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Meiji Winter Chopan
Kcal 241 Fat 17.5g Carbs 18.6g (per 42.0g pack)
The Meiji Chopan range is one that has appeared on the site a few times already. I have previously reviewed the Meiji Chopan Strawberry Assort (See HERE), and the milk chocolate Chopan was also included in my Buyers Guide last Christmas (See HERE). Seemingly like most other Japanese ranges, Chopan is one that gets at least one new flavour every season - presenting the Meiji Winter Chopan.
Matching the rather suave outer aesthetics, the chocolates themselves both looked and tasted the part. The outer dark chocolate cups provided a decent initial raft of unsweetened cocoa flavours that progressed nicely into the more buttery, creamy flavours of the truffle filling sat in the middle. Placed on top of each piece, a crispy disc of both swirled white and dark chocolate added a nice crisp textural element. This crispy disc wasn't quite the x-factor that the biscuit pieces were on top of the strawberry Chopan variety, but it was a nice addition nonetheless. These are yet another one of those 'not a must try, but still very decent' product from our friends in the Far East. They would be a cute, authentic present for someone.
7.7 out of 10
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Meiji Meltykiss WhipsKcal 303 Fat 21.5g Carbs 23.7g (per 50.0g)
Just like the Meiji Chopan above, Meltykiss cubes were another Japanese chocolate that I had previous experience with (See Meiji Meltykiss Creamy Milk Chocolate / Caramelized Almond HERE). A bit of Meltykiss trivia that you might not know is that all the Meltykiss products are only sold during the colder winter months in Japan - you learn something new everyday on this website :D
These Meltykiss Whips came billed as 'lighter, extra soft and dreamy chocolate cubes' - a somewhat surprising proposition given that I thought the original Meltykiss matched that very description already. Just like the original variants, these Whips came beautifully presented in a sky blue colour box and individual foil wrappers. The chocolates were too small for my liking, and consuming them was a bit of a irritant given the amount of packaging, however this was one of my only few irritants. Taste wise they were delicious. The chocolate was sweet, but very creamy and despite the fast paced, soft flowing melt the flavours lasted a sufficient amount of time in the mouth. These chocolates left me thinking that a substantial bar of Meiji Meltykiss could be a decent competitor to the Cadbury Wispa.
7.4 out of 10
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Meiji Meltykiss FranKcal 100 Fat 6.0g Carbs 10.1g (per 18.0g pack)
The second Meiji Meltykiss product today is part of Meiji's Fran range - yet another range that has previously featured on ChocolateMission before (See Meiji Fran Matcha Green Tea HERE). Meiji Fran is one of the many product offerings similar to the Glico Pocky range that I'm sure we are all aware of being immensely popular both in Japan and outside.
Borrowing the product description from J-List, these came described as 'cocoa cookie sticks dipped in "Meltykiss" chocolate' - I'm sure you probably could have worked this out for yourself. The product was presented in a typically inviting manner, with the total box split into four 18.0g packets containing a fairly well portioned amount of four sticks. Having tried more than a few Pocky/Fran/Toppo variants in my time, I was surprised by how good I thought these were. As ever my feeling towards the cookie sticks were rather blasie, however the chocolate on the outer portion of them was certainly better than average. As you would expect with Meltykiss chocolate it had a creamier than average taste, and it melted like a dream almost instantly in the mouth. If you are looking for a decent Pocky alternative you needn't look further.
8.3 out of 10
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Meiji Meltykiss MacadamiaKcal 492 Fat 39.8g Carbs 28.7g (per 75.0g)
Had enough Meiji Meltykiss yet? ... I hope not because there is one more to come :D Yes indeed, I think I am always saying that we have a shocking lack of macadamia chocolates here in the UK. Whether this is down to consumer taste trends, or the fact they are a more expensive nut - this is seemingly not a similar problem they have in Japan. The last product featured today are these Meiji Meltykiss Macadamia.
Described as 'chocolatey creamy treats with macadamia nut filled centers' these sounded a non-threatening, yet tantalising proposition. I hope from my photographs you can determine that the packaging was again a real treat on the eyes. Lavished with sparkly fonts, and premium gold colours, the chocolates inside were similarly pleasant looking - even the macadamia nuts didn't upset the immaculate, shiny, clean cut surfaces. When it came to the taste test these proved to be a real favourite amongst my family. The chocolate was just as described above in the other Meltykiss reviews, but the real treat were the nuts which were delicious. The macadamias were buttery and slightly salted - boy did these chocolates prove to be moreish. My only reason for not totally backing them as a great importing option would be that compared to the other two Meltykiss options on show today, they aren't as unique in regards to being an Eastern proposition.
8.1 out of 10
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53 comments:
Thank you for the reviews mate. I think its a good move reviewing more than one of these Japanese chocolates at any one time. That way you can be pretty certain there is going to be somthing for everyone that way. I like the biscuit sticks but its the macadamias that are the standout chocs for me today. I cant tell you how much I love those nuts.
Lol love the meltykiss bonanza. What brought all this on? Have you been saving them up for one big post or something?
Those chopan look like they are a cross between Hotel chocolats fused slabs and reese's peanut butter cups (shape lol). If only they had the peanut butter in them too. Now that would be immense.
No dumplings or green coloured chocs today then? Sorry Jim but I think im a little disappointed with all these. Lol Its not a real Japanese post without you trying to posion yourself ROFL.
We better be getting this hotel chocolat hot chocolate review this week or I will be stamping my foot and throwing a big tantrum at you Jim love. At least you didn't take the ultimate mick out of us and post a Japenese hote chocolate post :P That would have upset me incredibly.
Dx
Meltykiss is such a cool name. I think a product named like that would even be succesful here with us Brits. Its fun and it would stand out from the crowd I think.
Japanese snacks are the best in the world. You have a good eye for the tasty choccies. I love Meltykiss, even the green tea flavoured ones my friend brought me back from Tokyo were delicious. I would hate it if I lived there and you could only buy them in certain months.
Oh dear Jim! Not a very good day for manchester at the weekend was it ;) Beaten by Wolverhampton. Oh dear oh dear.
Jimbo did you ask JLIST whether they would do us a competition? It would be so cool if they did.
@Midgley44
That Fran review has given me some major cravings for some mikado now. Has anyone else tried the dark chocolate ones you can now buy? Jim can you do us a review of them please love.
Rxxx
Jim I was looking through all the posts you have ever given a 9 or higher mark and there wasn't a chocolate anything from japan or the eastern countries in there at all.
Doesn't that say to you that you are better off looking within the UK and Europe if you are to ever complete this chocolate mission of yours?
I have only ever bought one batch of things from that site and that was years ago. I was quite underwhelmed by some of the stuff I chose so I haven't been that keen to buy again because it can all be so hit and miss. It was the rubbish pocky that I bought which were the most disappointing. Not only did I not like them, but I saw them on sale in cybercandy a few weeks after and they were cheaper grrrr.
Following the acclaim that last weeks 'Bits n Bobs' Japanese Selection received I thought it only right to follow up this week with another set of Japanese themed mini reviews
....thats blowing your own trumpet a bit for you lol :P
These chocolates left me thinking that a substantial bar of Meiji Meltykiss could be a decent competitor to the Cadbury Wispa.
.....Nothing no nothing will ever beat my Cadbury Wispa fool. Not these meltykiss things anyway.
Are these all sent to you free of charge? I knew you got hotel chocolat free but this is just a joke if you can get yourself all of this without spending a penny. For the rest of us it would cost an arm and leg just to get one of these :-/
Im so confused? Do you own this J-List company?
Why do you keep doing so many posts about them and stuff?
I wonder if Meltykiss are anything like Creme eggs here in that they are only supposed to be bought in the winter but can actually be bought all year round. Lol it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if the whole 'only for winter' thing was just marketing b/s. So many of these manufactures do stuff like this now.
Meltykiss = EPIC amounts of WIN!!!!!!!
That's all that needs saying.
Hey Jim,
Lol how amazing was the footie this week hey? Your boys losing to Wolves had me grinning from ear to ear :) :) :) :)
As if that wasn't unbelievable enough eh? Oh wait didn't we BEAT CHELSEA ...... oh YES WE DID!!!!!
Sorry for the caps and the gloating. Lol us Pool fans haven't had much of a chance to do that this year. I wish I could celebrate with some meltykiss lol.
I'm not sure about the name and that but all of these things looks nice enough. The stick things look particularly cool.
Cheers mate
N
The rest are a tad calorie rich to fit in with my diet however the Fran sticks don't look like they would be causing much harm.
Are those 100 calories for a pack or for a stick? If the latter thats still bad lol.
If your photos weren't as sensational as they are these reviews would be x10 more boring. The fact you take such care doing them and always make them so clear enhances all your posts so much.
Keep up your gr8 work Jim.
I got an idea of something that would be cool for your to blog about. I see Japlist have got some traditional kit kat chunkies from japan in at the moment. What do you think of doing a comparison with our one? Lol they could just be the same thing but it would be an interesting comparison to do.
I get the sense that Meltykiss is the Japanese version of Galaxy. I could be wrong but thats what it seems like the way you describe the taste and all the different ways they use it. Thank you for more excellent reviews.
Have you seen the oreo chocolate pies?? YOU HAVE TO REVIEW THEM!!!!! http://www.jlist.com/product/KNS013
Until I saw the meltykiss cubes I hadn't ever had any interest in Japanese chocs before. They do have a load more flavours and varities than us but there isn't enough time in the world to order chocolates over the internet.
Meltykiss stuff does look rather special though. Do they do any Meltykiss packages where you can try all the different things that they do? That would be a top idea. If they don't do one, they should!
Next time I buy some goodies over I am going to have to get some sort of Meltykiss bits and pieces to see if they really as good as you say. I know you must be thinking pretty highly of the stuff if you say that it can compete with the Cadburys wispa. Speaking of which I have been hearing murmurs that cadburys might be bringing back the wispa mint as a limited edition. If that happened I would be right out there buying them by the box load.
Oioi last week you said we were going to see some new pocky and kit kats. Im not seeing any of these today Jim. You shouldn't make promises if you aren't going to keep them. We want Pocky now
You silly boys discussing football on a chocolate site :P Keep it chocolate.
Meltykiss sounds like an amazing chocolate. I somehow managed to miss your first couple of reviews on them so Im glad I chaught this one today. Some of the other chocolate cubes look just as tasty. You have to try the green tea flavour if you can.
I was desperately trying to figure out which of these four I was going to tell you that I wanted to try the most but I don't think I can pick between them. I do really love my Mikado (I can eat boxes of the stuff trust me) so the fran sticks would be of interest most definitely.
Then I see the winter chopan and its like I would love to try them aswell. Lol I just don't think I can choose :P
If you are doing more of these can I ask if we can see these please: Bourbon "Nama" Chocolate, Tyrol Chocolate Kinako Mochi, Bourbon Red & White Mochi Chocolate. That list should keep you busy.
How long does it take for stuff to get sent to you?
Meiji are well cool :) They look like they do a big variety of different chocolates, I cant think of another make of chocolates that are so adapatable with what they make. They must be one of the big cheese makes if the size and breadth of what they make is anything to go by.
@Robert Im agree with you m8. Jim I think you have to aim to have at least one crazy chocolate thing per japanese bnb post. They aren't half as fun when your health isn't being put at risk. Lol that sounds horrible but the most interesting reviews are always the ones where the chocs aren't your average kind. Tip top photos my friend
Have you got any kit kat posts coming? There are new flavours out that you haven't tried.
Great photo work again Jimbo. I find it amazing just how many pocky copies there are in Japan. You swear you show us a new one like every week.
Thinking about things in this country, we dont get that many exact copies. If you think of something like the Flake there isn't another chocolate that you could say is an exact copy.
@Nick lol green coloured dumpling things would be the ultimate.
Im with you on the macadamia thing Jim. I have recently developed quite a passion for different types of nuts and I have trying out many different types lately to see which ones I think are best.
So far its a tight run thing between macadamias and pecans for the title of best nut. Its annoying that the only nuts most chocolate makers ever contemplate are hazelnuts.
Im still fascinated to hear about the strawbery cakes flavoured kit kats. Please can you get a review on them up please.
Next time you get the chance to get some goodies from J list why dont you get a list of what you are allowed to review and then put it to us for a vote. Im just saying this cause I think there were a few better things that you could have reviewed first before some of these.
I want to see you go through some more of the mochi products if you can. They have that new strawberry flavour out now which could be interesting.
The pictures on the packaging are always so accurate and similar to what you show us all in the photos.
If you compare them to what some of the UK brands do they do things very differently. The pictures we get on the front of our wrappers are always more aspirational as opposed to being realistic.
If you want an example of what I mean just check out the latest aero caramel. It shows that it has a shed load of caramel when it actually doesn't.
I'd particularly like to try the Meiji Meltykiss cos I do love a Cadbury Wispa. I see what you mean about them being small Jim - think I'd end up eating the whole box! Maybe that's why they make the packaging fiddly lol?! x
If you ever need a hand eating any of these Jap snacks mate all you need to do is let me know ;)
I have quite a experienced palette I will have you know. My CV can boast copious experience with Kit Kats.
Hi All,
Flying visit today as I am busy busy busy at the day job.
Mieji have fast become one of my favourite brands in Japan. Like some of you mention it's pretty remarkable they have no presence outside of Japan in the UK or US. I have actually tried to do some research to find out more about the brand but my search has come up pretty dry to be honest. The most I have been able to find out about them is that Meiji means 'bright' or 'radiant' when translated. I can't seem to find out anything apart from that. If anyone can fill us in with the finer details I for one would love to hear more.
There have been rather a few further requests from you all today. I will be sure to make a note of them and get them sent on to Pete @Jlist.
David - Nope Peter just sent them all through at once. I have even more that I will be reviewing next week.
Robert - Poison myself? Haha I get what you mean don't worry.
Ashely - It could have been worse if Chelsea and Arsenal had won.
Midgley - I haven't yet to be truthful. I would rather they ask me directly. Its a bit cheeky the other way around.
Rachel - Dark chocolate Mikado? I don't see why not.
Victor - That is a good point but I still think it is worth checking out what the Far East has to offer. Although they haven't had many(any) 9s yet some of their products have been very close.
Golden - Yeh I see what you mean, it is always ten times as disappointing eating somethin you don't like if it has been a great effort buying it in the first place.
Chris - I do get sent these free to sample yes. I do share them out amongst family/friends etc if that reflects on me any better?
Anon - No I do not own J-List :D :D Haha best comment ever.
Nigel - Like I said yesterday I wish you had been accurate with your Man Utd prediction. I thought we were on for an easy win on Saturday but they showed us. Good on them I say! Its all about the derby next weekend now.
Alicia - The calorie information is for a packet (4 sticks).
Nick - Agreed I think that would be a cool comparison to do. You might be interested to hear that I have just finished doing a similar thing looking at the UK Kit Kats vs the US Kit Kats made by Hershey. That post will be coming rather soon.
Graeme - That is a good idea but its not currently one that exists at the moment.
Mike - I can't recall promising anything in that sense chap. There are some coming next week you may want to be aware of though.
Hollie - Deliveries are usually fulfilled with a week or so. Thanks for the request list.
Fiona - That was a very articulate comment there :D I wish I could fill you in with some of that information but I honestly cant find anything about Meiji on the internet. Not specific to chocolate anyway.
Tim - Any particular ones you want me to try. I have one new Kit Kat review up next week already.
Justin - Thats a good point. You are right its not often we see copycat products that are totally the same.
Stu - Nuts are the best aren't they. Have you dabbled in pistachio ones yet?
Lee - I can influence what they send me to an extent but the decision lies firmly in what they want to send me. They could send me anything and I would still review it. I would feel guilty no doing so.
Colin - That is another really good point that I hadn't picked up on before. The illustrations of the wrappers and boxes do look worryingly similar to my photo shots don't they. I swear I didn't even plan it like that.
Roxy - That could well be it :D Honestly though, in all seriousness it can be such a pain having to unwrap the pieces. They should have made them bigger.
Mark - I say this to everyone ... join the back of the queue chap :D :D
Thanks for the comments/feedback everyone. I will make sure that Peter @Jlist gets to see it all so that he knows what products to send across.
JIM
The things that stick out to me on Jlist are those Pretz sticks. They are the savoury version of pocky. Some of the flavours sound pretty wicked. Ham and Cheese nom nom :)
@Jim you aren't wrong about there being nothing at all published about meiji :s
They don't even have a wikipedia entry. How is that even possible.
Mate if you are taking requests for Japan stuff could you please run a review on that dark kit kat. We have that one of our own coming out soon so it would be nice to see how, or if they are different.
I see loads of people always asking you to review pocky Jim and I just dont get it? What is it about Pocky that everyone likes so much?
I find that they are just boring biscuits. They are nice but they aren't anything I would call special. Some of the other chocolates you show us are far more worthy of you spending your time on reviewing. Lol I think we all know how Pocky taste now.
Interesting reviews. None of them are highly scoring enough for me to buy in at such great expense. My wallet can rest easy for the minute lol.
You can only genuinely buy meltykiss in the winter. Its nothing like the creme egg which you can buy all year round. Lol they stick to the rules =) x
Me and the Meltykiss Fran are destined for one another some time in the near future.
Wispa like choc + cookie biscuits sounds like a dream to me. Yummy yummy yummy.
Yet more Japanese products and I've yet to see a strange KitKat in sight! Those guys at J-List are sure making up for the lack of products during the hot period! As usual, everything is interesting and do sound tempting but probably aren't worth sourcing unless it's something very special. Also, the Japanese leave no expense spared when it comes to packaging, their products always look amazingly presented. I wonder if the effort & money spent on presentation reflects in a generally higher price for the confectionery than we have over here, or whether we could put more effort into our packaging and are just too lazy. Thanks again for a great review and the photos look good too.
I see they have a new type of sweet potatoe kit kat doing the rounds. Are they any good? I don't think I have ever eaten sweet potatoe normally let alone as a sweet food.
I assumed that they were more suited for pairing with savoury dishes not choc.
Awesome review. The Meiji Winter Chopan look amazing, even though they are only decent as you call them. I also liked the Whips and by the looks they remind me of homemade chocolate. The Fran also looks yummy and I like they are chocolate stick shaped. Thanks for this review.
Always nice to see the Bits n Bobs reviews Jimbob. You must of had enough Meltykiss for a lifetime now lol.
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