Twentythree

Limited-edition chilled cup combines summer fruit with creamy pudding pieces in new “Delight Me” release.

Starbucks has welcomed the early throes of summer this year with a bevvy of peachy releases, covering Frappuccinos, teas, and fizzy sodas. Now, the chain is giving us a fresh take on the summer fruit, by releasing the Starbucks Delight Me Peach Milk with Creamy Pudding.

This latest flavour in the chain’s chilled cup drink series, which can be found in supermarkets and convenience stores, aims to delight with the rich sweetness of peach. Combined with creamy, mellow, jiggly milk pudding pieces, the drink is said to deliver a decadent yet refreshing fruitiness that’s so satisfying it can be enjoyed like a dessert.

▼ The smoothness of a milky drink, with jiggly textural bursts of a decadent dessert.

Starbucks says the balance between luxurious sweetness and the light, refreshing finish makes the drink ideal for hot summer afternoons or as a relaxing evening treat. With bright pink peach imagery alongside creamy pudding elements, the packaging is said to create the feeling of being invited to “a moment of relaxation”. The gold label gives the drink a premium look, while the side of the cup comes printed with the message “Time to Chill”, to encourage customers to slow down and enjoy the Starbucks moment.

Each cup is set to retail for 250 yen (US$1.54) plus tax, and it will be rolled out at supermarkets across Japan from 21 July, followed by supermarkets a week later, from 28 July. The drink will only be available for a limited time.

Source, images: Press release
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The curse of the specialty burger store threatens to strike again in Tokyo.

On 1 July, Japanese fast food chain Mos Burger opened a brand new store called Mosh Burger ＆ Bar, in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza district. Keen to find out if it was as fancy as the neighbourhood around it, we sent our roving reporter Mr Sato along to pay it a visit.

According to Mr Sato, the name “Mosh” is a familiar one, as he first heard it four years ago, in November 2022, when Mos Burger opened a store called Mosh Grab’n Go in another fancy Tokyo district, Minami-Azabu.

It was a specialty shop dedicated entirely to cheeseburgers, with only three types of cheeseburger on the menu. When it first opened, there were long queues and massive waiting times to get in, but when he checked if it was still operating today, he discovered that it had closed in October 2024, just two short years after opening.

In recalling those years, Mr Sato was also reminded of a spinoff store by rival Japanese fast food chain Freshness Burger, which opened a cheesburger specialty shop called Cheeseness Burger To GO, but it too closed soon afterwards, just one year later.

Given that the two shops closed relatively quickly, and both were cheeseburger specialty stores, Mr Sato felt a pang of foreboding when he heard that Mosh Burger ＆ Bar would also be centred around cheeseburgers.

With his fingers crossed for better tidings at this store, he headed over to Ginza Nine, the commercial facility where it was located. What was once a Mos Cafe here has since been renovated with a grander, more luxurious look, becoming the posh Mosh Burger ＆ Bar.

Taking a peek at the menu, he found that during the daytime, the restaurant operates with hamburgers as its main focus. Of the eight hamburger options, though, seven include cheese, which appears to inherit the focus of mosh Grab’n Go.

At night, the focus switches from burgers to a bar menu, where customers can enjoy drinks and snacks. Given the location, with a number of bars in nearby Corridor Street, offering alcohol actually seems like a smart strategy, rather than stubbornly sticking to a cafe concept.

When you step inside, you’ll be met by a ticket machine immediately near the entrance where you place your order. Unlike other Mos Burger stores, you don’t have to wait for your order number to be called and then collect your meal, because staff bring the finished order directly to your table instead.

The restaurant provides a more attentive level of service, in line with the higher price point of items on the menu.

Mr Sato ordered the Mosh Cheeseburger Set (1,380 yen), which comes with a side of fries, or a mini Caesar salad, and a drink. Feeling extra hungry and thirsty, he switched the drink to lemonade for an additional 220 yen and added an extra burger patty for an additional 250 yen.

When staff brought his order to the table, he was immediately captivated by the lemonade. It contains slices of lemon, sourced from the famous citrus-producing region of Setouchi, in syrup, which you stir with a spoon to adjust the balance of sweetness and acidity to your liking.

Though Mr Sato feels like Mos burgers have become smaller recently, this one looked to be a satisfying size. It was probably about the size of a Burger King Whopper Jr., which is surprisingly large for a Mos burger.

The burger keeps things simple, with cheddar and mozzarella cheese, combined with a special ketchup sauce, and nothing else but the buns and beef patty (patties in this case) with no additional toppings. Though it’s incredibly simple, the combination works to highlight the flavour of the meat, serving it up as the star of the show, while the acidity of the ketchup enhances the richness of the cheese.

The buns, made with Japanese-grown wheat, are soft and fluffy, with a subtle salty flavour that helps to bring the whole burger together.

It was a delicious burger, but in the end, Mr Sato couldn’t help but feel the chain might have been better off offering a few more options. Seven out of eight burgers being cheeseburgers feels like a lot, so perhaps it would have been better to have a more even split between burgers with cheese and those without.

Although Mr Sato loves cheeseburgers, not everyone does, and considering the fate of the two previous shops Mr Sato mentioned…

He didn’t even want to end that sentence in case he jinxed it, so all he’ll say is that he really, really hopes this store lasts. He can’t bear to say goodbye to yet another specialty store with so much promise, so he hopes as many people as possible viist Mosh Burger ＆ Bar and continue to frequent it, both day and night, so he doesn’t have to bid farewell to yet another specialty burger store in Tokyo.

Restaurant information
Mosh Burger & Bar / モッシュ バーガー＆バル
Tokyo-to, Chuo-ku, Ginza 8-7 Ginza Nine Bldg. 2, 1F
東京都中央区銀座8-7 銀座ナイン2号館 1F
Hours: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. (holidays), 10 p.m. (Mon – Thurs, Saturdays), 11 p.m. (Fridays)

Images©SoraNews24
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We investigated a suspicious noodle store on Uber Eats only to have our curry udon dreams come true.

For many visitors to Japan, including myself, Curry House CoCo Ichibanya (colloquially known as Cocoichi) is usually their first experience of what Japanese-style curry is, and the experience can often be fascinating. The sheer level of customization over what the final form of your curry will take is mind-boggling, as different levels of spice, a variety of toppings, several different curry sauces, and the amount of rice can all allow you to sculpt your perfect curry.

One unfortunate thing is that not every store has the same items on offer, and while that can make some visits special when you stumble across one that does sell something you seldom see, it can make things very difficult if you’re in the mood for its curry udon only for there to be no stores selling it near you.

That being said, the possibility still remains. However, what if you wanted to take it one step further and dine on a dish combination that doesn’t make an appearance on any of its regular menus: Curry Udon with Lightly Crisped Chicken.

Seasoned diners of the chain restaurant might scoff and answer, “Well couldn’t you just order the Curry Udon with Lightly Crisped Chicken and the Curry Udon at the restaurant and put it on yourself?” That is certainly one possible solution, if a single curry isn’t quite sufficient and you happen to be near a location that sells curry udon. However, we have discovered an avenue that foregoes this brute-force DIY method of frankensteining two dishes together: Menya CoCo Ichi.

If you’ve been in Japan a while, you might recall curry ramen restaurants of the same name that once existed in the past, but this is an online, delivery-only version that pops up when searching through the Uber Eats app. It can depend on the area you’re in, but it does show up when searching for it. When we first spotted it, we were a little suspicious that it might be a knock-off store riding on Cocoichi’s famous branding, but after confirming with Cocoichi’s headquarters, we learned it is an official shop operating exclusively online.

True to its name, Menya CoCo Ichi has an abundant noodle menu that goes way beyond their usual rice dishes. Their normal curry udon is naturally a given, but there is also the Curry Udon with Lightly Crisped Chicken (2,017 yen [US$12.42]), Curry Udon with Thinly-Sliced Pork (1,998 yen), Shrimp and Asari Clam Curry Udon (1,840 yen), and many more. Though other stores might price them differently, these were the prices for the store we checked, excluding delivery fees.

▼ You can also select your preferred spice level and portion size on the virtual menu too.

However, we noticed that our coveted Curry Udon with Lightly Crisped Chicken happened to be 25 percent off at 1,513 yen, so we honestly had no choice but to order it then and there, and soon it arrived at our door.

Immediately placing the crispy chicken on top of the curry udon and taking a bite, we were overjoyed to discover it was exactly the flavor we had been expecting.

The curry is the rich, comforting, classic Cocoichi curry udon broth, and the udon is a chewy, doughy type rather than a firm, springy noodle.

The crispy chicken is also the same, signature flavor you get at the restaurant, but what was surprising was how the batter stayed genuinely crispy even after traveling in a delivery container.

Menya CoCo Ichi is exclusively found online, so dishes like this Curry Udon with Lightly Crisped Chicken are something you have to order through apps and delivery services, but as Cocoichi frequently has regional stores that roll out their own unique local menus, it still might be possible to happen across some exceptions to this rule.

According to the headquarters, not all physical stores offer Menya CoCo Ichi on the apps, with plenty of locations not offering it, so you’ll need to check on a delivery app to see if you’re lucky enough to find Menya CoCo Ichi operating in your area. If it doesn’t show up… well, the power play of going to a physical store and ordering both Curry Udon with Lightly Crisped Chicken and Curry Udon to build your own hybrid bowl to satisfy your cravings isn’t too bad of a fallback option either.

Related: Curry Udon Cocoichi Store Locations
Photos ©SoraNews24
Screenshots: Uber Eats (iOS)
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Famima’s newest fried chicken and potato chip flavor is also Famima.

For convenience stores in Japan, the ideal situation is to provide customers with both familiar favorites and new eating experiences. Those might seem like opposite objectives, but one way to have it both ways is to offer special-flavor variants of items that are already proven hits. You’ll see this often with convenience store fried chicken. If a chain’s regular version is selling well, maybe they add a version with the flavor of chili peppers, black pepper, or magical Final Fantasy crystals.

So it’s not a shock that convenience store chain Family Mart has announced a new flavor of its popular Famichiki boneless fried chicken. What is surprising, though is that the new Famichiki’s flavor is…Family Mart?

Officially, the flavor is called “Famima Taste,” but Famima is the fan nickname for Family Mart, and also the name of the chain’s new-concept flagship store that just opened in downtown Tokyo’s swanky Toranomon neighborhood. Making things even more mysterious is that Famima Taste, which is also going to be a flavor for potato chips and rice crackers, isn’t just one flavor, but a series of three flavors that transforms on your taste buds as you eat.

Family Mart describes the Famima flavor as starting out with a refreshing spiciness, thanks to yuzukosho, a spicy chili paste made with yuzu citrus fruit. Famima Taste then transitions to its “mellow” phase of mayonnaise. Then comes the final phase, which Family Mart is still keeping under wraps, with the only hints being that it’s spicy and “That flavor you know, which symbolizes Japan!”

▼ A chart of intensity over time for the three phases of the Famima flavor

Putting on our fried chicken prognosticator hats (yes of course we have such hats, and of course they have feathers for stylish flair), the identity of the secret stage-three ingredient seems pretty easy to guess. Indigenous Japanese cuisine doesn’t really have that many spicy ingredients or seasonings, and one of them, yuzu kosho, is already filling the role of the first flavor in Famima Taste. Among the remaining possibilities, shichimi, a cayenne pepper-like piquant powder mix, isn’t quite prevalent or famous enough to be widely considered a symbol of Japan, and while some types of miso are spicy, most of them aren’t. That leaves wasabi as the most likely candidate for Famima Taste’s final component, and considering that wasabi is sometimes used as a condiment for yakitori (grilled chicken skewers), it wouldn’t feel entirely out of place on fried chicken, and wasabi-seasoned potato chips have a fanbase in Japan as well.

With the Famima Flavor items now on sale at Family Mart branches, we will, naturally, have to test this theory as soon as possible.

Source: Family Mart via Denfaminico Gamer
Images: Family Mart
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Unique Yakult find leaves us with a satisfied belly and a happy heart. 

Many people know about the wonders of Yakult, Japan’s famous lactic acid bacteria drink, but there’s another drink that’s gained a cult following, and it’s called Yakult 1000. This supercharged version contains 1,000 billion bacteria, compared to Yakult’s 10 billion, and it became incredibly popular during the COVID-19 pandemic, when rumours spread about its potential health benefits, making it extremely hard to get.

Though it’s since become more readily available, Yakult 1000 remains hugely popular, and now there’s a new way to enjoy it, in the form of the “Yakult 1000 Soft Serve”, available exclusively at one antenna shop in Nara City. Curious to find out why Nara is the only place where you can get the unusual soft serve, we stopped by the store to find out more about it.

▼ The Yakult antenna store is located on the Konishi-dori Shopping Street, which is easily accessible from JR and Kintetsu Nara Station.

In Japan, antenna shops are stores that sell specialty products while also picking up on consumer reactions and trends, like an antenna picking up on a signal. While the term is often used to describe stores that sell products from a particular region, this Yakult store is a rare brand-run antenna shop, and it’s one of only two in existence, with the other one being located in Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture.

This store in Nara is about half the size of an urban convenience store, and when we stepped inside we were greeted by Tsubakuro, the beloved mascot of the Yakult-owned Yakult Swallows baseball team.

So much of the store space was dedicated to Swallows merchandise that we had to pull our focus back to the one thing we had come here for: the ice cream. After making our way to the register and taking a look at the menu, we saw there were two icy options available: soft serve and shaved ice, both of which are exclusive menu items that can only be enjoyed at this store.

Beneath the ice creams were two drinks – “Yakuman”, which adds a bottle of Toughman, a Japanese energy drink made by Yakult that’s been around since 1980, and “Yakult de Su”, which comes with black vinegar.

All four options on the menu featured the Yakult 1000, and although we were tempted to try them all, we decided to stick to the soft serve, which is said to be the world’s first Yakult 1000-flavoured soft serve.

▼ Served in a cup, the soft serve cost 500 yen (US$3.40).

Judging by appearance alone, it didn’t appear to be any different to a regular ice cream, but after trying a spoonful, we knew this was no ordinary dessert.

The taste of Yakult immediately shone through on the palate, with a smooth and creamy texture that made it incredibly rich and satisfying. Although it was sweet and delicious, it somehow had a gentle taste and refreshing finish that felt like it was good for the body. After gushing about the flavour to staff, they told us that each serving contains the equivalent of one bottle of Yakult 1000, making it more than just a gimmick or a good-tasting dessert – it had been carefully made by Yakult lovers, for Yakult lovers.

It tasted so good that we became curious about the “Shaved Ice de Yakult”, eventually giving in to temptation and paying 350 yen for a cup.

▼ The shaved ice is made fresh on the spot by staff after an order is placed.

As he operated the machine, the friendly staff member told us that this was a style of shaved ice called “bingsoo”, which originated in Taiwan. It was particularly fascinating to watch it being made, as we could see the bottle of Yakult 1000 going into the machine and coming out as frozen ice crystals, slowly piling up like snow in the cup.

Whereas the soft serve had been rich and thick, the shaved ice was much lighter and more refreshing.

The shaved ice crystals were incredibly fine and fluffy, melting with a tangy sensation as soon as they landed on the tongue. Adding the tiny jug of “extra Yakult” on top transformed the flavour even further, making it significantly richer.

Though we’d initially been concerned that the ice might water down the Yakult to undetectable levels, it ended up delivering a strong hit of flavour while still maintaining an incredibly delicate texture, leaving us incredibly impressed. We found ourselves wondering why the Yakult 1000 shaved ice and soft serve hasn’t been done anywhere else before, which also got us wondering why it’s only available here in Nara and not a major city.

▼ The Swallows is a Tokyo-based team, so you’d think they could at least sell these icy desserts in the capital.

When we spoke with the employee, we learned that it wasn’t Yakult Honsha, the main Yakult company, that opened the store and developed the soft serve and shaved ice, but a company called Nara Yakult Sales. That’s when we also learned that the person who served us the ice cream was the shop manager, Tsukasa Yamada, who is also a member of Nara Yakult’s home delivery sales department.

According to Yamada, the soft serve was created through repeated trials in collaboration with an ice cream manufacturer, resulting in a carefully crafted flavour. Among the many Yakult products available, Yakult 1000 was deemed to be the one that matched best with the soft serve.

The ratio of soft serve mix to Yakult 1000 is so precise that getting it wrong can cause the dairy ingredients to separate, and Yamada says mixes it by hand every morning. He went on to say, “For the shaved ice, I discovered bingsoo myself and thought, ‘This would probably taste great if we made it with Yakult’, so I decided to give it a try. Both the soft serve and the shaved ice are creations I’m really proud of!”

Yamada really ought to give himself a well-deserved pat on the back, because these two desserts are incredibly delicious, and the attention to detail in the balance between ingredients is clearly evident in the well-rounded flavours. Plus, the service we received while we were there endeared us to the brand even more, so that next time we’re at the supermarket, we’ll be looking to stock up on more of the Yakult 1000.

Apparently, we’re not the only ones to fall in love with the desserts, because while we were there a lot of other customers also stopped by. Some were locals, some were tourists, and some were even supporters of the region’s Hanshin Tigers baseball team, but they all had one thing in common – a love for the store-exclusive soft serve and shaved ice.

Yamada also let us in on a secret: a Joie Blueberry-flavoured soft serve is also planned for release around autumn. That definitely sounds like a good reason to return, but before we left the store, we had a look around to make sure we weren’t missing out on any other secret finds.

▼ One of the great things about an antenna shop like this is you can get Yakult products that aren’t available at regular retailers.

▼ Some of the surprises we found were Yakult-owned skincare brands Parabio and Revecy…

▼ …and who knew that Yakult even has its own line of ramen?

▼ The Swallows merchandise will appeal to fans, many of whom stop by when the team is playing in the region, and players themselves have been known to visit the shop.

▼ Keen to keep the Yakult love going after returning to our hotel, we picked up a couple of “Ice de Yakult” ice creams that were highly recommended by Yamada.

Although these small tubs can be purchased online in packs of 12, this store is said to be the only physical location in western Japan where you can buy them.

The regular variety has a gentle flavour that’s similar to the soft serve. It’s creamier than expected, with a smooth and rich texture that lingers before disappearing with a wonderful Yakult tang.

The “Gelato & Milk” (400 yen ) gives you the best of two icy worlds, with a blend of rich ice cream and a lighter gelato together in the tub. With a slightly icier texture, this was a touch more refreshing than the ice cream, and incredibly delicious.

It’s not every day you get to come across a Yakult antenna store, and certainly not one that has exclusive desserts designed to please your belly as well as your taste buds. It was heartwarming to meet the kind creator of the desserts and find out more about their origin story, so if you’re a fan of lactic acid bacteria drinks, or the Yakult Swallows, this is a store you’ll definitely want to visit.

Store information
Nara Yakult Antenna Shop / 奈良ヤクルトアンテナショップ
Address: Nara-ken, Nara-shi, Konishicho 2-2
奈良県奈良市小西町2-2
Open: 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. (irregular holidays)

Photos © SoraNews24
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