The Perceptive Foodie

I’ve been quite interested in Japanese products lately, so you may notice my many posts about food from Japan. However, as some products come directly from its homeland, there is but one problem. They’re all labelled in Japanese! If you’re lucky, you may be saved by the add-on sticker on the side of the product that gives you a description in English, although it probably won’t be as detailed as you may like it to be. For this adventure, I would like to introduce the Sparkling Umeshu by Hakutsuru (the actual name is Puru Puru Sparkling Zeri Umeshu, ‘zeri’ meaning jelly). It comes in a tiny 190 mL green can but is packed with lots of goodness, despite its size. I found it at the alcohol section of a supermarket which sells Japanese alcohol, and I just couldn't resist taking it home with me due to my curious nature. I don’t know why, but I also have a thing for tiny cans of drinks. Maybe it’s because they’re just so darn cute! Now, let’s see how it tastes: With a whiff o

Ever seen one of these? It may look like an ordinary bottle of flavoured water, but it is not. Head over to the Japanese section of your supermarket and you might just spot one of these on the shelves. It is called a Ramune (just look for the word “ ラムネ ” if it’s labelled in Japanese). What makes it so special is the ingenious design of the bottle that is both fashionable AND functional. You don’t get these two elements together very often, do you? What is this? What are you talking about? A Ramune is a bottle of flavoured water with a unique and specific design which includes a tight waist at about ¾ of the way up the length of the bottle, and a glass marble which is initially affixed to a rubber ring at the mouth of the bottle. While it originally came in the form of a glass bottle, you can also find it in a 250mL PET plastic bottle form these days. In Japan, the Ramune is one of the symbols of summer, as the cool beverage is usually drunk during this period of blazing hot w