Marukin Muffin Cake

There was some signs of moisture in this package,
but it was still good. How is that possible?

The Attraction:

I love baked goods and I usually enjoy Japanese snacks, so when I came across a Japanese muffin, it was like trying to tell Pepe Le Pew not to pursue that black cat with white paint on the back. Who can be THAT strong?

The Review:
I have very little doubt this won't be at least OK at the minimum. I can't think of a Japanese pastry that I have tried that has really disappointed me. Let's hope that streak doesn't end now!

I open the package of four and am quickly welcomed with the smell of sweet vanilla. Actually, it reminded me of Tortuga Rum Cakes, minus the alcohol part. I wonder if it'll be moist like a rum cake? I take a muffin out and carefully peel off the perforated wrapping on the bottom (I love the Japanese attention to detail) and take a big bite.

It not only smells like rum cake, it taste like it too! For those of you who have never been gifted a rum cake from someone on vacation or got one yourself when you were away, the cake is similar to a corn muffin, but not quite as dense. There's hints of vanilla and it's soft, light and fairly moist. These muffins are not as moist as a rum cake, but not bad considering the journey it took to get into my mouth.

This looks like the creme brulee of muffins

The Sweet:

Lightly sweetened muffins that somehow taste relatively fresh.

The Bitter:
Doesn't bring anything new to the snack world. What the hell is in this stuff that makes it last so doggone long?

Good stuff!

Conclusion:
This stuff taste good. There's no argument there, but when was the last time you had a baked good come from the other side of the world, endue however long on the grocery store shelf and another 2-3 weeks in your cubbard and not only not have mold, but still taste OK? I've bought pies from local farmer's markets that don't even last a week. What on earth must be in these muffins to have this kind of a half life?

Where it falls short here in the States is that there is nothing particularly special about these muffins compared to anything else you can get at the local bakery or grocery store. Yes, they are tasty, but you can find something comparable that is cheaper, fresher and less processed than this snack a stone throws away. Where this flavor may be more unique in Asia, it's rather pedestrian here in the USA. Now that I think about it, the flavor is probably not even that unique in Asia.

When you sit down to do the math, you'll find that although the flavor is good, it's not worth the premium you would pay both financially and processed food-wise to make this snack investment balance out.

Video of the Week
Earlier this week, the trailer for the new Marvel movie, "Captain America: Civil War" was released. After watching it another 20 times and analyzing every frame, I thought those of you living under a rock might want to check it out also.

This can't end well for someone

Koriyama's Light Cheese Cake

Don't worry...there's no bacon in here....yet.

The Attraction:

I love pastries. Breads, cakes, pies, muffins; I love them all. Offer me a freshly baked shoe and I might just give it a try. It was only natural when I spotted this little minx at the local H-Mart that I was intrigued. A product that boasts, "Fabulous cake that melts in your mouth". OK Mr. or Mrs. Koriyama, challenge accepted.

The Review
This may surprise you, but I like cheesecakes. (Personally, I'm more of an Eileen's than a Junior's fan, but I would gladly help you with either if you had any). A big part of what I enjoy about Eileen's version is how light their cheesecakes are, so when I came across this item that even physically felt light, I had high hopes for this treat.

I unwrapped this beauty and observed the beautiful golden baked top. It is very pretty, I must admit. It felt like air in my hand. I gently pulled off a part of the liner and indulged. Wow...that is light. Soft and buttery, boy this is good......wait...something is missing....I don't taste any cheese! I take another bite...I don't think this is a cheesecake in the "American" sense. I can smell a little bit of cheese, but I don't really taste any. This was confusing.

Now I understand what "Food Porn" means

The Sweet:

Light, airy, and buttery. It is delicious!

The Bitter:
Not what I would normally call a cheesecake. Also, for the $3 price tag, I could get a comparable item locally for a third of the price.

Umm...Where's the cheese?

Conclusion:
Take what you may know about cheesecakes and throw them out the window when you eat this snack. It has very little similarities to the cheesecakes we have come to know in the States. It's not dense at all, very little to no cheese flavor and the moisture you would normally associate with a cheese cake isn't there. The cake itself is more like a sponge cake or a very light version of a pound cake. Undeniably, it does taste good.

Here's the rub; if you live in an area in which you have access to Asian bakeries, you can probably find similar products made that morning for a much cheaper price. If you do not, you can still get a similar affect from a bakery that makes angel food cake.

So will it go into the snack basket? If I was lazy and didn't mind paying a premium for it, it would, but in all likelihood, I would just go the alternate routes I mentioned above and save my money to sample other new and exciting snacks.

Video of the Week
Young love. Is there anything sweeter, more innocent than that? Remember that time you were into that girl so much you took the time to orchestrate a clever way to ask her out and she told you what she thought? Ahh, those were the good 'ole days. (Fast forward to 1:50 to get right into the action.)

As a clever viewer said:
"Guy insults girl - girl cries / Girl insults guy - girl cries"

Orion's Custard Soft Cup Cake

Orion's Custard Soft Cup Cake

I'm drooling just looking at this picture

The Attraction:
To simply put it, they were on sale at the Asian grocer and I always wanted to try them, but was reluctant to shell out $5 a box for them. For a discounted $2.50 a box, I was "inspired" to finally give these a shot. Oc I'm imagining something like a Twinkie, but with a custard-flavored filling. Oooh, can't wait to try one!

The Review
Orion, perhaps best known for their Choco Pie (which is very much like an American Moon Pie) product, also offers up these baked cakes. I think they are the US equivalent to Hostess or Drake's. I practically grew up eating things like Yodels and Donettes, so I was ready to try these custard filled cup cakes. I have a weakness for baked goods. Granted the fresher, the better, but these certainly qualify as a baked good. Like some of the recent snacks I've been reviewing, each cup cake comes individually wrapped. I'm all for maintaining freshness as much as possible. When I open the packaging, I see that the outside of the cup cake has a nice yellowish tint like the famed Twinkie I had imagined it could taste like. I take a first nibble at it; it's a bit drier than I imagined. Instead of a moist Twinkie, it's a bit more reminiscent of a drier cornbread, but not quite as course. It's not terribly sweet, which is a good thing, cause it'll probably be kicked up a notch when I hit the custard. Several more nibbles in and I still don't taste any custard. Hmm, Maybe it's on the other side. I look at the cup cake and realize I've actually already bit into some of the custard, but just didn't notice it. Unless you look at the cup cake, you can't tell! That's not a good sign. The amount of custard in the cup cake itself doesn't look remotely like what is advertised on the packaging. OK, in fairness, not many products look exactly as they do on the packaging, but come on...I couldn't even taste the bloody thing. Actually, I did taste something.....RUM! WTF?! Yes, Rum. It wasn't til I looked at the packaging later that I realized that it says that it contains alcohol. Is this stuff geared towards kids? I'm all kinds of confused by this product.

One step closer to the party soon to be in my mouth

The Sweet:
The baked confection itself tastes like a drier piece of cornbread. I do like cornbread, so that's a plus and maybe the only thing really going for it.

There's a custard explosion waiting for me inside, I just know it!

The Bitter:
Custard! Where the eff is it? Based on the photo below, you can barely see the custard that is injected into each cup cake. Worse yet, you can't taste it. Even consistency-wise, you can't tell it's in there. That's either how little custard they put in or how dry the product is that it soaks up all the custard out of the filling.

Person#1: "Knock, knock"
Person#2: "Who there?"
Person#1: "Custard"
Person#2: "Custard who?"
Person#1: "I don't know either, cause it ain't in this damn cup cake!"

Oh, and rum in a product that seems to be aimed for a general audience. It's not a huge amount where you are going to get a buzz, but can you imagine the backlash if Hostess or Drake's released a product like this? There would be heck to pay!

"Where's the beef?"

Conclusion:
This custard cup cake fails to deliver anything that resembles custard, in both flavor and consistency. So much so that I'm debating on whether I should contact some consumer affair group about false advertising or reaching out to the FBI to file a missing custard report.

You'd be better off getting a piece of cornbread somewhere. Save your money and you'll be much more pleased with Orion's offering of Choco Pies.

Video of the Week

This week, our friends over at Vice have posted an interesting piece on a women who enjoys cooking with roadkill. She does a pretty good job of making it as appealing as possible, but in the end, I still kept saying to myself that it's a squirrel and roadkill. (Ask me again if I would eat it if I've gone 2 days without food and I'm certain my response would be very different). Warning: There are some graphic images that some viewers may find offensive.

"Oh, poor delicious little squirrel"

Bob Evans Strawberry Bread with Icing

Bob Evans Strawberry Bread with Icing

What I saw...

On a recent road trip to Virginia, I happened upon a Bob Evans. OK, truthfully, the roads were littered with them, but due to hunger and convenience, we decided to venture in to see how the "Southern" half lives.

It was upon entering, that I saw that Bob Evans offered an assortment of baked breads for purchase. They came in assorted flavors like Banana Nut, Blueberry and the well advertised Strawberry Bread with Icing (there was a  2 x 3 banner up displaying a blown up image of a delicious looking slice of the aforementioned pastry). A man can only be so strong...

The Attraction

Aside from the "subtle" advertisement touting the heights of ecstasy you may reach when you consume a slice, I am a huge fan of freshly baked goods..even more so if the baked goods contain strawberries (or the essence of).


..what I got

The Review

The first thing I noticed was that the strawberry loaf was the only flavor that had icing on it. I immediately began to wonder to myself, "Is that because the bread isn't sweet enough on it's own? What if the bread is too dang sweet because of the icing and will cause me to instantly fall into a diabetic coma after shotgunning one of their sweet teas with the bread?"

Like every snack review pioneer before me, I knew what I had to do. This bread was bigger than me, bigger than any one man's glycemic index. I threw caution to the wind and moved onward...

I wisely opted to wait until I got back home to try a slice of the bread....and it was worth it. Just opening the bag that the bread was wrapped in revealed the smell of strawberries. I had to quickly cut a slice to see if this baby was as advertised.

Soft, but striking the careful balance of not being too airy like a cake, nor too dense like a scone, the texture was just right. The essence of the strawberry came through even without an assist from the cream cheese icing.

The Sweet

The consistency was perfect. It was able to convey a bit of a "home made" vibe, without bringing some of the common pitfalls of home made baked items (slightly overdone crust, cracking, uneven consistency). The strawberry flavor was present without overwhelming you with sweetness or having the flavor punch you in the mouth.

The Bitter

The icing isn't really necessary. I could have done without it. The sweetness of the bread can hold up on it's own, although I can see how the addition of icing could attract more interest and may please some more stubborn palates. To my understanding, the strawberry version of the bread is also only available seasonally.

Individually, each loaf sells for between $4.99-$5.99 a piece or $10 for 3 loaves. That pricing is fair, but works out much better if you opt to go the multiple loaves route.

Even with the addition of the "unneeded" icing, I would still gladly seek out this product. Making it a seasonal item may only add to it's allure.

I don't know if my travels will lead me to another Bob Evans, but should I begin to see those yellow and red signs along the highway again, I will look back at my experience not unlike that of a lost love or an old flame...a love in which perhaps the final chapter has not yet been written...