It seemed like for a long time, Trader Joe's mainly just carried Mikawaya brand mochi. In fact, Mikawaya mochi was the first ever non-Trader Joe's brand product that we reviewed on this blog. It was also the first ever dessert item we reviewed on this blog, a full 15 years ago this month.
Slowly, TJ's rolled out their own line of mochi with specialty flavors like mango and pumpkin pie. Mikawaya brand suffered from a few recalls of their products throughout the years and eventually, Trader Joe's just started offering their own classic flavors like vanilla and, of course, strawberry.
This is the fist time we've tried Trader Joe's own strawberry, but we've had Mikawaya's version from TJ's many times throughout the years. Internet rumors suggest Bubbie's Ice Cream is Joe's supplier for their own line of mochi.
Well, shoot, these strawberry mochi are delicious...but maybe not quite as delicious as the Mikawaya strawberry..? The rice shell seems much stiffer on these for some reason. I guess we did experience something similar with the vanilla flavor we reviewed in 2019.
Odd that these and a few other flavors would be so stiff and starchy while products like Trader Joe's Blood Orange Mochi have both stellar taste and texture. It seems to bother Sonia a bit more than it bothers me. Pro tip: let the mochi thaw more than the five minutes suggested on the box.
$4.99 for six mochi. Kosher. Gluten free. Found in the frozen dessert section. Would probably opt for one of the newfangled gimmicky flavors or Mikawaya brand before purchasing this exact product again. Seven stars out of ten from me. Five out of ten from Sonia.
Sonia and I both love most Japanese food: sushi, tempura, yakitori, ramen, you name it... Trader Joe's Karaage wasn't what we were expecting or hoping for, but we're grateful to TJ's for introducing us to it, and we're eager to try other versions of it.
Okonomiyaki? Never heard of that one, either. But we'll gladly try it. It's a Japanese vegetable pancake. Apparently "okonomi" means "as you like it" or "your preference." I imagine there are a few Burger Kings in Japan and they have an ad campaign that goes something like "At K of the B, you can have it okonomi." Sorry, sorry. Bad joke. <ahem>
Anyway, this particular version of okonomiyaki contains cabbage, onion, wheat flour, and yam—and it comes with a sweet soy sauce and dried skipjack tuna flakes as toppings. Interesting. We'll air fry this product at 360°F for about five or six minutes on each side. Folks online said to add Kewpie brand mayo for an authentic Japanese experience. Fortunately, Sonia loves Kewpie mayo and has a bottle on hand for just such an occasion.
The verdict? We like the taste and texture a lot. It's savory and succulent. The texture reminded me of a crab cake in a way. Sonia likened the product to a latke but with cabbage and onion rather than potato.
They actually give you enough sauce and tuna flakes in the package. The Kewpie mayo wasn't a bad pairing, but Sonia and I both prefer the product without it. It's plenty wet with the okonomi sauce alone—plus the product itself is quite moist even after a good 10-12 minutes in the air fryer.
$4.99 for the 10 oz package, found in the frozen section. Would buy again. Eight out of ten stars from me for Trader Joe's Okonomiyaki Japanese Vegetable Pancake. Sonia will go with nine out of ten.
Some of you youngsters may be unaware, but there was a famous golfer in the 1960s named Arnold Palmer that popularized mixing iced tea and lemonade. At some point, they just started calling the mixture by his name and even folks like me who never watched golf and are way too young to remember him in his heyday would occasionally order "an Arnold Palmer" at restaurants and such. Folks that grew up in the 80s and 90s might remember him from ESPN and Pennzoil commercials. He was still a household name even if you didn't pay much attention to golf. But yeah. Lemonade and iced tea = Arnold Palmer.
I mean, it is an outstanding combo. Now matcha and lemonade? That seems a little weird to me, but hey, I'm game for a sip or two. I'll try just about anything once. Sonia is a little more into matcha and green tea than I am, and she thinks matcha lemonade sounds pretty enticing.
<tries product, shoots video>
Shockingly, the beautiful wifey likes the black tea and lemonade combo a little more than she likes the matcha tea and lemonade combo. I like them both about the same, to be honest. Neither are particularly syrupy or sugary. I mean, they're a tad sweet, but they're also a tad tart and tea-ish. The carbonation is a nice addition. That's one thing a traditional Arnold Palmer never had: fizz. I always enjoy fizz.
Refreshing? Yes. A bit of caffeine in the tea part of the beverage? I would think so. Excessive sugar? Nope. Just 80 calories per 12 oz can.
I think I like sparkling juice beverages better than these tea and lemonade dealies in the end. Sonia thinks they have their place. She'd consider a repurchase, particularly of Trader Joe's Sparkling Tea & Lemonade.
$1.99 for each individual can. Not sure if they sell a 4-pack or not. Trader Joe's Sparkling Matcha Lemonade is showing "not available" on traderjoes.com as of the time of writing this post, but its counterpart is alive and well. I'll go with seven stars a piece for both tea and lemonade beverages. Sonia will throw out seven and a half stars for the matcha drink and an even eight for the black tea version. Our scores are still close enough that we'll just average out the points.
Bottom line: Trader Joe's Sparkling Matcha Lemonade: 7.25 out of 10.
Bottom line: Trader Joe's Sparkling Tea & Lemonade: 7.5 out of 10.
