Kit Kat, Tokyo

Look, when I’m stressed, I eat more and worse. What about you? Another bad thing is that the powerful crush of salty ramen tends to make me crave sweet things even more than usual. Couple that with a display of unique Kit Kat flavors in the basement while I was walking back from Shichisai, and I had to try these.

The Japan-only flavors are pretty famous. Here’s a writeup. Here’s another. The terrific thing about these is that it’s a supposedly rare flavor – the first writeup there waits until the end to mention that visitors to Japan’s southern islands can get special flavors like yuzu citrus (and this is indeed described as “Trip to Kyushu”). This is that flavor, but they weren’t telling the whole story – it’s actually flavored with yuzu kosho, which is a paste made of green citrus (yuzu) rind, salt, and lots of black pepper.

It is, coincidentally, one of the most delicious substances on Earth, ranking right up there with maple syrup (though a different genre altogether). Putting it with chocolate is like a spicy citrus chocolate, which isn’t a bad thing at all.

What else is famous in Kyushu? Spicy fish eggs and local distilled liquor. I can see a new flavor on the horizon.