Maruesu Sweet and Sour Squid

"Throw your arms up in the air..."

The Attraction:
I'm a big fan of squid. Whenever I hit a Japanese joint, I always browse the menu to see if they have grilled squid or Ika Maruyaki in Japanese. Since it's not everyday I'm waltzing around a fine Japanese establishment, I saw this at my local Asian grocer and thought, "If I could get my squid fix whenever I wanted, why wouldn't I want to?" Enter stage left pre-packaged squid.


The Review
In all fairness, I have to first divulge that I can't read Japanese and there is barely a lick of significant English on the package of this sucker. I just know I like squid, but never was a fan of the super dry / pressed variety (these kinds). I found them a little to fishy for my taste.When I saw these that seem to resemble something closer to "fresh" looking squid, I was all in. I plunked down my hard earned $5 and was ready to go. It wasn't til after I ate the squid and prepped this review that I realized that the version of this product I bought is actually "sweet and sour" flavored. Umm...not my first choice, but it's still squid, gosh darnit! How did I figure that out with little English on the bag you may ask. I had to use all my mental acuity, years of training in watching Japanese anime, two hours of meditating on a mountain and mostly Google translate to figure it out. (check it out here) Be sure to turn on Google translate or it will mean nothing to you, unless you can read Japanese, of course.

I look like squid!

The Sweet:
True to the packaging that the squid came in, they look like "fresh" squid! Yay. Oh, and they smell like it too. (I'll let you decide if that's sweet or bitter). Anywho, I took a bite of a nice cluster of tentacles and found that the texture and chewiness that I enjoy with squid was present. There was a slight sweetness followed by the advertised sour. It was tender, without being rubbery. Not too shabby for 5 smackers.

The Bitter:
I wish I knew it was "sweet and sour" flavored before I bought it, because I would have selected another flavor. Be it as it is, I have to review the item I bought for what it is, not what I wish I had bought. With that said, I didn't like the "sour" aspect of it, but if you love "sweet and sour" squid, you may dig this. Keep in mind that when they say "sweet and sour" it is a very mild version of "sweet and sour". (think less Sweet and Sour Chicken that you get at the neighborhood Chinese fast food joint and more of what you may know of Japanese cuisine in general with all it subtleties of flavor) If you are looking for flavor to sock you in the face, you aren't going to find it here.

Unrelated to the actual flavor of the item, when I kicked on the translator for the product at the website, this is one of the lines used to described the squid, "Acidity and refreshing, it is a popular snack for women." How odd; the company somehow knows that I enjoy eating these while I'm in the lactation room pumping away.

"Feet, don't fail me now!"

Conclusion:
Maruesu delivers on it's promise of sweet and sour squid at a reasonable price. You can take a bite without feeling like you are eating a tire, yet still it is able to maintain squid's chewy texture. I don't have a doubt that their other flavored squid products are probably well done too. I might just be telling you all about it very soon. Well done, Maruesu, but you may want to rethink the description of your item on your website.

Video of the Week
This one's been out for a while, yet for some reason every time I see it, I laugh uncontrollably.

"Dance with me if you want to live"

Although it's not food-related, it features everybody's favorite robot-killing machine, Arnold Schwarzenegger showing off his dance moves during a promotional stop at BET's 106 & Park. Maybe it's his expression when he dances, the way he says, "What is a Staaanky Leg?", but it brings me joy with every viewing. You can question the man's politics, his taste in women, (post Maria) but you can't question the man's ability to have a good time no matter the situation. The dancing machine kicks in at about the 1:20 minute mark.

Green Tea Kit Kat

I've seen these floating around in many Asian markets around town as of late. Although I was curious, the import aspects of them made them pricey (a bag for about $12!) so despite my civic duty to report back on the more interesting snacks I've come across, I decided to pass until they became more affordable. Little did I know, fate would hand deliver these to me.

The Attraction:
One day I went into work and found this pack waiting for me on my desk. The intern that worked in our department was leaving after serving his term and decided to get us all a pack as a thank you gift. Had I known he would be showering us with snacks, I would have pushed for a full time hire. (Not totally true, but not completely false). It's no secret that I am fond of sampling regional variations of snack items that I've come to love (Oreos, potato chips, etc.), so it was a natural fit for me.

The Review
I was so excited to finally have a chance to taste this new flavor! Better yet, to sample it without shelling out a king's randsom for it. Let this serve as a notice to snack companies abroad; when and should you release a new flavor or even just a new snack in general, offer samples to the public! Who wants to commit to buying a huge box of something not knowing if you'll like it or not! Even if it wasn't a price issue, there's the "waste" issue. I still have a box of Kellogg's Special K serial in my pantry from over a year ago when my Mom gave me it thinking I would like it. Too boring to eat, too wasteful to throw out. Now what do I do? I digress...

I take the pack home after work so I can thoughtfully access the product in privacy. One of the first things I notice is how the packaging seems "taller" than the typical Kit Kat package. Can it be that instead of the standard 4 sticks per pack of Kit Kat they released the green tea flavored version with 5-6 sticks! My head was going to explode....I felt like I found money! Well, I should have known it was too good to be true; the sticks were wrapped in packs of 2 and turned sideways. They were about 75% the length of a US Kit Kat stick. That times 3 packs made them less then 4 whole conventional Kit Kat sticks you would get in a US package of Kit Kats! Let me get this straight, you pay an arm and 2 legs AND you get less product!? Someone has to die for this.....

The Sweet:
After I let the wave of outrage pass, I opened the wrapper and indulged. For a moment, I forgot what I was upset about; the smoothness of the chocolate with the flavor of green tea washed over me. I know it sounds like a cliche, but it felt like it was right out of a cheesy romance novel or better yet a bubble bath advertisement, yet that's how it felt. All was forgotten and forgiven at the moment. The green tea chocolate seems to be made from a white chocolate base and then flavored with the essence of green tea. Missing is the sometimes bitter after taste associated with green tea...and that's a good thing. I wanted to save a pack so I can have it one more time before I completed this review....it never made it.

The Bitter:
Price, price, price! I jumped on Amazon just now and it looks like you can now get a bag for about $6, but you may have to wait for a month to get them to your doorstep. The other big gripe, portion sizes. It seems like Nestle only offer these in the smaller sizes that I noted earlier. If there's one thing that annoys the mess out of me is the small portion size vs. the cost. It's reminiscence of a boutique product....and I hate that.

Conclusion:
As a product, Green Tea flavored Kit Kat works and works big. Flavor-wise, other than if you have a strong distaste for white chocolate in general, it's a wonderfully done item. Not too sweet, the flavor works just right where the green tea doesn't overwhelm you. Hard to find a complaint there. Where there are areas to improve upon is the pricing and sizing. Perhaps I'm just spoiled by having the accessibility to a $1 Kit Kat whenever I want and feeling irked at the idea of ponying up more than double that for a smaller portion of essentially the same product. Well, maybe that's the thing; it has the same name, same signature Kit Kat crunch, but they seem worlds apart. Whereas the traditional Kit Kat seemingly has a very "earthy" vibe, the green tea version rings of exotic-ness and has a refined air to it. A refinement that will make your taste buds sing and hopefully lessen the sting in your wallet.

Video of the Week
I'm going to start posting links to videos that may be of interest. (at the minimum to me).
This week's video features a gal in Korea that apparently can eat huge sums of food and documents it all live.

*Thanks to my pal Grace for introducing me to this freak of nature

I have a bunch of mixed emotions about this; she's cute, which is a plus, but she can eat more than me, which I'm not quite sure is a turn-on or turn-off just yet. She still manages to eat lady-like even though she eats as much as a linebacker. Imagine going out with a girl that ate like this on the first date. Her plumbing must get a crazy workout.