July 2nd: Meiji Shu Cookie Mild Chocolate / White Chocolate

According to my pals at J-List it is searingly hot in Japan at the moment though that didn't stop sending me across another sampling package full of the latest goodies to grace the J-List website. Without further ado let me introduce todays items for review - Meiji Shu Cookies. These cookies were pretty simple and consisted of an outer biscuit layer with an inner chocolate creme.

I was lucky enough to get my mitts on both the mild chocolate and white chocolate variants - both of which came in two boxed cartons with inner foil packages containing several mini biscuit pieces. Whilst on the the subject on packaging I must admit I was pretty impressed by the presentation of both flavours. Although I couldn't read any of the on pack blurb I thought the pictures looked particularly appetising and was glad to see they gave an accurate insight in to what the product actually looked like. Aswell as looking very tempting both variants smelt wonderful - the mild chocolate had more of a biscuity, wheat smell whilst the white chocolate had a grander milky, sweet smell.

I ate both of these over the course of two days (one each day!) and shared them with a few work colleagues over a mid morning coffee. Below are my thoughts on both:

Meiji Shu Cookie Mild Chocolate:

Kcal 295 Fat 19.3g Carbs 25.7g (per 51.0g)

It doesen't take a genious to figure out these were the milk chocolate variant out of the two and they were the first ones that me and my colleagues got stuck into.

The outer cookie elements had a wafer like malty taste that had just a touch of cocoa in it to give it a chocolaty taste from the outset. If you imagine what a denser coco pop would taste like you are thinking along the right lines here. The outer biscuit had a light crispy texture that when bitten into quite wonderfully perished to reveal the smooth, soft creme centre. The transition to the crunch biscuit to the inner creme was truly fantastic and was my favourite part of the whole product. The inner chocolate creme added a nice moistness to the biscuit and further cemented the sweet chocolaty taste that had already been generated in the mouth by the outer biscuit. The taste was resoundingly nice though there wasn't much in the way of an aftertaste which meant they weren't that fulfilling.

Overall these were a lovely snacking product and one that I would certainly have again. This conclusion has been determined because of the prestige of the chocolate element involved, but more because of the fun, uniqueness of the product itself. If it is a chocolate hit in particular you are craving these might not quite do the job. If it is just a decent tasting, light snack your after though these are very much the ticket.

8.2 out of 10

Meiji Shu Cookie White Chocolate:

Kcal 295 Fat 19.8g Carbs 23.9g (per 51.0g)

I thought these looked absolutely superb both on the packaging and I wasn't let down by the product itself.

In comparison to the Mild Chocolate variant the biscuit had more of a wafer like taste and had a consistent note of honey that remained present throughout its duration. Just like the aforementioned the textures that were displayed here were truly awesome - I just couldn't get enough of the dry biscuit letting loose the more liquid like creme centre. Where the creme in the Mild Chocolate failed to really build upon the flavours of the biscuit, this White Chocolate variant really had something else in store. The creme reminded me of vanilla ice-cream and had a sweet, custard like set of flavours. The resulting taste was exceedingly sweet but this was nicely balanced by the outer biscuit which maintained an everlong savoury base to the taste. In comparison to the Milk Chocolate the taste was longer sustained with the vanilla element leaving a longer last impression in the mouth. This obviously meant that out of the two they were the more satisfying.

Overall the feedback I got from my colleagues about these were that they were simply delicious and were enjoyed by one and all. I have to say I agreed with them - the taste would perhaps be a little too sweet for some but as someone who likes white chocolate I particularly enjoyed them. If I was going to order just one of the following variants I would pick these but to be honest both of them were pretty damn good. Again I would very much recommend these if your after a tasty Japanese snack.

8.6 out of 10