Maybe I’m childish, but Asse has got to be one of the worst and/or funniest names for chocolate candy that I have come across yet (though Crunky and “Must Be Sexy” are pretty funny too). Asse is a Japanese candy made by Morinaga. It comes in a pack of 18 pieces that are shaped like Andes mints only a little larger. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the package because the picture on the package looks a bit like peanut butter in the center. It turns out it’s a nougat-like candy like a 3 Musketeers or Milky Way only a little drier. It’s got a faint flavor I can’t quite make out though – almost malty. The chocolate is a darker chocolate than most candies have so it’s just a little bitter (but tasty). I really liked the Asse a lot – it’s good stuff. My wife tried it too and didn’t like it at all. (Yeah, yeah – fill in your own joke here).
You can also now get Asse in a new flavor – Strawberry & Mocha. Sounds tasty. I was really hoping Asse would taste bad so I could say Asse tastes like ass (or it tastes like its name), but it’s pretty darn good. I guess Asse is the chocolate candy that doesn’t taste like ass. Let’s see them put that in their ad campaign! There are a ton of good jokes/puns about Asse chocolate candy – please feel free to post your own Asse joke in the comments section. Oh yeah – here’s another – you can buy Asse online for $2.60.
More pics of my Asse
Buy some Asse
Morinaga website (in Japanese)
The Japanese text on the package indicates the pronunciation is “ah-ssay” (the ay sound is short). Perhaps it comes from the name of the Belgian city.
On the other hand, “ah-say” with a short ay and single s is “sweat” in Japanese, so the name carries its own risks in the Japanese market.
RESPONSE: Yeah – that’s actually how I have been pronouncing it around the house. :) Hmmm….ass or sweat – not a very good choice.
January 23rd, 2006 at 12:47 am–Brian
i happen to live close to ‘asse’ in belgium, and I can assure you there is no significant chocolate activity going on there, besides the regular pralines…
January 23rd, 2006 at 9:02 amThe Japanese pronunciation is also quite different, the belgian city is pronounced ‘ass-uh’
Geert, I think the Japanese chocolate makers/marketers are more interested in creating names evocative of foreign places than concerning themselves with such trivialities as whether the name is actually apropos to the place…
ass-uh would also be hard to render in Japanese as there’s no exact equivalent sound… the Japanese pronunciation of “Ice cream” is about 7 syllables long for a similar reason.
January 23rd, 2006 at 12:00 pm“more pics of my asse” and buy asse online is the funniest thing i have ever seen. they should sell tshirts of their candy. old retro style.
RESPONSE: I thought it was pretty funny when I wote it :)
January 25th, 2006 at 12:31 am–Brian
that’s quite good, but i’ve seen funnier. theres a rolo-style sweet available in cyprus called Plop-plop and in my local specialist sweet shop here in the U.K they have a japanese sweet caled Colon, a cream filled tubular confection.
RESPONSE:I’ve heard of Colon. Haven’t heard of Plop-Plop – that’s funny. Send me some pics!!! (I still think Asse is funnier)
March 31st, 2006 at 11:43 am–Brian
[...] I thought Asse was the worst name for a chocolate candy, then I find this. [...]
April 10th, 2006 at 6:22 pm[...] Asse [...]
May 11th, 2006 at 9:32 pmHi,
maybe the Japanese borrowed a word from German here, because in German “Ass” means “ace”, so “Asse” is “aces”. Just a thought…
RESPONSE: Good theory!
August 11th, 2006 at 2:41 am–Brian