Biscuit Vanさんのブログ

 
Christmas passed away, and a New Year is on us.

A Happy New Year in advance.
I wish happiness will find you every day.

On this holiday season, I am happy to introduce a rice biscuit that sounds very happy :

 " Happy Turn "

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A "Happy Turn" is a rice biscuit flat finger  manufactured by Kameda-Seika.

Can you guess where such a pleasant product name come from ?

According to the baker's website, "Happy Turn" was released when Japan was economically in recession
due to the 1973 oil crisis, and  at that time the company wanted happiness to turn to Japan, and as a result
they gave  a happy name ,"Happy Turn", to their new product.
I'm sure that Kameda-Seika always wishes happiness to other countries as well as Japan.

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They are really happy rice biscuits.
They are sprinkled entirely with a mysterious powder to season, called "Happy Powder".
Each rice biscuit has a rugged surface to catch as much " Happy Powder"  from "Prince Turn" of the Happy Kingdom as possible.
The powder is salty and sweet, which is so addictive that many Japanese people cannot stop eating once they open the package.

Now I am happy enjoying  "Happy Turn" rice biscuits.
And I hope that I would be able to create stories to post here which could make you smile and happy , on a new year to come soon.

Thank you for reading.

It's Christmas Eve,today!

On a special occasion like Christmas, I guess you want something more than biscuits to enjoy for yourself or  to serve someone you love.
It is probably easy to get something high-end for a large amount of money.
However everyone is not like Paris Hilton as you know.

So, I am happy to let you know that in Japan there is a box of cakes which looks luxury but is reasonably priced and available
from mundane supermarkets all year round: " Sylveine "

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It comes in a box of six and manufactured by Bourbon.
In the red box, there is a plastic tray shipping six cakes, which is sheltered in a clear bag for freshness.
" Sylveine " is a chocolate triangle housing  a sponge with two layers of cream .
It is put a chocolate covered chewy raisin on top and placed a paper sheet on the bottom.
As a child, my mother bought us her children every winter holiday so that we could spend more happily enjoying  these special cakes.

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I can imagine that "Sylveine "s are appearing in many Christmas parties in Japan as a Christmas treat.
Presumably , it is the busiest of the year for the "Sylveine".

Thank you for reading.

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The package is drawn four Japanese peoples, three of which are playing  Japanese taiko drums and the rest is playing a Japanese flute.
I think the hilarius scene is showing a Japanese festival.

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Inside the oblong white paper pouch are rice cracker pebbles and a single peanut given a name of "Dondon-Yaki".
When you study the reverse side of the bag, you will see a message from the product "Dondon-Yaki" himself.
The message from him sounds so lively as if the product is a creature ,who can speak like  but edible unlike  , human beings.

The message is as follows:

     "Hello, I appreciate your purchasing "Dondon-Yaki" today.

      I, Dondon-Yaki, is used  high-quality ingredients and edible vegetable oil called salad oil for deep-frying, and mixed   sauce, and made to be palatable in taste so that your taste bud will agree with the taste. 
      I do hope that you will  enjoy  the nostalgic taste of me "Dondon-Yaki" .

Juding from the message left the package,"Dondon-yaki" seems to have a polite and cheerful character.
"Dondon-Yaki" rice crackers are very popular ,especially among  adults in Japan  as a childhood snack.
Actually, we, Japanese grwon-ups enjoy these teesy Dondon-Yaki" rice crakers , thinking of that we enjoyed them as childrean,too.
 
I found something that sounds like an excuse from the manufacturer on  the reverse side of the bag :
  
    " It will be rarely happen ,but your bag might NOT contain a peanut.
      We would appreciate your patience and understanding."

I was relieved to see the contents of mine.
As I have already mentioned, my bag of "Dondon-Yaki" had a single peanut !

 Thank you for reading.

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I purchased a bag of biscuits at my local Co.op.
In the bag ,there are 12 biscuits individually wrapped for freshness.
Each biscuit consists of a wholesome wholemeal biscuit and a chocolate slab with an indulgent thickness.
It is a Co.op store branded product , and its baker is Hamada Confect.

Well,what I am the most interested in concerning this biscuit ,is the name given it: "Lahaina ".
Hence, as soon as I came back home from my local Co.op, I switched on the computer in our house in order to research the meaning.
As far as I can see through the Internet, there is a town named "Lahaina" in Hawaii, although it is unlikely
that the two "Lahaina"s , a town in Hawaii and these Japanese chocolate digestive biscuits, have something to do with each other.

My husband and I have stayed for around one month in Hawaii.
I remember that  there  were many pigeons in our neighbourhood in Hawaii, and the Hawaiian pigeons were friendly enough to feel free to enter into our room every day.

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On the surface of each chocolate slab, you can see a bird engraved.
I guess that the bird with two wide wings is an eagle.
And I feel that the design on the chocolate looks like that of a certain European football team's crest.
I think that the birds on the chocolate slabs, which may be eagles, help these chocolate biscuits to look high quality.

If "Lahaina" biscuits had something to do with Hawaii, I feel that it might be better that the baker selects another design that can let many people think of Hawaii instead of the eagle-like bird. 

Anyway, if a visitor from " Lahaina town in Hawall" to Japan ,will be glad if he/she encounters " Lahaina biscuits" at a Co.op shop of Japan.

Thank you for reading.

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The bag ships coclourful sweet beans called " Amanattou", which is a Japanese traditional confection.
The sweet beans from mine consist of four different beans.
They are dry but have a soft inside.

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They are sweetened with sugar, and moreover, sprinkled entirely with sugar.
I have seen but never tried, sweet potato and chestnut variants of "Amanattou".
It is obvious that another vegetables such as onions and broccoli cannot turn into "Amanattou".
 
When you find your "Amanattou" too sweet, I'd like you to do a cup of green tea and enjoy yours with it.
I think that its grassy and mildly bitter taste will help to let the super-sweetness dissolve in your mouth.

Thank you for reading.

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Today, I went out hunting for a bag of chocolate biscuits to my local Sunks convenience store.

I'd like to emphasize the words "my local” , because it is the fact that the convenience store is
the nearest Sunks for our flat、 but it is situated nearly 30 minutes from our place.

It was not until today that I called on my local Sunks.

Last day, which is Sunday, my husband and I drove to a supermarket.
On our way to the supermarket, I dropped by another Sunks convenience store near the supermarket, in order to buy a certain confection, leaving my husbands in the car.
Then I noticed a bag of biscuits whose package said something very attractive: " Available only at Sunks".
It means that it is a Sunks-limited product!
Therefore, I intended to get one ,the first time.

However, I gave up the attempt, just because I remembered a warmth in the car.
I was happy that inside the car  was warm thanks to the car heating, but it made me afraid that the warmth was not suitable for the Sunks limited product
which was a chocolate biscuit.
At the same time, I thought that I would  go to  my local Sunks on foot next day, though it seemed to be too far to walk.

That's why, I went hunting for the special chocolate biscuits to my local Sunks on foot, for the first time .
It is "Alfort  Caramel Macchiato flavour".
The original" Alfort "is a digestive biscuit with a milk chocolate slab, whereas the store limited edition one is applied a Caramel Macchiato flavoured choclate ,instead of  the milk chocolate.

http://biscuitvan.vox.com/library/post/have-a-good-night-sleep.html 

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I felt that their chocolate part tasted like a cup of sweet coffee rich in milk ,but had a pleasant bitter aftertaste , which made me think of burnt sugar or something.

I love the store limited edition " Alfort" biscuits.
I was really satisfied with them, since I thought that they were tasty enough to be worth my one- hour trip to and from the nearest Sunks convenience store.

Thank you for reading.

A long-awaited thing happened to me when I listened to classical music on BBC Radio 3 Internet Radio Staion,today

It began playing  that particular classical music piece , which I have had a soft spot for , but I have never known the title and as a result I have been hoping to see about the title for nearly 22 years.
 

The title I was able to see at last on BBC3 turned out to be  "Poeme, for violin and orchestra ,O P.25  by Ernest Chausson". 
It is really emotional,mysterious and exquisite  piece, I really think so.

The first time I heard it was when I was a junior high school student, at home from the radio.
The second time was when I lived  in Korea ,at home from the radio.

http://biscuitvan.vox.com/library/posts/2008/page/7/
Both of them, I was unable to know the title, despite that I was so impressed with the piece that I did want to see the title so that I could get a CD and hear many times at home ,someday anyhow.

After all, I am fortunate to see the title , today.
I am happy that I have treasured such an enthusiasm for wanting to see the title of the masterpiece for more than 20 years.
 

The British internet radio station has a really useful,informative website , from where programmes and  titles, currently playing , played before and will play later, are displayed.

I hope to get a CD of the piece if possible in the near future.

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By the way,when I was a junior high school student, I belonged to the school brass band where I was a horn player.
So, I was glad to find a chocolate biscuit called "Horn", which is manufactured by Meiji Seika.

"Horn" is a chocolate bar in a biscuit case with chocolate at the both edges.
The chocolate is sweet and smooth ,and the biscuit is thin and mildly sweet.
The chocolate biscuits are like a lovely, mellow tune of horn from a professional horn player.

I admit that I was not a good horn player, but I really enjoyed playing the horn in the school brass band for three years.

I never blow my own horn that I was a good horn player .

Thank you for reading.

I had another "Zunou Pan" yesterevening. http://biscuitvan.vox.com/library/post/are-your-brains-hungry.html

Alike the previous one, it is made with a special flour called "Zunou Ko"(brain flour), which is enhanced vitamin B1 that is reported to be good for our brains.
Dislike the previous one, the bun is white not brown and filled with two different fillings: peanut cream and chocolate cream.

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                                                             (A riddle applied on the package)

On the reverse side of the bag, you can see a riddle printed.
The riddle is follows:

        
            There are three canes of three persons in a box.

            Each cane is written the owner's name, but it is written on a too invisible place to identify  which is
            whose without looking closer.

            Under such a situation,  can you guess the odds that only two of the three persons can draw their own canes,
            exactly ? 

 
According to the package, the answer is "ZERO" percent.
That's because when two of the three can draw correctly , it means that the rest can draw his own cane.
That's why it is impossible that only two persons of three can draw their own ones.
 

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Frankly,my brains were exhausted then .
I am a Japanese lady.
To do the riddle from Japanese into English  was not easy as always.
And I couldn't solve it until I saw the answer printed on the bag.

I must need to cram more "Zunou Pan"s (brain breads") into my brains.

Thank you for reading. 

It rained today, so I had to go out with my umbrella.
In spite of that I needed  nothing to protect me from the sun, I bought two parasols at my local Superkid store.

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They are little parasols  of nearly thirteen centimetres in length.
As they are milk chocolate parasols manufactured by Fujiya, they will neither even open nor protect us from the sun.

They are given a name of "Parasol Chocolate", but they seem to be an ideal chocolate for a rainy day rather than a
sunny day.
That's because,chocolate melts under the sun, and the sweetness and the lovely look  that those parasol-shaped chocolates owns , I think, can serve as something like a sunshine on a gloomy rainy day.

Thank you for reading.
 

There is a popular Japanese television anime series called "Daraemon".
It is a really imaginative anime.
Its main character is "Draemon"
Although he is a robot with a shape of a cat,he doesn't look like a cat very much.
He doesn't ears due to an accident that a  mouse bit his ears.
I guess that Draemon doesn't like Disney Land where first-class mice live.

Draemon, a lovely robot from the 22nd century ,has a pouch on its belly like a kangaroo, from where he can draw his devices called "secret devices"

All of them were too impossible to create in reality ,but  wonderful and convenience enough to make most people think " I wish I had Draemon in my house."
One of his devices is a door named "Dokodemo Door".
If you open the "Dokodemo Door",it leads you wherever you want to go.

I have been a big fan of the anime series since I was a child.
When I was a child, I wished I had had "Anki Pan", one of Draemon's devices.
It is special  slices of loaf.
If you print what you want to learn by heart on  a slice of" Anki-Pan " loaf  and eat it, you can memorize it perfectly.
If you have a stronger stomach , you can eat a lot of "Anki Pan"s and as a result, you can  memorize more .

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To tell you the truth, there is something slightly close to the "Anki Pan"in Japan  "in reality" . 

There is a special flour called "Zunou-Ko"(brain flour) in Japan.
To become a true brain flour, it is needed to add more than 0.17 mg of Vitumin B1 to every 100g of wheat flour.
I'm sure that the flour is so wonderful that anyone want to get if possible, although I hear that it is not available at our local supermarkets.
The special flour originated from a theory suggested by professor Dr.Takatarou Kigi  in his book that Vitamin B1 helps us to become more intelligent.
 
Several bread producing companies of Japan bake bread products made with the "Zunou-Ko"(brain flour)
As the season of entrance examination for schools and universities is approaching ,such brain flour breads  start appearing at major convenience stores and supermarkets in japan.
  

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I obtained a bag of a bun made with Zunou Ko (brain flour)in question , which is fiiled with milk cream and baked by Fuji-Pan.
Enjoying the bun ,I imagined that my brains was being enhanced by the bun containing the brain powder.

Your brains might be hungry for some vitamin B 1.

Thank you for reading.