Saturday, December 26, 2009

hit and miss at Marukai

The past few weekends I've been visiting my local Japanese market, Nijiya. Today I ventured to another called Marukai Market.

I purchased several Royal Milk teas as I have been wanting to be able to decipher the difference between brands and types.


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I picked up a bottle of Lipton's brand which is called "The Royal". I did enjoy this tea. I've got to say that Royal Milk Tea is quite the strange concoction. Each sip has a floral taste that I like and dislike simultaneously. It's a combination that has me coming back for more. There is something I like about having to overcome and bear with the slight distaste for the floral aspect of the tea as I also enjoy the sweet and creaminess of it.


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I also found the "Special" version of Kirin's Royal Milk Tea. Kirin is a big beverage company in Japan and are mostly known for their alcoholic drinks. I had heard of the "Special" version and had been wanting to try it.

This "Afternoon Tea" is with Assam tea and milk. The "Special" version supposedly has creamier milk and a more robust tea base. I can't decipher whether the milk is indeed creamier but it does have a more robust taste. It is slight but it is enough for me to have difficulty with it. I find that I do not like it as much as the other I suppose less "Special" versions of Kirin's tea.



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I found some Royal Milk Tea Kit Kat bars. I was hoping that they'd have some of the other odd flavors to sample but they were limited to Royal Milk Tea and chocolate Kit Kats.


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The Japanese Kit Kat bars come with four bars but sealed two at a time. The Royal Milk Tea Kit Kats feature British soldiers as the tea is an English tea.


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The bars didn't taste like Royal Milk Tea to me, but they were yummy. I can't quite describe it. There was nothing that shouted tea to me when I ate it. Also, not a milk chocolate taste which was good for me as I am not a fan of milk chocolate. It was sweet but not overwhelming and I will certainly be going back for more in the future.


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I found some melon flavored Ramune soda which I had been searching for. The soda tasted somewhat of melon but was more akin to a lemon-lime/Sprite kind of flavor. I still enjoyed it.


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These have been haunting me it seems every time I make a trip to a Japanese market. I knew they'd be disappointing just by looking at the box but they also intrigued me. I knew that as I continued down the road of experimentation with Japanese treats I was going to be wasting money at some point. Well, it certainly happened with this item.


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This image doesn't reveal it, but there are is a layer of "cheese" in the burger. The small chocolate treat has an two sesame seed buns that overpower the chocolate in taste. You definitely get that sesame flavor and the chocolate is minimal. They aren't even very cute and I had hoped they would be.

So, yeah that purchase was a bust. I wouldn't recommend the Every Burgers. And just why is the word "every" necessary? No clue.

So, aside from the Every Burger bust, I'd say my weekend trip to Marukai was a success.

The particular Marukai market I visited is a smaller branch. I may just have to see if there is a better variety at the larger store. Next week perhaps?

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