Sweetness From Seattle

I thought all Asian candy was made from rice paper, crickets, and fish. Not so. Jodi sent me some myth busting treats from the Seattle Uwajimaya which held up to road trip torture on a sun fried day in April. (Okay, I love Hi-Chew, which was sent along for the ride. It was the only candy that melted, which doesn't make sense except that it melted at Miller Park. It would have been more fitting if it had choked somebody then fell apart in September.)

I had to eat several Meiji Apollo Chocolate Strawberry candies to assure they were cricket free. No arthropoda of any kind, no top melt, just perky smooth chocolate with a healthy kick of strawberry.
The little ridged cones are big enough to pop in your mouth or decorate a large pastry. They're willing springtime travel candy that will leave a tell tale glop if you pose them on a hot steel railing, but why would you do that?
I love how they smell, all strawberry on top and chocolate bottomed. They come alive in your mouth (eww) and take turns treating your tongue to strawberry and cocoa.
The Meiji Apollos are pretty, described as "umbrellas" or "cones" or "mountain-shaped." I especially like the mountain image from JBOX.com, which says the candy is made to look like a mountain of chocolate covered in strawberry snow.
Cool.

Possessing the mind and taste of an eight-year-old boy, I'm not a dark chocolate fan. But I liked these Dars Bitter Chocolate pieces (made by Morinaga, the Hi-Chew people), they didn't have an overwhelming bite and harbored a soft infusion of bitter chocolate.
The box opens neatly from the right with a sturdy tray full of silky pieces sliding out handily. I'm close to calling them luscious or decadent, giving the Dars box an "A" for presentation.

The Dars held up incredibly well to warm weather travel without sacrificing taste or appearance. I'm eating them days later and they still look great...wait...gone now.
Another dark chocolate candy of a different color is the Kuroi Chocoball, also by Morinaga. They look like small Whoppers with a super charged cocoa smack. The inside is wafer crunchy with Oreo cookie overtones and an intense chocolate rush.

It took reading glasses and a strong light bulb to see the Kuroi ("black" in Japanese) Chocoball label and the Kyorochan icon. (Kyorochan is the parrot on the box. It had a 91 episode deal with Japanese TV.) Thank you, Wikipedia.

Funny, I can see how this is the candy of an animated parrot. It's deceivingly rich with an airy center and comes off as fun and addictive.
If Kaboom and Count Chocula aren't enough to jump start your day, slip a few Black Sugar Chocoballs in your cereal bowl and see what happens.

Don't wet your drawers Jimmy, Franky here is a Bichon Frisé, not a poodle.