Name: Sweet Candy (Fruit Drops)
Brand: Meiji
Place Purchased: Mitsuwa Marketplace (Little Tokyo, LA)
Price: $1.99
Size: 3.8 oz
Type: Hard Candy

Ya gotta love anything that comes in a swell flask-shaped tin in this day and age.

Made by Meiji, this tin contains, simply put, fruit hard candies. As far as I can tell the flavors are something like lemon, orange, strawberry, grape, pineapple and melon. But there’s also a curious opaque white one that’s peppermint (quite a shock when you’re expecting pineapple). The candies are nicely flavored. Tart but not overly so. The lemon and pineapple are particularly good.

It’s a fun little stocking stuffer or something to keep on your desk. After you’re done, you can even put change in the tin - though the largest coin that will fit through the opening at the top is a quarter (but if you’ve got more money, what are you doing saving it? you should be out buying candy).

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Name: Mousse Pocky (Green Tea)
Brand: Glico
Place Purchased: Mitsuwa Marketplace (Little Tokyo, LA)
Price: $1.99
Size: 1.75 oz
Calories per ounce: 80
Type: Cookie/Candy

Pocky is one of those Japanese treats that’s gone mainstream in the States. I’ve seen them at Ralph’s and even some convenience stores. I’d never had them before and I think if I had it to do all over again, I’d start with a more common flavor. However, I’ve got to hand it to the Mitsuwa Marketplace, they had a huge selection. There’s also something known as “Men’s Pocky” which I haven’t quite figured out.

If you’ve never seen them before, Pocky are little cracker/biscuit sticks dipped in something chocolatey or creamy. My choice was Green Tea. The sticks look just like the package promises. Long, unsalted pretzel looking things dipped in a green, creamy coating. You grab them by a small uncoated end for clean fingers.

The coating is like white chocolate flavored with green tea, and it tastes just like room-temperature green tea ice cream. Smooth, delicately flavored with a crisp bite to the cracker inside. They’re definitely addictive and one of the better items I bought on my last Little Tokyo trip. They do have a bit of hydrogenated oils in them (though the main fat is cocoa butter, which is what gives the coating its smooth-meltyness).

I’m eager to try more flavors. The neutrality of the crunchy stick makes it idea for just about anything. Mostly I’m going to see if other varieties don’t have hydrogenated oils.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Name: Super Lemon Candy
Brand: Santa Trading Co.
Place Purchased: Mitsuwa Marketplace (Little Tokyo, LA)
Price: $1.49
Size: 2.64 oz
Type: Hard Candy (Sour)

Of course I’m a sucker for packaging. How could you resist this sassy lady with her cherry lips and surprised expression heralding “It’s So Wonderful Candy!”

What’s even better are the pictographic description on the back:

And is it ever sour. Taking them out of the individual packet, you’ll find a little round ball, about the size of a marble, distinctly yellow with a powdery dusting on it. Pop it in your mouth and you’re gonna definitely feel that “Oh! Super Candy” feeling. It’s sour. I’m serious. It’s painfully, numbingly sour.

After the salty, toxic waste sourness dissolves away, you’ve got a lemon drop. It’s a good lemon drop, smooth and without too many airgaps. It’s got good essense flavor to it, too. If you like the megasours that have been on the market for years without the novelty that goes with them, this is a solidly good sour lemon ball.

I’m unable to find much about the company that makes it, though it’s a common import and obviously packaged for the overseas market as much of the package is in English.

Other reviews: Super Lemon has Awesome Power & Candy Critic.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Name: Asahi Kinu Kokuto
Brand: Asahi
Place Purchased: Mitsuwa Marketplace (Little Tokyo, Los Angeles)
Price: $2.49
Size: 3.59 oz
Calories per ounce: 100
Type: Hard Candy

I wasn’t quite sure what these were when I purchased them. I knew they were hard candy and I read over the ingredients, which are: Corn Syrup, Sugar, Brown Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Artificial Flavoring, Caramel Coloring.

As far as I could figure, they were brown sugar drops. They’re better than that, I think they’re black coffee drops. Instead of those creamy drops (Coffee Rio) that are a bit like taffy, these are a smooth if sweet hard candy. Instead of being crackly with little air gaps like regular hard candy, these are dense.

They do have a tangy bit of molasses to them, I’m guessing because of the brown sugar. I have no idea what the flavoring is beyond that. I’ve searched the web for any info on them and I can’t seem to figure out what they’re even supposed to be called in English. The name up there is from the receipt.

If I can find these reliably, I will continue to buy them. They’re in little sealed packets and they last on the tongue for a quite a while without any of those sharp edges you sometimes get when there’s an air bubble in regular hard candies. The real drawback is that they’re rather expensive.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Name: Meiji Chocolate “Mild Bitter”
Brand: Meiji
Place Purchased: Little Tokyo (Los Angeles)
Price: $1.89
Size: 1.97 oz
Calories per Ounce: 150
Type: Chocolate

My mother and I purchased quite an assortment of chocolates and candies on our last trip to Little Tokyo. The Meiji Chocolate is similar in its packaging to the Hi-CROWN. It looks like a little box of European cigarettes. These little sticks of chocolate are narrower than the Hi-CROWN, but of equal quality.

The dark chocolate rivals those that I’ve gotten from the Europeans. It is very smooth, though starts a little waxy and dense, it mellows on the tongue with a good dry finish. They’re a little pricy per ounce, but I like the packaging which allows you to only open enough for one at a time. I like the fine deluxe bars that have turned up lately, but breaking them off can be quite messy and I never seem to finish a bar quickly enough so it starts to look unappealing when I get towards the end.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Name: Jasmine Green Tea Chocolate
Brand: Splendid Specialties
Place Purchased: Cost Plus
Price: $3.19
Size: 1.5 oz
Calories per ounce: 174
Type: Chocolate

The prettiest tasting chocolate I’ve ever had. These medallions of milk chocolate are a little on the sweet size, but have a good mouth feel. There’s slight bit of graininess to it towards the end.

But the taste is the real winner here. It’s milk chocolate, but has the fragrance of jasmine tea. It’s not clingy or soapy feeling, simply floral and clean.

The flavor lingers, like a mint would a half hour later. It’s not really the kind of candy you’d idly snack on, it’s more of a finishing chocolate. Something that you eat at the very end of the meal.

I plan to try the other flavors.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Name: Hi-CROWN Chocolate
Brand: Morinaga
Place Purchased: Little Tokyo (Los Angeles)
Price: $2.69
Size: ~ 2 oz.
Type: Chocolate (Dark)

I was attracted by the European cigarette box styling of this and expected to open it and have a wave of clove scent wash over me. However, inside was much more delightful. There were six chocolate wafers, each individually wrapped about the size of a thick stick of gum. They were scored in the middle, so you could break them in half.

The chocolate is smooth, buttery and very strong. Not too sweet though just a tad waxy to the mouth before it melts. Not at all bitter, but with a good solid acidic kick to it.

The price is quite appropriate for other types of premium chocolates and I will purchase this again. In fact, as a stocking stuffer, I would certainly prefer this to one of those chocolate oranges. The packaging is lovely and really sells the product. It’s protective and quite a conversation starter.

Rating: 8 out of 10