Tirol Chocolate – Yamada Momiji Red Bean
In the previous review I did a few days ago about the Kamome no Tamago flavour of Tirol, I mentioned that it was a white bean paste treat. I figured today would be a good day to do the review on another Tirol variety, but of the red bean variety. Sort of like a tasty, bean based yin and yang. Fun!
As I mentioned in the other review, bean paste snacks are very much an asian cultural thing, but red bean is beginning to catch on here in the west. There’s much less surprise and because it’s so common now, most people know what to expect from it in terms of flavour and texture. Because the red bean paste and cake combination is so prevalent and common, I’m not aware of any particular brand or company that does the treats better than anyone else, at least on a mass production level. The flavour today is a collaboration with a famous company called Yamadaya and one of their signature snacks called Momiji, which is basically thick red bean paste covered in a cake like outer layer. As far as I can tell, the only thing to set this apart from the other treats I’ve had is that it’s shaped like a maple leaf, and that it’s a signature snack of the Hiroshima region.
Okay wow. The smell of this bag is an overwhelming red bean smell. I smell nothing BUT red bean. For most people this would be a good thing. If you’re one of those people who doesn’t like red bean, I suggest you stop reading here. I won’t be held responsible for any nausea or feelings of discomfort from here on. You’ve been warned.
Now that all the red bean haters are gone, lets continue. As I was saying, the smell is an overwhelming red bean paste. If you’ve ever been to Asia and had any red bean paste snack off the street markets or carts along the street, you’d know exactly how these smell. It certainly brings me back to my childhood when I’d get a nice delicious red bean paste pastry from those sketchy street vendors for some spare change. Sadly, due to health code violations and crackdowns, not many street vendors still exist in the parts of Asia that I frequent.
The taste of this chocolate is definitely distinct and hard to mistake. If I was blindfolded, I could probably tell you it’s supposed to be red bean. The inside of the chocolate is very similar to the Kamome no Tamago flavour. The texture is very reminiscent of that almost fudge-like texture of red bean paste, and has a bit of that graininess to it. It’s cut with a little softness which is supposed to simulate the sponge cake outer layer I’m guessing? The chocolate shell itself seems very mild, and most of the flavour is coming from the centre.
Before I give my opinion on this, I feel like I need to preface this with a disclaimer – I don’t like the spongecake on a lot of these types of pastries. I find that the spongecake is usually dry and makes me parched and thirsty. It would be great with some milk, but on it’s own, if it’s not fresh it’s just not very appetizing for me. With that out of the way, I will say I still enjoyed this. It’s very, very similar to the white bean paste of the Kamome no Tamago flavour in terms of texture. I’d wager a bet to say it’s identical, with flavour being the only difference. The white bean paste of the other flavour is a tad on the sweet side, so it doesn’t leave much room for flavour complexity. (Man that sounds pretentious, eh?) This flavour isn’t quite as sweet, and really gives you that roasted red bean flavour, which I personally enjoy.
While this flavour doesn’t do anything too crazy or out there, it does do the classic red bean flavour quite well, and for that I would recommend it. The texture is great, but the real reason to try this out is the flavour. The only thing is that there are no actual azuki beans in the centre as far as I can tell. But then again, I’m not sure an average azuki could even fit inside the wee opening…
