Japanese Snacktime #3 – Gari Gari Kun Ice Blocks

Gari Gari Kun is probably the most popular brand of ice blocks In Japan and it has been around for many years (since my mum was a kid) and they pretty much represent summer in Japan. They are super cheap delicious ice blocks that come in the classic Samurai Blue flavour (soda flavour), many different fruit flavours and also various limited edition flavours (some very very strange). 

This is the classic Samurai blue flavour which tastes like soda flavour and is just very refreshing and delicious! While I did not eat this one, the price is pretty low at 62 yen (60 cents AUD) and it is a classic, I give this snack 8/10. The other one pictured is Japanese pear or nashi pear flavour and it tastes EXACTLY like a nashi pear! The resemblance is extraordinary! One thing I’ve noticed with Japanese snacks and Gari Gari Kun in particular is the match of the true flavour of the food and the ice block form- I don’t get how they do it but it blows my mind! I give this snack 8.5/10. 

I should also explain the unique texture of Gari Gari Kun ice blocks- the outside is like a very hard ice block- like a regular ice block you’d find in Australia, but the inside layer is kind of like a snow cone- it is less dense than the outer layer and is very easy to bite through!

A couple of limited edition flavours I saw while I was in Japan were the Kiwi Fruit flavour and the Gari GaReeeeN flavour.

I really enjoyed the Kiwi flavour although it tasted more like a sweet green apple flavour to me – if you ever see it I definitely recommend trying it! I give this snack 9/10.

 

 

The name of the other flavour is a very funny pun that combines the two names of ‘Gari Gari Kun’ and the famous Japanese band ‘GReeeeN’ – I totally thought it was a great play on words and made me want to buy it- as well as the great packaging combining the GReeeeN logo (smile) and the well-known wide mouth of Gari Gari Kun. Gosh the packaging and advertising in Japan is crazy good! Anyways I didn’t enjoy the ice block as much as the packaging – it was a green apple flavoured ice block with little coloured sherbet drops through the middle. It was kinda fun to eat but nothing too special with regards to flavour. I give this snack 6/10 – but the packaging would have to score a 9/10. 

And let’s not forget that this is the brand that created the infamous Corn Potage (corn soup) flavoured ice blocks, continuing with stew flavour and now - *DUN DUN DUN* Neapolitan (spaghetti with tomato sauce). Having tried corn potage flavour 2 years ago out of curiosity, and not minding the flavour (although it was very weird to eat something that tasted EXACTLY like corn soup in the form of an ice block), I decided to try the Neapolitan flavour this time.

Warning signal #1- it was reduced to 30 yen at the supermarket (30 cents AUD)… not a good sign considering Japanese people eat a lot of crazy things and this was reduced drastically to try and sell them.

Warning signal #2 – all the tasting videos on YouTube all pretty much saying that it’s disgusting.

…Aaaand then I bought it and ate it…

Not the best idea I’ve had. It tasted like tomato juice and it even had little bits of tomato jelly through the middle- YUCK! So then I forced my family to try it as well *mwahahahaha*. One of the most foul things I’ve ever tasted, I give this snack 1/10… It gets one point because of the company’s bravery to release this flavour and the whole experience- like when are you ever going to eat a spaghetti flavoured ice block?... and the answer is now NEVER AGAIN!

I hope you enjoyed my very long post about Gari Gari Kun ice blocks– thank you if you made it this far! If you’ve ever tried Gari Gari Kun I would love to hear what flavours you've tried and your opinions on them!

That’s all for now,

Sayonara! xo

Japanese Snacktime #2 - Drinktime!

Ok so you may or may not have heard that Japan has a ridiculous amount of vending machines, apparently there is one vending machine for every three people in Japan, crazy right? Well it’s not hard to believe because everywhere you go you’ll probably be no further than 100 metres from a vending machine. And it’s super cheap (compared to Australia anyways) with the average 500ml drink like Coca Cola, Fanta or Aquarius being 150 yen (around $1.50 AUD). 

I’ll start with my all-time favourite Japanese drink, it is my first point of call when I get through customs at Narita Airport, and it is none other than the sports drink, Aquarius. I think the flavour is lemon and lime, maybe a bit of grapefruit? I don’t really know but it tastes amazing. With a taste similar to Pocari Sweat, it has been part of a never ending debate in my house: Aquarius vs. Pocari Sweat. 

In my opinion Aquarius is less sweet and more refreshing than Pocari Sweat making it an ideal drink in the summer, but it’s just one of those debates like Coke vs. Pepsi and McDonalds vs. Hungry Jacks (or Burger King depending on where you live).  

Please excuse the blurry photo - Aquarius usually comes in a 500ml bottle but I forgot to take a picture :(

I give this drink 10/10, I’m literally obsessed and I think that the Coca-Cola Company should release it in Australia!

Other variations of this drink include Aquarius Zero - zero sugar and Aquarius Refresh Ice - acerola and mint flavour. Aquarius tastes very similar to the normal Aquarius just less sweet and a little watered down. Aquarius Refresh Ice is something I’ve never seen before and I stumbled upon in my local seven eleven so I decided to try it. As I was walking in really hot weather and boy it was humid, this drink really was refreshing, especially with the mint and acerola. However it is a bit of a unique taste and I would probably just stick to the regular Aquarius. I give Aquarius Zero 8/10 and Aquarius Refresh Ice 6/10. 

 

Until next time!

Sayonara! xo