Review #81: Hi-Chew Ichigo Daifuku 「いちご大福」

27Nov10

Packaging:
I was super duper excited when I saw these. I had seen them, I think, a couple weeks prior to receiving my HK haul. When I saw the reviews for it, I really wanted to try it. And my wish was granted!

I love Strawberry Daifuku, well not that I’ve had an authentic one before. (I do, also, love strawberry ice cream mochi). I think that Wagashi is awesome. I haven’t had much, but they definitely LOOK great. So I’ll assume they taste awesome too.

Although I’m not a big fan of pink, I think the packaging is pretty good. Well, of course, it has to FIT with the “いちご” theme. I really super love the picture of the “いちご大福”, it looks so delicious!

Speaking of Japan, AUGH! I’m so mad…kind of. Well, my school has a sister school in Japan, “Sakushin Gakuin”, so this summer is the trip to Japan. Which includes a homestay (1 week) and 1 week of sightseeing. And ARGH! I want to go so badly! (They’re only taking the first 16 people who apply) But then I wasn’t sure what to do, because I really want to go to Japan, and this was kind of a “once-in-a-lifetime” chance (the trip is once every two years, but sometimes they skip, like last year they skipped because of the swine flu). But the trip is during the summer which intrudes on my summer school (teaching) job! And I really want to go to both! In the end, my mom said “no” to the Japan trip, because it was too expensive. $3050 for the airfare, Rail pass, homestay & meals with homestay families, two nights in Tokyo and four nights in Kyoto. And then I just found out, it’s a scam! Once in Japan, they ask for (approximately) $250 after reaching Japan to pay for local train&bus and entrance fees to temples, museums, etc. AND then there’s the cost of ADDITIONAL MEALS while sightseeing and souvenirs. My mom’s right, going to Japan by ourselves would be better.

Rating: A+

Cost:
HK Haul. Sorry! I can’t find it online!

Taste:
There is a distinctive smell before even opening the foil, to me, it smells a lot like red bean and I’m just going to throw in strawberry as well. It certainly smells promising, and I can only hope that the taste lives up to its expectations.

The color is a pale pink, almost whitish. It smells even stronger of red bean at this point. IT IS SO GOOD! Oh my gosh. The red bean flavor is vibrant, clashing with strong hints of strawberry. It’s sweet, and something else that I can’t exactly describe. It kind of tastes like the red bean is within the strawberry, like it should be, but it might just be because I’ve chewed it around.

Though this is really super good tasting, it’s not entirely something that I’m going giddy, jumping up and down in my seat for. It’s really good, but not THAT good.

Nutritional Facts:
Net Wt: 55g
Serving Size: 55g
Energy: 225kcal
Protein: 0.9g
Total Fat: 4.2g
Sat Fat: 2.1g
Carbo: 45.4g
Sugars: 31.7g
Sodium: 0mg

Rating: A

Overall:
The packaging is super awesome. The taste is pretty super awesome too. But it’s not too super. It’s great but it doesn’t make me want to beg for it.

Overall Rating: A

Verdict:
I only have a couple more, which I will try to “savor”. If I saw this at Japantown, I may consider purchasing it, but I wouldn’t ask my cousin to buy it and ship it here. I absolutely recommend giving this a try if you can!

Rating Scale:
(A+ = Perfect, or close to it.)
(A = Amazing.)
B = Good.
C = Average.
D = Bad.
F = Inedible.

Read reviews by Lost Mitten, Tasty Japan and Snack Love.

Filed under: Candy, Hi-Chew, HK Haul, Morinaga, Strawberry   |  Leave a Comment