05.29.05
Kinoko No Yama
I have been wanting to review these critters for a very long time because they looked intriguing. However. I am finding out the hard way that “intriguing” usually comes right before “disappointed” or even “disgusted” or in the case of Puchi Pasuteru “downright betrayed”. So, while these mushroom candies have always looked oh so cute and have even whispered “boooooooo! Buy uuuuuussssssss!” I have refrained. Need I say again Puchi Pasuteru? The only JSFR yet to date to get on the pea board solely on construction and packaging? Right. Wont go there again.
Except…yeah. I did. My only defense was that the mushrooms were looking especially cute and I was in a state of JSF weakness. Well, more so than I usually am that is so I snatched them up, if only to have finally bought the damned things that have been pleading with me to do just that for about a year.
Aaaaaaand…
The mushrooms are just as dog gone cute in real life as they are on the package, plus they are tasty too. And much like Puchi Pasuteru, they get pea points for construction. Unlike Puchi Pasuteru, they get even more points for taste, although you do have to admit, the Puchi Pasuteru penguins know from cute as far as packaging goes. The mushrooms aint got nothin on those penguins. Anyhow. Construction. These fellas (the mushrooms here) are ingenious in their simplicity for all they really consist of is one stumpy Pocky stick stuck in a mushroom shaped dollop of chocolate. I bet they are simple to make too, just fill your mushroom cap molds with chocolate, plop in a stick, let it harden (the chocolate, not the stick. It starts out that way) and wala! Mushroom. The stick also provides a convenient hand hold that will not melt on your fingers as you snag a mushroom and bring it up to your mouth. Nice, simple, sweet.
Did I mention crunchy? And chocolaty? Not yet? Well, consider it mentioned. The stick is functional as well as part of the whole taste sensation. You get a nice crunch along with your dose of chocolate and that aint bad. Aint bad at all. In fact, if I were to criticize the mushrooms I might say they could be a bit on the chocolaty side. Not too much, because there seldom is such a thing as too much chocolate but the ratio of chocolate to crunch leans a bit more towards the chocolate.
And that’s OK. This chocolate is a nice melty, but not too melty, somewhat bitter milky chocolate. It’s not as bitter as Japanese chocolate tends towards, which surprised me, but it is just a hint bitterer (new word!) than your typical American chocolate. Very serviceable as far as chocolate goes. I’d say that it’s a good solid 3.5 pea chocolate, with a 0.5 pea added dinky pocky stick crunch and another 0.5 peas for construction amusement for a grand total
Rating of 4.5 Wasabi Peas out of a possible 5.
