Ryuji Rates 10 Kaldi Picks from Kaldi Fan Koyuki Sugasawa as Drinking Snacks

Although Koyuki said she would focus on lesser-known products, she started with the staple Kazuchi (Ihara Suisan) "as a kind of greeting." According to Koyuki, it is no exaggeration to call it the product that made Kaldi famous, and anyone who goes to Kaldi knows it. Ryuji couldn't remember whether he had ever eaten it.

When opened, it smells of herring roe, and the cross-section shows a pattern of roe kneaded into it. After tasting it, Ryuji said, "The cheese isn't the star," describing it as essentially herring roe with the cheese merely holding it together. It is pleasantly salty, and the texture of the roe remains. The two agreed that simply bringing it to a drinking party would make you a hero.

The rating was S. Ryuji's only concern was the price, but he judged it to be just within the range where it's worth buying. He also cited the fact that it can't be recreated at home as a reason for the high rating. Since the very first "jab" earned an S, the two were surprised at how high the bar was this time.

The second item was "Wine de Rusk Uni-jan," which can be eaten straight from the package. Last time they had featured the Gorgonzola flavor, and Koyuki chose a different flavor out of trust in the same series. It was a time of year with many New Year products, and the sea urchin flavor was apparently on the shelves as part of that.

As for the aroma, Ryuji said the smell of toasted bread and butter was stronger than the sea urchin. The sea urchin didn't seem to be kneaded in but rather spread on the surface and baked. When you bite into it, the flavor of sea urchin butter spreads all at once, and Koyuki described it as "a flavor that concentrates only the good parts of sea urchin." Ryuji said this is a product you should eat after getting the wine ready, and he also praised its overall balance.

The rating was A+. Ryuji's judgment was that it is very tasty, but in terms of how impressive the flavor is, it falls a step short of the earlier Kazuchi. That said, he noted that it offers very good value and is well suited to occasions where a lot of people are drinking wine.

The third item was bacon that can be eaten raw: Tanzaku Raw Bacon Slices. Ryuji was surprised that bacon you can eat raw is sold at all. Koyuki used it to make a "legal yukhoe" on the spot.

The recipe was to crack an egg onto the raw bacon and top it with garlic powder, olive oil, and black pepper. Koyuki explained that tube garlic also works, but she prefers garlic powder because its aroma isn't too strong. The olive oil she used was expensive; when asked to guess the price, Ryuji answered "about 5,000 yen," and he was right.

After breaking everything up, mixing it, and eating it, Ryuji immediately exclaimed "Delicious," and compared it to "carbonara I ate in Italy." He also judged the use of garlic powder a success. The conclusion was that you can tweak it with other ingredients, but you should try it in this form first. The rating was the first SS of the episode; when Koyuki asked, "What's SS?", Ryuji answered that it's above S.

The fourth item was nori butter. Ryuji thought it looked close to tsukudani. At Koyuki's request, they tried it spread generously on a baguette toasted at 300 degrees.

While they prepared it, Koyuki talked about how she enjoys Kaldi. Buying and eating things is of course fun, but she said just walking around the store is fun even without buying anything. It's a way of spending time like having coffee at a café—just taking a little stroll around Kaldi. She said she spent two hours choosing the products for this episode, which surprised Ryuji. According to Koyuki, the displays are also part of the appeal: the shelves are divided by country, and there's a section for Korean products. Ryuji said he had never looked that closely.

After tasting it, Koyuki praised it for the butter not being too strong and for the pleasant aroma that comes through the nose. Ryuji described it as nori tsukudani with a butter flavor on top, saying it's moreish and the second bite tastes better than the first.

The rating was A. Ryuji said he personally would like the butter to come through a bit more, citing the fact that it tasted closer to tsukudani. Koyuki agreed on this point. Still, it pairs well with bread, and he considered it a product with plenty of room for creative use.

The fifth item, Aged Nukazuke Base, is a rice bran pickling bed in a tube. You just squeeze the bran out of the tube, rub it on vegetables, and wrap them in plastic wrap or put them in a bag to make nukazuke. Ryuji had never heard of this product.

Koyuki had pickled cucumber and avocado in advance and brought them along. The avocado was meant to pair with wine, and she explained that because it softens when pickled in bran, the trick is to choose one that isn't overripe. Ryuji was first impressed that the cucumber had the proper softness of nukazuke.

After eating the cucumber, the two were amazed that it was completely genuine nukazuke, hard to believe it was made with a tube base. As for the avocado, Ryuji said the umami becomes concentrated and it turns almost like cheese, calling it "insanely delicious." He also said putting it in a tube was a great idea and wondered why no such product had existed until now. They also said it was of a quality that could be served in a restaurant. Ryuji even remarked that this episode might be better than the last one.

The rating was SS. Ryuji described it as "a revolution in the making." He said that even as a culinary researcher, he had never thought of making nukazuke himself, but with this he could, and he thanked Koyuki.

The sixth item was "Edible Nut Sauce Asian Hot Flavor." Koyuki emphasized that Kaldi carries seasonings from all over the world and chose this product as an example of something that isn't just Japanese or Western. It contains a variety of nuts and is like an Asian version of taberu rayu (edible chili oil), with a slight spicy kick.

After eating it on chilled tofu, Ryuji detected the aroma of coriander and guessed that it might also contain makrut lime leaves. His assessment was that it isn't a Thai-style flavor toned down for Japanese palates, but one that "really goes for it" with its seasoning.

Ryuji thought that since the flavor is strong, it should go well with grilled chicken, and he mentioned a Thai-style dish. Koyuki said she had never paired it with meat. When they actually tried it with meat, both were surprised at how authentic it tasted, going so far as to say that if you combined it with cilantro you could open a Thai restaurant. Ryuji recommended that Thai food lovers give it a try.

The rating is hard to make out from the subtitles, but appears to be A+. It can also be tossed with cilantro or onions, and the verdict was that it pairs particularly well with meat.

For the seventh item, latiao, Koyuki first admitted that she had never eaten it herself. She said she chose it because she was so curious about it, and that Kaldi offers encounters like this. The package had text to the effect that you won't stop sweating and you won't be able to stop eating. Koyuki herself only knew that it seemed to be a Chinese snack, and the two opened it without being able to imagine what was inside.

When they tried it, it was spicy, but not unbelievably so. It had a chewy texture unlike anything they had eaten before, and tasted of malatang-type spices. Ryuji compared the texture to "a soggy potato chip stretched out long." They concluded that the taste itself was not as bad as they had expected, but it was hard to rate.

The rating was B. Koyuki explained that this was the slot where she wanted Ryuji to take on a challenge with her, and Ryuji replied that he had no complaints. Its true nature remained unclear, and the segment closed with a call for viewers to try it once and share their impressions.

The eighth item was "Asari-chan for Anything." It is a clam product that can be used in pasta, pilaf, ajillo, and more, seasoned with garlic and parsley. Koyuki handled the cooking, finishing the dish simply by adding the entire Asari-chan, seasoning liquid and all, to pasta boiled in salted water. Ryuji noticed that it contains big, chunky pieces of clam meat.

After eating it, Ryuji said the clam flavor was rich, like "a ridiculously delicious restaurant vongole bianco." He even suggested that the clam flavor might be richer than when made with fresh clams. His assessment was that it works as a pasta sauce—as an ultra-premium pasta sauce, even.

It is hard to make out from the subtitles, but the rating appears to be S. Ideas for using it included mixing it into warm rice to make pilaf, stir-frying it for an instant drinking snack, and putting it on a baguette.

The ninth item was Kaldi's original Brandy Marron. It was chosen as something sweet that isn't quite a dessert but can also serve as a drinking snack.

Upon seeing the product, Ryuji confessed that he can't eat chestnuts, and can't eat Mont Blanc either. He said he would try it anyway, and they talked about the possibility that, as with the nukazuke, he might have become able to eat them over the years. It looked more like plain chestnuts than he had imagined, resembling Tianjin roasted chestnuts. Ryuji then realized that he can actually eat Tianjin roasted chestnuts.

When he actually ate it, he was surprised, saying "Delicious," and concluded that what he dislikes is not chestnuts themselves but the combination of chestnuts and cream. It is not too sweet, and the brandy aroma isn't sharp. He said you could easily enjoy drinks with this.

The rating was A+. Its relatively low price was also noted, and Ryuji said it's a sweet treat that drinkers would appreciate too.

The tenth and final item was butter-flavored popcorn of the kind you heat in its bag, which can also be found in supermarkets. Ryuji said it had been more than 20 years since he last had it and was surprised that it's still sold in supermarkets. Koyuki said she always buys it at the supermarket, and Ryuji called her a "hardcore popcorn fan."

When heated, it began to make popping sounds, and they proceeded following Koyuki's instruction that it's better to shake it. The two got excited each time. Koyuki said Kaldi is a store that entertains you, and that having something like this is perfect for times when people gather, such as the year-end and New Year holidays.

Eating it fresh, Ryuji was surprised that it didn't need salt and that piping-hot popcorn could be this good. He said the saltiness was just right. The amount was just right for watching a movie alone, and other uses came up, such as making it on a grill at a campsite or barbecue, with no equipment needed. The rating appears to be S from the subtitles, and the two remarked on how unusually many S ratings came out that day.

To sum up, Ryuji said the clear winner this time was the nukazuke base, and Koyuki agreed. Ryuji said you'd better buy it before the video goes up or it will sell out, that he wants several tubes, and half-jokingly declared his ambition to turn everything in the world into nukazuke—he'd even pickle eggs. Koyuki replied that just thinking about whether something could be pickled is fun in itself.

Ryuji reflected that the previous episode was very good too, but this one surpassed it, and closed the video by urging viewers to pick up the nukazuke base at their nearest Kaldi.