Ikinari Dango Kit Kat

What an interesting looking Kit Kat! It's themed after a Japanese dessert consisting of mochi filled with sweet potato and red bean. That sounds like a wonderful combination and I'd like to scarf some of those down right now, but at least I have the next best thing right here. It also features Kumamon on the package, what a cute bear! I bet he'd like some of this too.

True to the source material, this Kit Kat has a white exterior. It also smells very strongly of sweet potato, almost too strongly. I don't get any other flavor so it's a very "raw" smell, almost savory. I wonder if the red bean is lurking inside somewhere?

The taste definitely contains a few other things besides sweet potato. The most noticeable thing is the mochi part which just comes across as creamy and soft, without too much of any other flavor. Maybe it's because it's actually flavored like mochi, or maybe it's just some very light white chocolate. There is definitely some red bean in there too, though it's not extremely noticeable first, just comes across as a cushion of sweet earthiness. The sweet potato portion like the smell is quite raw tasting, so if you love sweet potato you'll love this. But if you're on the fence, it doesn't offer too much else besides that sweet potato sensation. Unlike a lot of other snacks, I do actually feel like this could use a bit of extra sweetness.

Rating: 6 - Aruff!

Ginbis Yogurt Ginza Rusk

Ginbis, my old friend. Haven't had anything from you for a while. The strawberry ginza rusk from a few boxes back was a nice treat, and this time for the summer I have this cooling yogurt flavor. Sounds just perfect! And now that I know what rusk is from the other rusk snack in this box, I'll have a better understanding and appreciation for the texture. Already the cream drizzling onto the toast cubes on the package looks so tantalizing. And it has lactic acid to help with digestion!

The first thing I notice about these is they seem to have a slightly squishier texture than the other ginza rusk. Not by much, but I definitely noticed it pulling these out of the bag, there's just a bit more give to these and they feel denser than the other one. The yogurt flavor is very nice too, more on the tangy side, exemplified by the herb shown on the bowl of yogurt in the package.

Though the first thing I notice eating this is that it does in fact have a nice bit of sweetness. And then after that I still get the more tangy aftertaste. It almost does seem like an herb or something, but I really can't tell too much myself. This makes it a very well balanced yogurt flavor: yogurt has both sweet and savory applications and this seems to highlight them both together. The texture as I expected is also crunchy, but less so than similar snacks. It feels like there's some moisture in this as well, and since this is yogurt flavored, that blends quite well. It has this nice creamy consistency going down too, like that extra bit of moisture in it helps the whole thing melt in your mouth.

If I had any complaint with this it's that it's too one-note. Yogurt is great but I feel like it needs another flavor, it would be great alongside strawberry or blueberry. Maybe blueberry since that's rarely seen in Japanese snacks. Still though, very solid snack and the extra digestive benefits are well appreciated for my next feast!

Rating: 7 - Aroof!

Melon Cream Soda Chips

This... has to be one of the most bizarre flavor combinations I've ever seen. Melon cream soda sure, chips sure, but together? What a combination that is. I can't even imagine how this would work, but it very well could work. Although salty and sweet combinations haven't worked well for Japanese chips just far. Maybe this could be the one to break the trend?

The very first sniff of this bag is a shocker, because these chips do in fact smell just like melon cream soda. I would've definitely failed a blind smell test on these for sure, but I think the rest of my pack would've too. While these look normal, almost like Lays, the smell suggests that they are anything but.

Biting into these chips continues to be a confusing experience. Now I get the texture and salt and potato flavor, but the melon soda flavor is still there in droves. It almost has a fizzy taste to it but I can't tell if that's the cream soda mixing with the salt or actual intentional fizz. In short the taste experience for this one is almost magical, like this flavor should not be able to be combined with this texture. The melon cream soda flavor that is there is nice, the melon comes out nicely and it's not overwhelmingly sweet. I wouldn't exactly say it mixes well with the salt, but the two somehow find a way to coexist. You get the salty potato chip, but also the melon cream soda, and they don't really interfere with each other and you choose which one to focus on. That can turn eating these chips into quite the interactive experience. I don't think it's going to become a hit anytime soon, but I'm pretty impressed at how this concept worked!

Rating: 6 - Aruff!