Protein	1g
Vitamin A		0%
Vitamin C		0%
Calcium		0%
Iron		0%

Want to know more about Royal family and all their different Mochi flavors? Go here!

*translated by me

This is one of those things I didn’t think would be different… But yet they were!

Pocky Chocolate Flavor

For those in Europe this product is normally sold as the very politically correct “Mikado”. It is supposed to be the same product. At least I thought it was. Until I took a bite. I am picky with my chocolate and this didn’t taste like chocolate. But first, what do you see once you open this box?

bag in box

I guess they come in another bag to keep the “pretzel” (It is not really pretzel… I am picky about that, too.) fresh. Okay, cool. No one likes soft sticks, right?

For those who have absolutely never heard about Pocky before it is basically a biscuit stick coated with chocolate with a part left uncoated so you can hold it without getting sticky fingers. This is what they look like:

Pocky sticks

As far as Pocky goes, it is one of those products, where you really get what you see on the box. Maybe the biscuit isn’t as golden as on the box but how long are you really going to look at the biscuit before it is vanishing into your mouth? Exactly.

Omnomnom…

Back to the flavor. Okay? Okay. This doesn’t taste like chocolate. I am sorry, but it doesn’t. At least not to me. I got the Thai version of Pocky (originally, Pocky is a Japanese product – it was sold there first in 1966) and I haven’t had Thai chocolate before but it doesn’t taste like the chocolate I am used to. This tastes like cocoa.
This is absolutely not a bad thing, it still is very delicious. But I don’t think it should be called ‘chocolate flavor’, it is more a ‘cocoa flavor’. When you look closely on the box it says: “Chocolate Flavour. Biscuit stick coated with chocolate flavour confectionery.” So, this definitely means it is not coated with chocolate. Just with something that is supposed to taste like chocolate.
The European version ‘Mikado’, however, definitely tastes like chocolate.

Here are the ingredients of the Thai Pocky:

Ingredients:

Wheat flour 41%, Sugar 29%, Palm oil 15%, Cocoa powder 5%, Margarine 4%, Skim milk powder 3%, Cocoa mass 1%

Net weight: 47g (1.65oz)

See? It is mostly plant fats with cocoa powder. Not chocolate. I guess what makes chocolate taste like chocolate to me is the milk part? I don’t think they put palm oil in our chocolate.

Are the preferences different? Does chocolate taste different in Asian countries? Or is this supposed to accommodate the supposedly bigger amount of lactose intolerant people in Asia? It still contains Milk powder, though… Maybe this way it doesn’t melt as easily in warmer weather?

Now I am interested if this is different for the original Japanese Pocky as well, and what is inside the European Mikado.

Unfortunately I can’t post any of the nutritional info. It is definitely printed on the box, front and back even, but in Thai. And I can’t read Thai, sorry.

If you want to know more about the Thai Pocky go here. If you want to know more about Pocky and its history in general go here.