Gift (Snack) From Kanazawa, Japan 🇯🇵

Hi hivers and members of @FoodiesBeeHive.

I’ve never been to Kanazawa but I’ve heard it’s a beautiful place in Ishikawa prefecture and that it is popular for gold leaf production.
My friend went there over the winter holidays and brought back omiyage (a gift).
It came in a lovely pink and white box. After opening it, I realized that some origami were enclosed. There was also a sheet explaining how to fold the colorful pieces of paper. It all seemed like a gift within a gift. I removed the origami and another sheet of paper and saw the balls of sweets. There were nine balls and three colors (pink, green and white). I was really curious to see what was inside each ball.

Box of sweets


Origami with instructions

I first wondered if each ball had a different treat. After opening a few I realized that the sweets inside were basically the same but of different colors. They were soft pieces of candies coated or covered with crystals of sugar. The covering for the sweets (the pink, green and white balls) is wafer-like and is called “monaco”. Its light, fresh (not sweet, not salty), opens easily and basically (almost) melts while being eaten.

I’d describe the snack itself as sweet. I think it would pair well with some green tea. I really loved the textures. They created an interesting in-the-mouth experience. The monaco was soft, I could hear and almost feel the cracking of the sugar crystals and then tasted the very soft candy. In a jiffy the entire ball disappeared in the mouth and then made me feel like having another one.

Though I had to satisfy my curiosity to see what was inside the balls, after opening the fourth, I realized it was more enjoyable to just put the ball in the mouth and let it all “disappear”.
I really appreciated the gift.

Please share with me a snack you’ve had for the first time. What did you like about it?

😃Thank you for reading my post. Have a great weekend.🎶