Convenience store chain wants us to bite into paw pads and cat tails in this limited-edition 17-piece collection.
In Japan, cats are held in such high regard that they even have their own day dedicated to them, with 22 February known as Cat Day, due to the way the numbers “ni ni ni” (“two, two, two”) sound like “nyan nyan nyan” (“meow meow meow”).
While it’s an ideal day to spoil your special fur babies, it’s also a day to treat yourself to the healing powers of cute cats, and convenience store chain Family Mart has some of the cutest products around, thanks to its annual “Family Nyart Daisakusen” (“Family Nyart Major Campaign”).
Now in its fourth year, the campaign is set to begin on 10 February, and this time there are 17 products to choose from. We were lucky enough to receive 13 of the products from the chain for a preview tasting, so join us as we dive into the sweets to find out if they look just as good on the inside as they do on the outside.
▼ Let’s start with one of the cutest of the bunch, the Strawberry Chocolate Tart (248 yen [US$1.58])
As is often the case with convenience store sweets, the English description on the packaging leaves a lot to be desired when compared to the Japanese description. The Japanese here reads “Nikkyu Tart“, or “Paw Pad Tart”, which is a lot cuter than “Strawberry Chocolate Tart”, and when you take it out of its packaging, the delightfully spongy paw pad is there to greet you in the form of strawberry mousse. When you eventually bring yourself to slice into it, you’ll find a smooth chocolate custard within, making for a treat that’s cute, delicious, and definitely worth trying.
▼ Mofusand Wafframe (250 yen)
Like many of the products in the collection, this one features popular “Mofusand” cat characters created by illustrator Juno, who’s been contributing to the campaign every year. You’ll find one of 10 different designs in the white waffle “Wafframe” frame, which is delectably chewy and filled with custard-flavoured cream. With one of 12 original stickers also included in the pack, this a treat you’ll want to come back to, time and time again.
▼ Sweet Buns with Caramel Bean Paste (195 yen for the two)
The Japanese name for this sweet pair is “Futago no Neko Manju” (“Twin Cat Manju“), and it’s a very cute take on the traditional Japanese sweet, which can be steamed or baked and is known for its soft, cake-like texture and sweet bean paste filling. These manju, moulded in the shape of cat faces, contain a delicious caramel-flavoured filling.
▼ Smooth Red Bean Paste Dorayaki (211 yen)
Dorayaki are traditional Japanese sweets with a sweet bean paste filling and a similar taste and texture to pancakes. This one gets the cat’s paw of approval, and with a chewy mochi hiding in the centre of the filling, it gets our approval too.
▼ Sweet Potato (198 yen)
The Japanese name of this sweet is Paw Pad Sweet Potato, which is yet again far more intriguing than the chain’s English translation. Whatever you call it though, it’s a delicious paw filled with the comforting flavour of sweet potatoes, and a texture that’s on par with expensive Japanese sweets.
▼ Caramel & Milk Cookie (145 yen)
If we’re to go by its Japanese name, “Nyanko no Cookie Cyanyamel Milk Aji“, this is not a caramel and milk cookie, it’s a cyanyamel milk cookie. With “aji” meaning flavour, “nyanko” being a cute name for “cat”, like “kitty”, and variations on “nya” referring to a cat’s meow, this is a cookie with a lot of taste, and a lot of cute imagery.
▼ Shippo Mitai na Cyaramel Cream Sando (178 yen)
It’s interesting to note that some of the products don’t have English printed on them, which is a shame as we’d like to see this one with its literal translation of “Cyaramel Cream Sandwich that Looks like a Tail“. If you’ve ever wanted to bite into the tiger-striped tail of a tabby cat, this one will satisfy your cravings, with a wonderfully soft texture, a milky dough, and a sweet caramel paste centre.
▼ Happy Nyan (186 yen)
A feline twist on Happy Turn, one of Japan’s most popular snacks, the Happy Meow comes in corn potage flavour., with four cute cat packages to choose from.
▼ Ramuneko Hi-Chew (257 yen)
This catified Hi-Chew pack contains two flavours: “Ramuneko“, a play on Japan’s iconic ramune, a non-alcoholic lemonade-like soda, and “Muskyatto Soda”, which blends muscat grape with the “nya” sound of a cat’s meow.
▼ Nyanja Meshi Hagane (183 yen)
This is another cat takeover of a famous Japanese product, in this case “Ninja Meshi Hagane” (“Ninja Steel Meal”), a line of ultra-hard gummies with an intensely chewy, long-lasting, steel-like texture. The ninja warrior character synonymous with this range is joined on the pack by “Nyanja” or “Kitty Ninjas” for a cute take on the sweet, with kitty motifs appearing on chewy, peach-flavoured gummies.
▼ Gogo no Kocha Oishii Mutou Ice Tea (170 yen)
A Mofusand character brings kitty cuteness to Kirin’s Gogo no Kocha (“Afternoon Tea”), but this one is “Oishii Mutou” (“Delicious Unsweetened”), presumably because the cute cat provides all the sweetness you need.
▼ Kuroneko Terrine Chocolat (248 yen)
Black cats are the inspiration for this rich, dark, chocolate terrine, which has the taste and texture of a ganache chocolate so good it’ll make you purr like a kitty.
▼ Cookies & Cream Omelet (298 yen)
Known as Kuroneko no Omelet (“Kuroneko’s Omelet”) in Japanese, this is a dream collaboration with Yamato Transport, Japan’s leading door-to-door delivery service company. Known colloquially as “Kuroneko” (“Black Cat“) due to its black cat logo, Yamato Transport has thrown its support behind the Family Mart campaign by collaborating on this special creation, which consists of a fluffy cocoa omelette with a cocoa crunch cream, topped with the Yamato’s Kuroneko and Shironeko (“White Cat”) characters.
▼ There are also Mofusand ice creams in the lineup, priced at 960 yen each, and if you buy two of them you’ll receive one of these free acrylic charms.
The other items in the range are a whipped cream and bean paste sandwich (178 yen), and a sacoche and brownie set (2,220 yen) and tissue box (368 yen) adorned in cat designs by popular illustrator Coony. You’ll be able to find those in Family Mart stores around Japan when the collection kicks off on 10 February, and with a portion of sales from the campaign being donated to the Japan Animal Welfare Association, this is a very sweet way to show our love for the feline community on Cat Day.
Related: Family Mart
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