04.12.08
Maeda-en Mochi (strawberry)
Ahhh ice cream. I went shopping today (yes, I actually am posting a JSFR on time!) and thought about getting some ice cream for nomming on, seeings as it’s been pretty nice out lately. But the grown-up part of my brain convinced me that I didn’t really need any ice cream and blah blah responsibility cakes so I passed the Ben and Jerry’s right by. But then, when I was wooshing by the Japanese freezer section, I spied these fellas. Maena-en makes strawberry mochi now? Well pop that puppy in the basket. After all, it’s for science!
And so I did. What I hadn’t realized, until I got back and started poking through the JSFR archives, is that I’ve only ever done one Maeda-en mochi. Buh? I could have sworn I had two if not more up there but no. So it seems I’ve been doing a disservice to Maeda-en mochi and primarily focusing on Mikawaya mochi. Not that I blame me, Mikawaya mochi wrocks. Yo.
I’m kind of a fan of the keen boxed presentation of Mikawaya mochi because it makes it seem more posh. The plastic wrapped Maeda-en feels a little bottom end but packaging doesn’t make a whole lot of difference in terms of taste. And taste is what it’s mostly about.
I wasn’t exactly overjoyed by the vanilla Maeda-en but the strawberry is a bit better. It’s got a nice soft pink strawberry flavored rice wrapper (yum!) and inside a blobbit of strawberry ice cream. There are even little bits in the ice cream which very well may be strawberry. Or at least strawberry seeds. Whatever, it’s decently tasty in a middle of the road strawberry ice cream sort of way. I’m going to give it the same rating as the Mikawaya if only because Maeda-en is less strawberry shake and more strawberry ice cream.
Rating of 3.5 wasabi peas out of a possible 5 wasabi peas.
