Royce Ishigakijima ロイズ石垣島 Part I : Black Sugar, Chilli and Sweet Potatoes

As a typical kiasu Singaporean foodie, I must admit that limited edition goods can make me go crazy sometimes, especially if it is Royce Chocolates.

Royce Japan actually has a sister brand known as Royce Ishigakijima. Its series of goods are only available in Okinawan airports and some Okinawan souvenir shops (I wondered why it did not cross my mind to buy them when I visited Okinawa 2 years ago)

 

Anyway, never did Royce Ishigakijima appear at any of the Hokkaido fairs in Tokyo until a recent Hokkaido fair in May 2014. Everything, yes...ALL the products featured on the catalogue were available and so I couldn't wait to get my hands on as many as I could carry.

Salted Chocolate Potato Chips (made with Ishigaki's famous salt).

I wasn't sure if I had made the right decision to buy this because once the bag inside was opened, I couldn't stop! This is by far the BEST Royce potato chips as the chocolate taste is balanced by the salt.

This Karinto Chocolate is not the usual greasy kinds in the market. Coated in smooth glossy chocolate that is blended with kokutou produced on Iriomote Island and Kohama Island, every single stick is fresh, crunchy and of the perfect thickness.

Somehow, the kokutou black sugar released a kind of magically dark, earthy molasses flavour that made these deep-fried dough sticks very appealing and addictive.

I never took notice of the word "Togarashi" (Mini dried Chilli) as I bought it straightaway after seeing the word "Cookie". These turned out to be savoury as Okinawan's Chilli, capsicum and some other spices have been blended into the dough.

Plus, it contains CHEESE! And what a clever idea for Royce to have this one and only savoury snack as they become the ideal stuff to eat if one turns bored or sick of the sweet chocolates.

Royce already has a regular Chocoman (Manju filled with chocolate red bean paste) but this Kokutoh version surpassed the excellency of its predecessor. It is made with the black sugar from 山重山.
Not only is molasses flavour distinct, there is a chocolate cream center that turns not gooey but sticky after I popped it in the microwave for 20 seconds (disclaimer: reheating the manju is a personal favourite method of enjoying the manju :P)

I wished they can invent some sweet potato Nama chocolates because the Sweet Potato Crunch is really big, fresh and satisfyingly crunchy!!

Looks small but each one is really tough to tackle in one mouthful!

And speaking about Royce Nama chocolates, there is of course the Okinawan limited edition. So stay tune for the Royce Okinawan Part 2:)

ROYCE ISHIGAKIJIMA ロイズ石垣島
Various Stores in Okinawa, including Shin-Ishigaki Airport, Naba Airport and stores in Ishigaki City
http://shop.royce-ishigakijima.com/i-shop/top.pasp?to=tp