Regent Golden Sweet Corn

Acquired by: Retail purchase at local Asian market

Price: 99 cents for one 2.2 oz. bag

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5

One of the great joys of the summer is that all-too-short season when the sweet corn fills all the farmstands, fresh from the fields. Roasted, boiled, grilled, or even simply microwaved, the taste is without comparison.

Almost, that is. Back in the spring, I discovered Regent Golden Sweet Corn. At only 99 cents for a 2.2 oz. bag, this is a relative bargain compared to many Asian snacks in a similar-sized bag.

Made in the Phillipines, the bag also carefully notes that Golden Sweet Corn is certified by the Halal Office On Muslin Affairs for the Phillipines, and by another agency (I can’t quite make out the name in the logo) as Fortified with Iron.

A glance at the nutritional information confirms the iron. They claim that a single serving (30 grams) of Golden Sweet Corn contains 33% of the recommended daily intake of iron. That’s pretty significant. I would guess that the rare individual who has a problem with excess iron might want to avoid this snack, or at least use extreme moderation when consuming it.

I measured out a single serving of Golden Sweet Corn. I should have chosen a larger bowl - I had to stack the pieces carefully to make them all fit in my 8 oz. Pyrex dish.

Golden Sweet Corn most resembles a large version of Kix cereal, at least visually. So this pile of golden spheres was mostly air.

But is it satisfying air? I say, “Yes!”

Popping a piece of Golden Sweet Corn in your mouth, the first impression on the tongue is sweet - but not a sugary sweet. You immediately taste sweet corn on the cob, right down to a hint of butter and salt. The flavor lasts throughout the experience, never fading.

By the time I finished a full serving, I was pleased with the amount of corn flavor, and satisfied with the volume of the snack. Even the dry crunch of the airy spheres added to the experience, reminding me of the crisp crunch of fresh corn that’s cooked just so.

If you like the flavor of good, fresh, sweet corn on the cob, I can heartily recommend Regent Golden Sweet Corn. It’s not something I’ll want to eat all the time, but when it’s off season and I have the craving - even in the dead of winter - I can open a bag of Golden Sweet Corn, and remember what summer is like.

Related Links:

• Review at Taquitos.net
• Merlion Asian Market, Nashua, NH

Sadly, I can find no site for the manufacturer, nor for any online retailers that I can recommend. If you’re looking for Regent Golden Sweet Corn, check with your local Asian grocery and see if they have them, or can order them for you.

Posted: September 7th, 2007 under Asian Snacks.
Comments: none

Maeda-en Gourmet Mochi Ice Cream Bonbons

Acquired by:
Retail purchase at Merlion Asian Market,
433 Amherst St., Nashua, NH.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5

I am a fan of Asian, and particularly Japanese, culture. I am blessed to have a well-stocked Asian grocery not too far from home, where I can not only buy staples for Chinese and Japanese cooking, but exotic treats and snacks.

A while back, I posted on Crafting Jen about my first experience with Mochi - a sort of gelatinous, Japanese sweet made of glutinous rice, usually with a sweet azuki bean filling.

Since then, I’ve discovered that Mochi Ice Cream is a popular treat. You take a sphere of ice cream (about the size of a golf ball), and wrap it in a mochi dough shell. The result is a bonbon-like ice cream novelty that can be eaten with the fingers.

I decided to give Mochi Ice Cream a try, and at the same time to try my first taste of Green Tea ice cream. (Green tea-flavored treats are a favorite of mine.) What I found available at my trusty local Asian market was the Maeda-En Gourmet Mochi Ice Cream Bonbons.

At a little over four dollars for a package of six bonbons, Mochi Ice Cream Bonbons aren’t a casual indulgence. The nutritional information claims that a serving is three bonbons, which means the package contains only two servings.

The bonbons are carefully arranged in a plastic muffin box with a lid that snaps shut. This keeps each in its own little compartment. I would guess that the tray is probably also the final mold used to shape the mochi bonbons.

Each mochi is easily removed from its individual compartment. The appearance is very like a non-ice cream mochi - domed, with a dusting of what is probably rice starch to prevent sticking.

Biting into the bonbon, the outer layer is the same, familiar mochi dough that I remember from the non-ice cream version. The layer is much thinner, though, and the interior is a ball of green tea ice cream. The colors of the mochi dough and the ice cream are nearly identical - you can hardly tell which is which in this photo.

I wanted to savor the flavor of the ice cream more, but having been removed from the freezer, the mochi dough started to get moist and a little sticky. I ate my first bonbon fairly quickly, risking a little brain freeze in the process.

With my second bonbon, I took a little more time, accepting the slightly sticky mochi as part of the experience. The green tea flavor was noticeable. One of the things I like about green tea flavored treats is the delicate, yet exotic, flavor notes of the tea, and that was what I got in the Mochi Ice Cream Bonbons.

What makes these unique compared to other types of ice cream novelties is the combination of the mochi covering with the ice cream. The mochi stays soft even in the freezer, while the ice cream portion of the treat was very firm and cold. The blending of these textures in the mouth was interesting, and I found it quite pleasant. The size of the bonbons, a little larger than a golf ball, meant each bite had a perfect balance of mochi to ice cream.

I chose to stop with two bonbons, instead of going for the full three of a suggested serving size. But I was satisfied with the flavor, and the amount that I had. Which means I could probably count on three servings in a package instead of two.

At about $4.29 per package, that’s still nearly $1.50 per serving, though - expensive for a small treat like this. On the other hand, I could also see using the Mochi Ice Cream Bonbons as part of an elegant dessert for a fancy dinner - perhaps served in a cookie bowl, with a little raspberry sauce and white chocolate shavings…yum!

Would I buy these again, then? Occasionally, at least. As much as I’d like to make them a regular indulgence, the cost is just prohibitive. But on those weeks when the budget is feeling a little more black than red, I might pick up a package to enjoy slowly over a few days.

My final rating, then, is 3 out of 5. I’d go to at least a 4 if they were less expensive, but I think they’re definitely worth picking up now and then.

Related Links:

• The Manufacturer: Maeda-En
• Wikipedia Entries: Mochi, Mochi Ice Cream
• Local Source: Merlion Asian Market

Posted: September 5th, 2007 under Asian Snacks.
Comments: 4