These look like quite the varied batch of snacks to make! The star of it of course is the taiyaki, a fish shaped pastry kinda like a waffle, with the filling of your choice (in this case chocolate). From there other Japanese desserts seem to be included: strawberry daifuku, a cup of ramune, and mitarashi dango, which appears to be soy sauced glazed mochi. And it uses the microwave, which is different. Not sure if that's because the products are meant to be eaten hot or because the microwave cooks the various powder/water mixtures.
6 packets! That's overwhelming, but also exciting because that likely means no flavors are shared between all these treats like in past DIY kits. Also a nice touch is that everything came in a bag, which is then used as the serving plate! More DIY kits should do this. Thankfully there aren't too many molds to work with, just the taiyaki, a long one, and circular one.
First step was to make the strawberry jelly with the mix and water. This blended together really well, and had the most wonderful strawberry smell! Also I was a bit bummed that the pick seemed to be the stirring utensil of choice (at least for this one since the slot was too small for a spoon, but it worked well enough. Next up was the rice cakes for the daifuku and mango, which was a combination of mixing, kneading, and then dividing into sections. This had a very accurate rice smell! Actually glad to know they're going for accuracy here and not just substituting in a sweet flavor.
The taiyaki was the biggest surprise so far of this kit because it seems to be actual taiyaki batter in the packet! It smells like the part and even seemed to develop into a batter like consistency when stirred, and then you bake it in the microwave, into actual cake! This actually puts my tail into overdrive how good it smells.
For the finishing touches, there's the chocolate sauce, and the mitarashi sauce. Both get mixed and put onto their respective components. It was a little difficult to fold the daifuku because I did not realize it had to be more of a long rectangular shape to go over the jelly strawberry, but it'll taste good regardless! Also the mochi balls squeezed together a bit as I skewered them with a pick which was disappointing, but same thing there. The ramune fizzed as I put the water in. So far looks like they pulled out all the stops here!
First up the dango. It is definitely sweeter than I expected, I went for it first to be the "savory" pick, but it is a quite pleasant sweetness! I still get the rice and soy sauce tastes in there, but with the inviting sweetness of desserts, I don't understand how it should work but it does. After that I tried the ramune, which to my liking didn't fizz too much and had that wonderful taste that I've grown to love from numerous hard candies. Despite the drink having a lighter tone, no shortage of flavor. Next up the daifuku, I'm in heaven! I've always loved these kind of treats, but usually they have either one or the other with strawberry or chocolate, and this one has both! The jelly has one of the most vibrant strawberry flavors I've had in a while, and the chocolate cream is top notch too. It all goes together so well and is amazingly delightful. The taiyaki continues that train! The pastry has a very rich and sweet taste to it, and goes so well with the chocolate sauce, which by itself would be a delight, and is a wonderful finish for this miniature pup feast.
This kit was both an absolute delight to make and eat, even though I was hastily pawing and panting the whole way waiting to taste everything. The eating part paid off too, as I get some of the best flavors I've had in a DIY kit, let alone Japanese candy. This is definitely the DIY kit to get. Everything here was so perfect.
Rating: 10 - AWOOOOOOO!
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