The following product review is rated G---unless ofcourse you have a
really sick mind
It isn't [really] a Shinsengumi foodstuff --- but pretty darn close (^_^)
During the great Shinsengumi craze of 2003-2004 many restaurants
changed their menus to address the demand for Hijikata, Kondou and
Okita noodles, curry over rice, bento meals and even Nakajima Nobori
milkshakes. Some companies even advertise their sake with cherub like
caricatures of our heroes! Few fine eating establishments
acknowledged the captain of the 10th squad.
Historical Harada very likely died right after the battle at Ueno Hill
in Edobut some say he fled to China where he may have emerged to
assist Japanese troops during the Sino-Japanese War or was it the
Russo-Japanese War?whateverbecause I now have a third theory to what
happened to our dear Harada.
He opened a dairy farm.
His descendants to this day make calcium and iron rich pudding. Below
is a picture of an unopened container, and an image of Harada's
pudding carefully extracted and inverted on a tasteful little bowl. I
understand that in our health conscious society it is necessary to
offer more nutritious alternatives---so included an apple and orange.
http://1happyturtle.com/temporary/HaradaCustard.jpg
I came across Harada's pudding on my quest to stock up on shrimp
chips, which by the way taste great with tuna sandwiches.
http://1happyturtle.com/temporary/Shrimp_Flavored_Chips.jpg
After purchasing Harada's pudding for a mere $1.99 I inspected the
professional packaging and was immediately disappointed by the lack of
a cute small eating implement which frequently accompanies many
Japanese snacks. After removing the pudding I noticed the 6 petal
flower design. I briefly contemplated what flowers are equipped with
six petals and abandoned those thoughts to consider the product name
itself "custard pudding". Unfortunately it is not pudding---it is
FLAN custard. How can we trust a company which tries to combine 2
kinds of food into one? Although the package touts its rich calcium
and iron the nutrition facts lists 17% saturated fat and a shocking
15g of sugar. The most scary ingredients are "locust bean gum" (which
appears TWICE) and "sweetened egg yolk". No wonder there is 15 g of
sugar in this snackthey sweeten the ingredients even before they make
the product. I was also warned that Harada's pudding was made in a
factory which uses soybeans.
To this day I have never experienced cardiac arrest due to ingesting
soybeans so I disregarded the ominous warning and proceeded to enjoy
Harada's creamy snack which can be finished in about 3 spoonfuls. The
texture of flan was perfect and I made sure to check for locust
abdomens or wings. My initial grade for this product is a strong B
but I have to drop the grade to B- because after consuming all 3 cups
my tongue was coated with a greasy waxy substance which was removed
only after imbibing the contents of a 3 inch bottle of Shirakiku sweet
yogurt drink (made in Korea).
The review above has been forwarded to Harada Dairies Corporation in
Niigata Japan along with a note requesting a clarification of the
mysterious LOCUST BEAN GUM ingredient.