Avengers ice cream assembles at Baskin-Robbins Japan【Taste test】

Now’s your chance to eat Captain America’s shield, Thor’s hammer, and more.

It’s always an exciting moment when Marvel’s Avengers assemble, and while fans may debate over whether their individual hype levels are higher for new adventures in comic book or live-action movie format, for us there’s nothing more thrilling than Earth’s mightiest heroes combining their powers as a dessert.

Thankfully, that’s what’s happening right now at Baskin-Robbins Japan.

The newest treat from the chain’s ice cream artists is the Marvel’s Avengers Palette Six ice cream cake, which went on sale April 23. Rather than exhaust all 31 of its flavors trying to represent every single character who showed up in Endgame, Baskin-Robbins is shining the spotlight (figuratively — don’t want the ice cream to melt!) on the six founding members of the MCU Avengers.

Measuring 16 centimeters (6.3 inches) in diameter and five centimeters in height, the six-slice cake comes in a special illustrated box with additional artwork on the film wrapping that encircles the dessert.

Let’s take a look at the powers/flavors of each hero.

First up is the heart and soul of the team, Captain America, whose shield (in edible confectionary form) is accompanied by star-shaped dollops of whipped cream. Satisfying the stripes part of stars-and-stripes are the swirls of Baskin-Robbins’s 31 Party strawberry mint ice cream, delivering a flavor that’s sharp but tangy, fitting the dichotomy of a superhero who’s fought evil in two different historical eras.

Next is Iron Man, whose hand seems to have swollen just a bit, perhaps as a side effect from all the energy pulsing through the beams he shoots out of his palm. On the other hand (pun not intended), the Caramel Ribbon ice cream is mature and sophisticated, much like Tony Stark would describe himself.

Mint, and a mighty strain of it, is the flavor for Thor’s slice, which hits your taste buds with all the power of a strike from Mjölnir or a bolt of lightning. There are also bits of chocolate, but if we had to describe the sensation in three words or less, they’d be “mint,” “mint,” and “mint.”

Hulk’s flavor is Popping Shower, a fan favorite among Japanese Baskin-Robbins fans. Filled with Pop Rocks-like candies that sizzle on your tongue, the sensation brings to mind the relentless flurries of punches that Hulk rains upon foes, but in a much less violent, more delicious way.

Hawkeye’s slice features whipped cream in the shape of arrow feathers, and a similar insignia. Honestly, it’s a little underwhelming in terms of impact when compared to the other Avengers, but couldn’t you say the same thing about Hawkeye himself? Like its inspiration, though, the Hawkeye slice is an overachiever, since the clearly divided Strawberry Cheesecake and Blueberry ice cream taste great either eaten by themselves or mixed together, giving you three ways to enjoy it.

And finally we come to Black Widow, whose slice…well, honestly it’s kind of hard to tell what’s supposed to be going on here visually. In all fairness, it must have been hard to come up with a visual salute to a character whose outfit is a nondescript black jumpsuit and doesn’t have a signature weapon or superpower, and just sprinkling a bunch of spider-shaped cookies on it would have made it look gross and/or like a Spider-Man piece instead. So the result is simply Black Widow’s insignia and what we think is supposed to be some of the blue-white piping on her suit. That said, we will never complain about a serving of Cookies and Chocolate ice cream, which is what we have here.

▼ In addition to the cool box, the cake also comes with a set of six Avengers coasters.

We picked up our Avengers Palette Six for 4,000 yen (US$39), but some Baskin-Robbins branches are offering it for a reduced price of 3,700 yen. It’s available for a limited time, though if you don’t make it in time you can always console yourself with a Baskin-Robbins Pikachu ice cream cake.

Photos © SorNews24
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Japanese chef’s curry cleanup kitchen hack means there’s no reason not to cook a pot right now

A simple solution to one of the only bad things about making curry.

Making a pot of curry is a wild roller coaster ride of emotions. There’s the excitement and anticipation as the roux slowly bubbles and cooks, the rush of jubilation when it’s ready to eat, and the profound, peaceful satisfaction of “Yes, that was the right decision” after you finish stuffing yourself.

But then there’s the dark side of making curry: having to wash out the pot. No one really likes washing the dishes after any cooking session, but it’s an especially big pain with curry, since it takes a lot of elbow grease to scrub the stubborn stuff off the sides of the pot. Even worse, with curry’s propensity to stain whatever it touches, odds are the sponge or brush you use will end up a sickly shade of yellow-brown, gross-looking enough that you’ll need to toss it out.

But there’s a way to avoid the unhappy ending of cooking curry, according to Japanese chef and Twitter user Mugi Rice (@HG7654321), who recently shared a technique for hassle-free curry cleanup, which will also spare your sponge from a premature death.

Step one is to pour a tablespoon of water into the pot you want to wash out, then turn on the heat and bring it to a boil.

This should soften and semi-liquify any bits of curry that were sticking to the pan. Once you’ve let the water boil for a few moments, turn the heat back off, wait for the pan to cool down, and wipe it off with a paper towel.

The pot still won’t be completely clean at this point, but it’ll be clean enough that you don’t have to worry about it staining your sponge, and you can now wash it out like you would any other piece of cooking equipment.

▼ If you’re wondering about the thing peeking out of the pan, that’s Mugi Rice’s mascot character, Mugi Rice-kun.

With curry rice being one of Japan’s favorite make-it-yourself comfort foods, Twitter commenters were quick to show their appreciation for this cleaning tip that removes one of the only bad things about whipping up a batch.

“I pretty much killed a sponge every time I’ve made curry.”
“I didn’t want to ruin my sponge, so I always started by trying to wash the pot out using my bare hand.”
“Another bare-hander here!”
“So many of my sponges died. This tip is really a lifesaver!”

Meanwhile, if what’s keeping you from a curry meal is simply not having a pot to cook it in in the first place, there’s a workaround for that problem too.

Source: Twitter/@HG7654321 via Hachima Kiko
Images: Twitter/@HG7654321
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Hello Kitty and her Sanrio pals are collaborating with a notoriously bloody horror anime series

Hello Kitty and her friends show up in the infamously cursed village of Hinamizawa to comfort the cast of Higurashi Naku Koro ni.

There was no avoiding the When they Cry: Higurashi Naku Koro ni franchise for any respectable otaku in 2006. The story concept is simple: a young boy, Keiichi Maebara, moves out into the sticks with his parents and quickly befriends a group of cute, funny girls at his school. But Hinamizawa is carrying a lot of dark and twisted secrets, and when a grisly murder is uncovered, Keiichi is forced to grapple with how much he trusts his friends and the people around him.

The auto-battler gacha game Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Mei was created to pair with the latest anime adaptation of the franchise, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou. While it features a new core cast, it has that cast visit the original core cast in the context of the original novel and anime, and there’s plenty of the series’ trademark blood splatters, eerily abandoned buildings, and dead-eyed stares to enjoy.

▼ The game’s official ad contains plenty of bone-chilling aesthetics.

Many gacha games rely on collaboration events to drum up interest in players. So who would take up the bloody gauntlet of associating with Higurashi’s creepy, maudlin mood?

 

You already know the answer: Sanrio is never one to turn down a collaboration.

If you’re wondering if pairing Sanrio’s cuddly, cutesy characters with the Higurashi brand is a joke, you aren’t wrong—it actually was a joke. An April Fools’ joke, to be precise.

▼ On April Fools’ Day, the official Higurashi Gyou account proclaimed they would build a Puroland in Hinamizawa.

Only…the joke worked too well, in that Higurashi fans and Hello Kitty fans alike were delighted to see the macabre cast of teens frolicking with Kitty, Pom Pom Purin, and Cinnamoroll. The next day, Higurashi staff announced that not only would collaborative goods eventually be sold at pop-up shops in Tokyo, Osaka, Aichi, and Miyagi but that there would be a tie-in event in the gacha game.

So off Kitty went.

▼ The in-game card shows heroine Rena Ryugu in Hello Kitty apparel.

Not only does the game currently feature a card to earn in-game starring We Are Dinosaurs (with Keiichi Maebara) but players were able to roll to earn Hello Kitty (with Rena Ryugu) and Kirimi-chan (with Kazuho Kimiyoshi). Currently, they can roll to earn Cinnamoroll (with Mion Sonozaki) and Pom Pom Purin (with Shion Sonozaki) to complete the set!

▼ Kirimi-chan seems right at home with her new pal Kazuho.

You can even play an in-game event to see Kitty, Pom Pom Purin, Cinnamoroll, and Kirimi interact with the cast. Don’t worry—the event itself is soft and cutesy, with the gang discovering an adorable magical mirror that allows the Sanrio critters to wander into their decidedly un-cute world.

▼ Clearing the event nets players a We Are Dinosaurs-themed Keiichi Maebara.

The Sanrio event ends at 2 p.m. May 3 JST, so don’t delay if you plan to try nabbing one of these creepy-cute in-game allies for yourselves! Please note that the game can only be accessed outside Japan through proxy applications and VPNs.

For more examples of Kitty showing no fear in the face of creepy collaborative partners, look no further than her stint as Pennywise the Clown and Sadako. Maybe the Higurashi kids should be the ones who are afraid here?

Related: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Mei Official Site, Sanrio x Higurashi April Fools’ Collaboration Site
Source: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Mei, PR Times via Hachima Kikou
Images ©2020竜騎士07／ひぐらしのなく頃に製作委員会 © ’21 SANRIO CO., LTD. APPR. NO. S620119 ©D-techno via PR Times
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Protect yourself from social media evils with Japanese omamori amulet capsule toys【Pics】

Or amplify the good things about it, if you’re an optimist.

The great thing about social media is how it can instantly and effortlessly connect you to wonderful people all over the world. Unfortunately, it can connect you just as quickly and easily with jerks and trolls anywhere in the world.

So really, every time you post something on social media it’s sort of a roll of the dice as to what’ll happen. However, capsule toy maker Tama-kyu wants to help put the odds in your favor with its new line of social media omamori good luck charms.

Styled after the amulets of protection and good fortune offered at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan, the complete collection consists of six charms. Even if you can’t read the kanji written on the first, enjo yakuyoke, you can probably guess that it’s from the fiery motif: protection from flame wars.

There’s also a kusoripu yakuyoke charm, which is meant to ward off what Japan calls “shit replies,” purposely antagonistic replies that often willingly take the original post out of context.

Conversely, if you’re worried about accidentally causing offense to someone else, you’ll want the burokku yakuyoke, or “protection against being blocked” amulet.

But like we said in the beginning, social media is a double-edged sword, and not all of its cuts are unkind. If you’d prefer to have divine forces working for you to accentuate the positives of online interaction, there are omamori for increasing your number of followers (forowaazo kigan)…

…increasing the number of likes your posts get (iinezo kigan)…

…and going viral (bazu nengan).

While they don’t carry official shrine/temple blessings, some would argue that any and all good luck charms are handy to have when wading into the world of social media.

The Social Media Omamori are in capsule toys now, priced at 300 yen (US$2.90).

Source, images: PR Times
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Mos Burger’s new release takes raw onions to the extreme

Celebrating local produce with some very Japanese condiments.

Japanese fast food chain Mos Burger is famous for using locally sourced ingredients grown by local farmers, and ever since 2016, they’ve been supporting onion growers from Awaji Island with their “Awaji Island Onion Festival” campaign.

▼ Awaji Island (“Awajishima” in Japanese) is one of the country’s premier onion-producing regions

In celebration of the island onions, Mos Burger released a special burger called the Awajishima Onion Burger Tailored with Japanese-style Soy Sauce last year. It proved to be so popular with customers that the chain was inundated with requests to re-release the burger, and so the fast food chain is adding it to the menu again for a limited time this year.

With freshness in mind, the burger is only available for a limited time and will only be sold in the Kansai and Chu-Shikoku regions in and around Awaji Island.

▼ “Limited Time / Limited Regions”

Our reporter K. Masami is based in Osaka, which is located in the Kansai region, and so she was able to pick up one of the limited-edition burgers when they were released on 26 April.

As soon as Masami lifted the top bun on her burger, she was immediately impressed by the simplicity of what lay beneath. There were rings and rings of fresh onions, topped with a dollop of sauce and a serving of shaved bonito flakes.

It was hard to see beneath the massive mound of onion rings, so she turned the burger upside down and lifted the bottom bun to find a green lettuce leaf and a meat patty hiding underneath it all.

Masami had never seen so many onions in a burger before, and was worried they might destroy her taste buds with their spicy bite. However, after her first mouthful, she was pleased to find that the onions weren’t hot but actually sweet, due to the fact that they were freshly picked. Had they been dried onions like the ones you usually find at the supermarket, the flavour would’ve been far more intense, but as they were new onions, Masami was able to enjoy their pleasant savoury sweetness.

The subtle flavour of soy sauce and the smoky notes from the shaved bonito flakes complemented the onions perfectly, and even the meat patty took second place behind the onion rings, which clearly stole the show.

Masami gives this unusual burger a big thumbs-up, and says her only criticism is that it should be on the menu for longer and expanded nationwide so that more people around the country can fall in love with Awajishima’s onions.

Priced at 420 yen (US$3.85), or 450 yen with cheese, the burger will be available until mid-May.

Photos © SoraNews24
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After 3 tries, we finally got to eat purple ice cream and crepes from a popular Tokyo food truck

The truck is only open for five hours a day during the weekend…but we had to have it!!

There’s a mysterious little sweets food truck in Tokyo that only appears on the weekends: it’s called Mrs. Charlotte, and it’s themed on the color purple. The whole truck is decked out in purple and much of what they serve is purple, so Mrs. Charlotte has made a name for itself for being the cutest little sweet shop in town.

Our Japanese-language reporter Ayaka Idate’s favorite color is purple, so when she heard about Mrs. Charlotte, she knew she had to go check it out. She heard that their purple crepes are especially popular, but as it turns out, they’re so popular it was rather hard for her to get her hands on one. It took her three tries to taste them!

Ayaka found Mrs. Charlotte parked in front of the Sato Sakura Museum in the Nakameguro neighborhood of Tokyo. Its cute, soft purple color attracted the attention of passersby, who couldn’t help but stop to look at it. The menu–which was purple–did have some items that weren’t purple, but of course, Ayaka was set on trying some of Mrs. Charlotte’s purple fare.

She chose to try the Lavender Milk Ice Cream (580 yen/US$5.37) and the Berry and Cream Cheese Crepe (540 yen). After receiving a number card that was–of course–purple, Ayaka waited just a few minutes for her order.

First up was the Lavender Milk Ice Cream. What a pretty shade of pastel purple! It was a slightly more purple-y periwinkle, and prettily decorated with edible purple elderflowers. Even Ayaka, who isn’t much of a social media user, found the look very Instagrammable.

Since the ice cream was “Lavender Milk” flavored, Ayaka expected it to have a nice scent of lavender to it, but it really didn’t. Hoping it had a taste of lavender, she took a bite, but what really came through instead was a deliciously rich milky flavor.

As it turns out, the “lavender” in the name comes not from the use of lavender in the recipe, but rather from the color of the ice cream. The actual flavor of the Lavender Milk Ice Cream is, in fact, milk. While the refreshing pastel color implies something on the lighter side, this ice cream is actually quite rich and sweet.

The elusive Berry and Cream Cheese Crepe, by the way, was also a delightful shade of pastel purple, and was also decorated with colorful elderflowers. It was very appealing to Ayaka, who could not wait to try it.

The crepe seemed nicely cooked, and when Ayaka peeled back the paper around the crepe, she noticed a nice golden-brown coloring to it, which had her mouth watering. But you may have already guessed that while it looked pretty, this purple crepe did not have any special flavor to it–it just tasted like a regular crepe. Just like the ice cream, the flavor of the crepe did not match the color.

The berries and cream cheese flavor on the inside, however, did fit the bill. It was lightly sweet and quite pleasant–tasty, and yet not moreish. Very delicious!

Ayaka also ordered a cute pink crepe called the “Sakura” (650 yen). It’s only available while Mrs. Charlotte is in front of the Sato Sakura Museum, so if you want to try this beauty, you’ll want to keep an eye out for them there.

Unlike the purple offerings, this one actually had a cherry blossom flavor that matched its cute pink coloring. Of course, both crepes were very tasty, so you might have a hard time choosing which one to get if you visit!

Did you notice that the Sakura Crepe has ice cream on top? That’s because you can choose to add ice cream to your crepe for just 150 yen. Now, the reason why Ayaka didn’t do that with her purple crepe is because the shop is so popular that things tend to sell out quickly–and she had to order the ice cream and the crepes on separate trips.

In fact, the first time she went, everything on the menu was sold out! Mrs. Charlotte opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 4 p.m., so Ayaka thought it would be okay to stop by at around four o’clock. That turned out to be a tremendous mistake, because there was absolutely nothing left by then.

Thinking that if she came just a bit earlier she’d have a better chance, Ayaka stopped by a little after lunch for her second try, around two o’clock. To her surprise, there was a line down the street that took her an hour and a half to get through!

Sadly, on that day, the last of the crepes sold out about three parties ahead of Ayaka. Even though she had been looking forward to trying the crepe with the ice cream, Ayaka decided just to try the ice cream since she had, after all, been waiting in line all that time.

To be absolutely certain she wouldn’t miss out on the crepes this time, for her third trip Ayaka arrived just before opening time, and she was finally able to try them. According to the staff, it’s pretty common for things to sell out before 4 p.m., so if you have your heart set on trying out some of Mrs. Charlotte’s sweets, you’ll want to stop by earlier rather than later. If you wait too late, you might end up having to wait until the next weekend before you can try it!

By the way, Mrs. Charlotte does change locations every once in a while, so make sure you check out their website to see where they’re going to be before you go. You don’t want to head to the wrong place! And if you’re looking for another cute and tasty sweets experience, the Crocodile Who Dies in 100 Days now has his own pop-up-cafe, but it’s only for a limited time, so make sure you check it out before it’s gone.

Images © SoraNews24
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