Valentine’s Day 2008: Bizarre Chocolate Shapes

Valentine’s Day is upon us, again. Now in Japan, the custom of women giving chocolate to men on this day has been quite strongly established: Thanks to clever marketing campaigns, the girls have to buy a lot at special items at department stores across the country. There, you find all sorts of cacao temptations, from luxury truffles by chocolatiers to “all-you-can-pack” types. So if you want to impress the boy next door you have been eyeing for a while, PingMag recommends you to get some very special, uniquely shaped chocolate that might leave an impact…

Written by Ayana
Translated by Natsumi Yamane

For Geeky Types: A Chocolate “Automania Set.”

No, this is not an ad for a tool set “as seen on TV,” this “Automania Set” is all made of solid chocolate and will make every mechanic in the house more than happy. Despite its robust appearance, it bears fully authentic taste as it uses Belgian couverture chocolate as ingredient. Note: Nut and socket-shaped ranges are also available - what a perfect geeky present!

Chocolate In Disguise: “Okonomiyaki Chocolate Cake.”

The next Valentine treat looks like a normal Okonomiyaki, a kind of mixed pancake that is a mainstay of Japanese cuisine, but actually this is genuinely made of the delicious brown stuff, together with rich flavours of rum and Belgian chocolate. Incidentally, its Hiroshima-based confectioner, Toraya, has a repertoire of 380 products with a whole range of sweets that look like real savoury dishes, including sushi-shaped roll cakes and custard pudding resembling Chawanmushi.

A Wordplay: “Chocotto Gyoza”

Chocolate inside Chinese dumplings!? Once again Toraya has come up with this unimaginable combination of flavours, this limited edition of Valentine’s Day dumplings contains bean paste with bittersweet ganache. At other times of the year, they produce “Gyoza Buns” made of ordinary bean paste. It’ll definitely confuse your senses!

The Japanesque Approach: “Sushi Chocolate.”

From America we just got this “Sushi Chocolate” - made from rice cookies and chocolate. It’s too nice to look at, we can’t eat it! The owner of Suedy’s Koo-ki Sushi in sunny San Jose California apparently came up with this idea for the “National Cookie Competition,” and you can buy a single piece or a whole assortment, together in traditional boxes. For Japanophiles only!

Cocoa And Alcohol? Try “Chocolate Beer.”

Next up, we have a formidable chocolate-flavoured beer with the slightly bittersweet aroma of cacao, brewed from the special chocolate malt grain. And yes, it may be chocolate flavoured - but it’s definitely not sweet. This limited edition beverage from Sankt Gallen Brewery is only sold during Valentine season, so unfortunately online sales for this year have already finished. Make sure you remember this one for next year!

A Collaboration between Tradition and Design, “Chocolate Natto”

If you have ever tried natto, you know you will either love or hate this next one: Chocolate Natto is a collaboration between Taku Satoh, who held an exhibition at Art Tower Mito, and the manufacturer of Mito natto, Daruma Foods. This natto coated with chocolate and packed in a traditional straw bag comes in four flavours: plain, ginger, cinnamon and clove. It’s definitely something for you if you love both natto and design!

“Chocolate Beer” marketed by Sankt Gallen Brewery. Unfortunately, it’s all sold out for this year…

“Chocolate Natto” from Daruma Foods comes in a nice traditional straw bag.

Argh! “Beetle Larvae Chocolate!”

Akita-based confectioner Komatsuya Honten came up with something, well, special for Valentine’s Day: A 4,5 cm beetle larvae made of chocolate flake bodies gently coated with white chocolate. It was originally developed as a one-off event product, but since it became available on the shop’s web site, it’s been so popular that it’s now sold out until April. We don’t care about Valentine’s Day anymore but we want one!

Poo, finally! “Sacred Deer’s Droppings Chocolate.”

In Japan, Nara Park is famous for herds of wild Sika deer that are considered sacred messengers of God – but still they leave a lot of droppings on this earth. These might be auspicious too… The “Sacred Deer’s Droppings Chocolate” by Kubota Shoten has now joined the ranks of favourite souvenirs of Nara, and regardless of whom you plan to give it to, this is a must-have when visiting Nara!

A slightly bizarre line-up, but nevertheless delicious! Since some of the items are already sold out for this year, try to make make a note for next year’s Valentine’s!

15 Comments

1. Letterpress chocolates at http://typolade.de

   Posted by: olga on February 12th, 2008 at 8:36 pm

2. How cool!
   In the Netherlands they make such things of marzipan.
   but I like the chocolate better by the way.

   Posted by: Rudianto on February 12th, 2008 at 8:38 pm

3. …

   They should call it ‘Chokonomiyaki’

   …

   Posted by: lindfors on February 13th, 2008 at 3:21 am

4. I wish my girl gets me that chocolate beer. It is sold out so I’m sure she got it or else it’s splitsville for us ;)

   Posted by: Siggy on February 13th, 2008 at 4:11 pm

5. [...] PingMag - The Tokyo-based magazine about “Design and Making Things” » Archive » Valentine’s … Japanese novelty chocolates (tags: chocolate Japan cool) daily links | 13 February 2008 at 9:23 am | RSS « The Thames path, Isle of Dogs to London Bridge [...]

   Posted by: Heraclitean Fire — Links on February 13th, 2008 at 6:23 pm

6. [...] images via PingMag. [...]

   Posted by: Arctic Oak » Blog Archive » The Japanese on Chocolates on February 14th, 2008 at 1:42 am

7. those deer dropping things aren’t that new. they have ‘em in canada too.
   hey. are those chocolate grubs? mmm.. they look delicious.

   Posted by: shirtwearer on February 14th, 2008 at 8:01 am

8. niceee articles for valentine!!!!!!!
   and iwant that choconomiyaki!!!!!

   Posted by: plue on February 14th, 2008 at 11:30 am

9. [...] PingMag has an amazing roundup of bizarre and wonderful chocolates from Japan. I’m drooling over the gyoza stuffed with bean paste and chocolate ganache. They say: Valentine’s Day is upon us, again. Now in Japan, the custom of women giving chocolate to men on this day has been quite strongly established: Thanks to clever marketing campaigns, the girls have to buy a lot at special items at department stores across the country. There, you find all sorts of cacao temptations, from luxury truffles by chocolatiers to “all-you-can-pack” types. So if you want to impress the boy next door you have been eyeing for a while, PingMag recommends you to get some very special, uniquely shaped chocolate that might leave an impact… [...]

   Posted by: Craft Paper Online Blog » Blog Archive » Bizarre Chocolate from PingMag on February 14th, 2008 at 3:23 pm

10. [...] chocolatiers plutôt que les fleuristes ! Pour celà, le magazine japonais PingMag nous propose des chocolat “bizarre”. Il s’agit en réalité d’une coutume japonaise qui veut que la femme offre des [...]

    Posted by: Innovablog > C’est la St Valentin ! Mettez toutes les chances de votre côté ! on February 14th, 2008 at 8:37 pm

11. Had a lot of fun. Thank you for the article and pics ))))

    Posted by: Black Rooster on February 20th, 2008 at 11:15 am

12. [...] Frau ihrem Angebeteten Schokolade in irgendeiner Form. Ein paar ausgefallene Kreationen kann man im Artikel vom PingMag [...]

    Posted by: wakuwaku » Blog Archiv » Schokoladiges on February 21st, 2008 at 8:56 pm

13. There’s also this one:
    canoe birch trunk chocolate

    Posted by: clara on March 6th, 2008 at 4:21 pm

14. تلحس طيزي يا ابن الشرموطة

    Posted by: كس امكم on May 16th, 2008 at 3:13 am

15. I’m in Japan at the moment and here women gives guys chocolate but guys can give women “reverse chocolate” its all very confusing
    http://japansugoi.com/wordpress/valentines-day-is-reverse-in-japan

    Posted by: gerry on February 13th, 2009 at 6:15 pm

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