Recently, NTUC have imported several brands of Japanese cakes, to my delight, so there is no need to fly up to Japan to get a bite of these morsels of delice. Take note that despite the impossibly beautiful packaging, I find that not all are extremely good in taste. So I spent lots of moolahs to try out all and buy extra boxes of the nice ones to give to my loved ones. And here are my findings:
Nagoya Tamogo Manjū (名古屋たまごまんじゅう)
This snack is the only one I remember from my days of working in a Japanese company where my Japanese colleagues would buy Japanese snacks for us. I still recognize this product from the adorable picture of a chick with big head.
Sweet egg bean paste wrapped in thin crepe-like dough skin, this manjū hits the right spots of sweets lovers.
The white bean paste is fine in texture and the egg adds a nice aroma to it. A tad too sweet, but the rich flavours are good enough to indulge in once in a while.
A hot seller in NTUC.
Yubari Melon Steam Cake
Whiffs of the sweet aroma of Hokkaido melon immediately filled the air when biting into this cake with a molten centre that is infused with premium melon. This actually tastes way better than those slices of tasteless melon on sale in fruit stalls.
The cake is fluffy and soft though a bit on the dry side. I guess packaged cakes cannot be as moist and buttery as those freshly made ones. But the molten melon incorporates the needed moisture into the cake when eaten together. So the end result is a blissfully sweet fruity treat.
Another hot seller. All were sold out five days later when I wanted to get more.
Hokkaido Cheesecake
This is basically the light Japanese Cheesecake with a hidden treasure of a molten cream cheese ganache. The cake itself is that decent but ordinary cheesecake. When paired with the creamy, aromatic cream cheese in the centre, it is oh so good. I have no problem finishing five in one go.
Boxes of these fly off the shelves at a pretty fast rate.
Osaka Sachimaneki (大坂幸まねき)
This is an assortment of Japanese cakes that makes very impressive gift. The delicate paper wrappings of pastel colours and hues are so pretty that every time I take one of the snacks to eat, I take a second to admire the packaging.
The one with a cute cartoon of a chick is very similar to Nagoya Tamago manjū in terms of taste, especially the intense sweetness. Though the bean bun in this box of treasures is slightly drier in texture. But it still makes for an addictive treat.
The red bean dorayaki is very sweet, but the rich aroma of the crepe and relatively smooth red bean filling renders this enjoyable snack to tuck into.
The chestnut puff is kind of meh. I think packaged puffs are simply not comparable to freshly made ones since the filling used is of starchy consistency instead of the creamy one. I am no fan of mochi, so it is not exactly fair for me to comment too much on it. One thing is for sure: it did not convert me into a mochi lover.
The green tea cake is between the two ends of the spectrum of taste: not bad in taste and quite moist in texture, but not outstanding in any way.
Well, the manjū and dorayaki make it worthwhile to try this selection of cakes.
Akai Bohshi (赤い帽子)
The biscuits look really good, and the dark and gold packaging impart a royal feel.
Most of the selection are of butter cookies base though the texture is drier than that of Danish cookies. What makes some of these biscuits better than the Danish cookies is the addition of other ingredients. So for the milk roll and tea roll: the ones with no chocolate or almonds, they taste like those ordinary cookies. Surprisingly, the rose cookie, which looks yummy and catches my attention straightaway, disappoints since it is just another cookie with the very faint aroma of rose.
My favourite one is, unexpectedly, the Coffee Macaroon since I have no love for coffee. It is very crunchy, and the thin layer of hardened syrup on top adds extra bite and moisture to this confectionary.
Other favourites are White Chocolate cookie and Almond Leaf. The aroma of roasted almonds really do a lot to add dimension to the taste. The white chocolate imparts the creaminess to buy biscuit, making a whole lot of differences.
Those biscuits wrapped in candy style make nice little bites due to the chocolate coating the wafer.
The strawberry cookie looks absolutely sweet. Taste wise, I like the strawberry cream with dried strawberry bits sprinkled on top since the tart taste and the mild aroma of strawberries speaks of authentic flavourings and ingredients.
This box of cookies makes absolutely wonderful and impressive gift.
