[Morinaga] Mow (Vanilla & Chocolate Ice Cream)

(Mou banira & koi chokoreeto | Mow Vanilla & Deep Chocolate)

General Description

It's Mow (pronounced with a long o)! I think this is the first time we had a product with a non-descriptive name. It's a cup of ice cream! Well, technically only the vanilla one is ice cream; the chocolate one is "ice milk."

In Japan, there are 3 categories of "ice cream": "ice cream" is made with at least 15% milk solids and 8% milk fat, "ice milk" is made with at least 10% milk solids and 3% milk fat, and "lacto ice" is made with at least 3% milk solids. I thought the distinction is interesting because in Canada, we separate it into "ice cream" (made with cream and has at least 10% milk fat), "frozen yogurt" (made with cultured milk), and "frozen dessert" (made with non-milk fats).

Getting back to the products themselves, these are only 2 of Mow's flavours. Interestingly, the deep chocolate is labeled as a limited flavour. Perhaps it is special because 100% of the cocoa mass used is from Ecuador, I'm not sure. Mow advertises that if you eat about 1/4 of the cup then mix the rest of the ice cream, you'll get soft serve ice cream! I usually do that with my ice cream anyways, but I'll see if it's any different with Mow.

It's been a while since I've had ice cream, so let's jump in!

Review

Price

108 JPY (1 140ml cup)

Taste

The chocolate is rich and creamy. It's not bitter but it has that strong chocolate taste. It's just sweet enough.

As for the vanilla, I'm happily surprised. I usually don't like vanilla ice cream because it taste like bland, sugary ice. But this one has a strong, slightly sweet vanilla taste.

Neither flavour is icy or bland at all.

Texture

It's soft and creamy. If you mix it so that it becomes "soft serve" ice cream, it holds together well. It's thick, smooth, and creamy. It doesn't have that grainy texture that some ice creams have.

Smell

There's no strong smell.

Overall

It's reeeaaally good while not being too sweet. It's high quality like Häagen-Dazs but only a fraction of the price. It's a good portion size too. And I like the cup designs! It makes me feel fancy. If you are craving ice cream, this is perfect.

Would I try again?

Yes! I want to try the other flavours!