kubota ice

At one of the supermarkets I go to, I found these ice cream bars, what the Japanese, especially Kansai (west Japan) people call, "ice candy"

These are made by Kubota Ice, a company in Kochi

What I like about these is that there aren't many ingredients in these, just milk, sugar and the fruit or "flavor"

Back in March I tried this strawberry & milk bar
 

and recently this matcha bar

So delicious!

I hope to try other flavors from this company in the coming months

ice cream weather

So the temps have gone krazy...I think the weather dude said we've been in July temps?!

Ice cream weather!

I thought I wrote up about this one but didn't Is'more's texture is similar to melty marshmallow like you find in s'mores

Different but delicious...we tried this one back in 2025
 

This year, Is'more came out with the chocolate mint version...just as delicious

Godiva's melty fondant chocolat bar was rich...love!

I bought the milk ice bar for Satoshi since he's not a chocolate mint fan

Haagen Dazs recently came out with a chocolat mint extra mini cup...will try this soon

Hope the weather is cooler where you are

this and that

Back in July, we tried Hio Ice cream. 

I recently bought some other flavors for us to try...corn milk...

interesting but weird mouth feel, kinda grainy?!

Floral chocolate was super rich and chocolatey...love!

For Halloween, we had some cakes from Enomoto...Satoshi's Japanese chestnut and salted caramel.

I had their pumpkin tart...loved the chocolate bat too!

We shared these cakes from Vanni the night before with wine...no bake cheesecake...the goblin was white chocolate...boo!

chocolate cake was rich and delicious.

We started November with our case number falling to 9 for Tokyo!

We are still in awe as to how quickly our numbers fell...crossing fingers we are headed in the right direction.

Many of the other prefectures have been enjoying 0 daily cases.

Japan’s fully vaccinated rate is up to 72%

“Someone” has drinking meet ups lined up in the coming weeks…

Hope to get out to see some fall foliage in the coming weeks too.

Have a safe weekend.

keeping cool

This summer, we've been keeping cool with ice cream and sweets...

Like this frozen creme brulee.

It had a hard sugar top and the chocolate custard was rich and creamy.

They also have a custard version, so if I see it at the market, I'll get it to try.

This chocolate bar filled with vanilla ice cream.

I usually break it in half so I can enjoy it for two days.

Watermelon...so refreshing.

This one would've been good had it not melted on the way home and then refroze into a big blob.

It was our first time trying this one, filled with all sorts of fruits...pineapple, peach and orange.

This stracciatella bar was more chocolate than vanilla...love!

I heard there is a chocolate banana version, hope to be able to find it to try.

My all time favorite is this monaka...like a huge rectangle cone with vanilla and chocolate inside.

I also break this one in half to enjoy for two days.

What have you been enjoying to keep cool? 

hio ice cream

We recently tried a craft ice cream called Hio (hee-oh).

They are a small batch ice cream maker.

Their main shop is in the Jiyugaoka area of Tokyo.

They also have a shop near Kamata, where we live.

The ice cream they make uses single origin milk from Hokkaido and organic ingredients.

Currently they are selling their ice cream at some Lawson in the East Japan areas, which is where I purchased these.

The vanilla ice cream was smooth, super creamy and rich.

The salted caramel, like the vanilla was also smooth, super creamy and rich. The flavor reminded me of eating those French salted caramel candies.

We want to see what they are selling at the shop in Kamata, as they are supposed to have seasonal flavors.

I'm glad we tried this and hope we can try other flavors in the future.

black sheep cream co. (again)

This past Saturday was my last full Saturday in Hawaii so...

BFF and I made another ice cream run.

This time around I tried the Mocha Roca...mocha cream with homemade almond brittle.

The guy scooping the ice cream wasn't as generous as the other guy was the past two visits.

Still, this place doesn't disappoint.

Please stay in business because we'll be back next year.

back to black sheep cream co.

BFF and I went back to Black Sheep Cream Co and I tried their Rocky Road which is called "buckle up it's gonna be a rocky road"...rich chocolate cream, chocolate covered almonds and roasted marshmallows.

They "roast" the marshmallows just before serving so it comes out warm.

The ice cream is so good!

So many more flavors to try...

foodie july (first half)

Some of the new things I tried in the first half of July...

Stumptown Cold Brew with Coconut Cream & Sugar...I used half the carton (serving size is the whole carton) and diluted with more iced coffee...this was delicious.

Juicy and ice cold mountain apple...delicious!

1st time at Pieology.

You can put any amount of toppings and the pizzas are all the same size and price.

Fun, fast and good.

Firestone Walker's Nitro Merlin Milk Stout...chocolatey, a little smokey.

Would've been nice(r) with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in it...

Moena Cafe in Kapolei serves dinner and we went there while my Dad's sister was in town...

The braised short ribs were tender.

The okinawan sweet potato mash was a little too sweet and a little too coconut-y.

Restaurant Kuni's catering menu...great service and perfect for the memorial service we had for my Dad.

Zippy's Dream Cake...Dream cake was one of my Dad's faves...this version was kinda meh...

My brother thought the chocolate was kinda too oily...

Gina's Fish Jun...the sauce was sweet and sour which was different from other fish jun I've had.

The taegu was overly soft and sweet too.

Will try some other sides next time.

7-eleven has a 7-eleven day on July 11, in which they give away free small slurpees.

I had never had one, so I went to check them out...I didn't know how to operate the machine (sad, yeah?!), so I needed coaching from the masses standing in line behind me (Thank you!)

Li hing mui slurpee was super sour but tasted more like cherry...meh, but at least I got to try.

Li hing mui is a Chinese preserved plum which is similar to dried Japanese umeboshi...if you salivate when hearing either, you probably grew up in Hawaii.

Japan's 7-elevens need slurpees though...

Meat Jun Bento from Paalaa Kai Mini Mart...only $6 and the meat is tender and flavorful.

My Aunty M1 commented that BFF W and I have gone here quite often this trip home...I told her that "it is closer to get to from Pearl City"...

The malasadas from Paalaa Kai Bakery, called Sada's Malassadas...are super poofy and stay that way the next day.

The sugar melts (the next day) but the malasadas stay intact and doesn't smoosh like others (you know which ones), nor are they oily....love!

While others go to this bakery for their snow puffies, I have only been buying this malasada.

Black Sheep Cream Co.'s "Rub some bacon on it"....Peanut Butter Cream and their Homemade Maple Bacon Toffee...so so good!

That is their single scoop (HUGE) and only $4.50 (tax included).

This place is hard to find...it's between SuperCuts and Subway near the Waipio Costco...no signage outside and the interior is dark, so they don't look like they are open...

Have a good week.

Restaurant Kuni
94-210 Leokane Street
Waipahu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.671.1100
Hours: Lunch 11:00-14:00, Dinner 17:00-21:00

Pieology
Pearlridge Uptown
Aiea, Hawaii
Phone: 808.200.5085
Hours: Mondays-Saturdays 10:30-21:30, Sundays 10:30-20:00
Closed when the mall is

Black Sheep Cream Co
94-1235 Ka Uka Boulevard
Waipio, Hawaii
Phone: 808.620.7904
Hours: 10:00-21:00

haagen dazs' hanamochi

Recently Haagen Dazs came out with 2 new hanamochi flavors...kuri azuki (chestnut & sweet bean)

And sakura an (cherry blossom).

I wished the kuri azuki had more chestnuts in there.

The sakura an was spot on for flavor, not like the last cherry blossom one I had tried.

Both have a soft mochi layer, so you should kind of let it sit out a bit before eating.

With the warm temps we had over the weekend, this was perfect!

I'm glad I got to try these.

yum

Merchandise at the convenience stores change at lightning speeds.

What you had one week may not be there the next.

7-eleven recently teamed up with Haagen-Dazs and came out with a waffle cone ice cream.

Apparently it is the first for Haagen-Dazs to come out with this for a convenience store.

Macadamia nut ice cream, waffle cone and topped with hard shell caramel.

I liked that the cone was super crisp.

A little too sweet but I'm glad I tried this.

Even though the weather continues to be fahreezing, there is always space for some ice cream.

things I'm liking

Been awhile since I've done a post like this...

Haagen-Dazs' Matcha Opera...bitter green tea ice cream, almond sauce, cookies, a blonde chocolate ice cream and topped with a sweet dark chocolate...nice balance.

Haagen-Dazs' Crisp Chip Chocolate...milk chocolate ice cream with bits of chocolate chips and I think crushed wafers.

Lotte's Chocolate Truffle filled with matcha ice cream and a matcha chocolate sauce...apparently this is only sold at 7-eleven.

Saba (mackerel) sushi wrapped with takana (mustard cabbage) and filled with egg, cucumber, hijiki and crunchy ume...wish I had bought more pieces!

The Loaf's cream stew bread and pannetone.

Since I filled up a certain amount of stamps on my card, I received a drip coffee pack from them.

And I was also able to pick up some of their cheese cookies, will have these with some wine soon!

1st time adding some chocolate syrup to my gingerbread latte, so glad I did! Also am enjoying their cacao nuts.

What are you enjoying these days?

yesterday

Yesterday, was the holiday observance of the Vernal Equinox (first day of Spring).

Satoshi and I ran some errands and then had lunch at a rather large shopping mall.

Dessert was ice cream from Baskin Robbins or 31 (sa-tee-one) as they are called here in Japan.

Satoshi and I shared these two scoops...sakura and oreo matcha.

The wind was icy yesterday but it was nice to be out and about.

things I'm liking (disliking)

Yesterday, it rained all.day.long. and now the cold is back (until Saturday, so says the weather dude...)

It's been awhile since I've done a liking (disliking) post...

Disliking the Pablo monaka (wafer) ice cream bar...the ice cream was a cream cheese flavor surrounded by a sickly sweet apricot sauce enveloped by a crisp wafer shell.

Pablo is a popular cheese tarte (cheesecake) maker, and they have had some delicious convenience store creations in the past, this just wasn't one of them.

Kind of in the middle on Minoh Beer's Godfather 4.

While I normally enjoy stouts, this one seemed a bit watery.

On the other hand, the yuzu flavor was nice.

Meiji Almond...this was a rich matcha (green tea).

Usually whenever something is green tea flavored they usually mix the green tea with white chocolate making things a bit too sweet.

This version was nice because it wasn't sweet.

Kinoko no yama's matcha and chocolate "mushrooms".

The balance of matcha and sweet chocolate are perfect.

Nature Valley's Coconut Crunch granola bars.

I first came across these at the cash register area of Yamaya. After buying one, I had wished I had bought more.

There is lots of coconut in this.

I'm glad I was able to find more at Yamaya recently.

City Bakery's rugelach. Packed with dried fruits and nuts.

This is huge but so good with the flaky croissant type outer shell.

Here is a better photo from the first time I tried it.

What have you been enjoying lately?