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!

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!

Tonkatsu Sauce Umaibo

With all the weird umaibos out there, this one actually seems like one of the more standard ones for me, or for anyone familiar with Japanese. Tonkatsu sauce normally goes on panko friend chicken or pork cutlets, and often steals the show with it's wonderful tangy sweetness. Instead this time the base of course is not meat but puffed corn instead, so we'll see if this sauce is a one trick pony or great with anything.

As tends to happen with umaibos, this one crushed in the bag! But while the appearance is compromised, the smell is not. The lovely smell of tonkatsu sauce wafts from the package, and I know then that this is going to be the real deal. The appearance is about the color I'd expect from tonkasu sauce, the dark brown that signals really good flavor is about to go down.

The flavor of the sauce, even dulled down by the corn, is rather strong. It's a lovely flavor, but here it comes on just a little too strong, like tonkatsu bullets straight into my yap. Those are some nice bullets to get hit by though, if I had to choose any kind of bullet it would definitely be tonkatsu sauce, yes sir. The corn seemed like it was a good medium to dull down the flavor, but maybe for the first time ever with umaibos it feels like there isn't enough of it in proportion to the flavor here. Or maybe corn isn't the right medium. With meat there's a little more time spent chewing that maybe this needs, to really let the flavor seep in, but corn is softer so the sauce hits you all at once. Regardless of my criticisms, it's still tonkatsu sauce one of my favorite Japanese flavors, and this umaibo nails it spot-on. If you're a fan of tonkatsu or curious, then this snack has it in droves.

Rating: 6 - Aruff!

Mini Fried Dough Twist, Salty Shallot Flavor

Right up until the point I pulled out this snack today it seemed like an amazing idea. Mini fried dough twists? So basically a churro right? And I started wagging my tail in anticipation of this. But then... I saw in the left right corner "salty shallot flavor" and I tilted my head in confusion. These... don't seem like things that'll go together. But maybe it'll work anyways. I mean I definitely have more of a sweet tooth, so it's going to be a bit disappointing either way, but onion flavor snacks can be great, and this seems like it's taking it to a different form factor altogether.

Thankfully this Chinese company knows better than to leave a bunch of dough twists bumping into each other overseas, so they are packaged in threes within. They have a texture that's not soft, but not entirely crispy-hard either, somewhere in between. Basically they hold their shape. The smell as I expect is oniony, and very salty. This might be too much salt for me, but only one way to find out.

Each one definitely has a bite to it, enough to make it feel significant. It's about the texture of your average cereal once you bite of each piece with a satisfying pop. It is salty, but not unbearably so. Having the doughy interior there makes this hole thing work. It's a bit of a buttery taste too, which actually goes quite well with the salt and shallots. The shallots pack a punch, but the butter and dough manage to mellow that down to something that makes me not too overwhelmed eating it. This snack isn't anything mindblowing, although it could be if in bigger form with more quality ingredients. I could see these being similar to breadsticks, and the oniony flavor could certainly spice those up. For now though, just a nice little salty, oniony treat.

Rating: 6 - Aruff!

DIY Dino Island Pudding

RAWRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! Sorry, just have to get in the spirit here, as we're going back into prehistoric times where canines definitely weren't a thing. Sad days those were... but instead we have these giant (well, actually small green plastic) dinos roaming the earth. And what better surface to roam in than scrumptious pudding? At least I hope it's scrumptious. And hearty enough to satisfy my inner T-rex.

The contents here are surprisingly simple, just a mold, the two dinos, and packets for the pudding and sauce. Sadly the utensils needed, as well as the cup to mix the pudding in, nor the milk to mix the pudding with, is not included. Thankfully I have all the necessary things. But for those who don't and want to follow along, get them or you'll be disappointed.

I don't usually arrive at the final conclusion so early with these DIY kits, but alas there wasn't much to show in the middle. The steps basically are: mix the pudding powder with milk, microwave it, leave it in the fridge, and then pop it out of the tray and put the sauce and dino toys on top of it. Pretty straightforward, though I didn't know how long to leave it in the fridge. I left it in for an hour, maybe should've been two. As I can't read Japanese, who knows.

Despite being a little messy, the pudding is still delightfully eggy, with more richness as this one takes on a darker color than some of the other pudding I've had. I have conflicted feelings about the strawberry sauce though: well it seems like a nice idea, every bite I have with it completely masks the pudding flavor, and you know I wouldn't want that.  It's nice on its own though, a little oversweet. I find myself wanting more from even the pudding component though, it's nice but not with the depth and perfect balance of sweetness and richness that I'm used to. If anything it needs some more sweetness and a stronger pudding flavor to really draw out what makes this great. I do have to say this is a really nice concept. Visually one of the best DIYs and it's such a simple idea too.

Rating: 6 - Aruff!

Yaokin Apple Roll

While Japanese candy has introduced me to a lot of unique flavors in types of food, some of them can definitely be a little derivative. Take this one for instance, which seems to be the Japanese version of a fruit roll-up. Not that I'm complaining of course, as those can be plenty yummy with their soft-thin texture and vibrant flavor. Also this one is entirely apple, so it'll be interesting to see which route they take with the apple flavor, as there are a myriad of natural and artificial apple flavors out there.

At first glance, this seems to be much closer to Fruit by the Foot. It also is bright green just like the packaging and the strange looking apple character on the front. It could be color association but the smell seems similar to a green apple Jolly Rancher, so that's what I'm expecting, and 3-ish feet of that sounds quite fine to me!

The gummy is a bit tougher than I've expected and requires a bit of force to get off of the paper, but I guess that's how Fruit by the Foot is too, better than being a mess of gummy and paper in the packaging. The apple flavor is a bit more natural than the green apple flavor actually, which means it's not as much as an in-your-face flavor as a Jolly Rancher, but more subdued and refreshing. It's quite a welcome change. I do wish though that this had just a bit more flavor. As I go through the rest of the roll I'm always left a bit unsatisfied and wanting more, and that itch is never scratched even when it's gone. The roll also sticks to my teeth a bit more than I'd like it to. I like to keep these clean for hunts!

Rating: 6 - Aruff!

Dragon Ball Z Cheese Puffs

Another box, another cheesy snack. Though I always worry about these Japan seems to do them better justice than America, and maybe this one will continue the trend and go Super Saiyan, or bring up the snack power level to over 9000... yep, that's all I know about DBZ. It also comes with a card, which is a nice touch. I feel like all anime snacks should come with some sort of collectible, especially the ones that feel really underrated otherwise.

Already it seems like I'm in good hands getting a Goku card. These puffs smell very similar to the Umaiwa Cheese snack from last month's box, very much like cheese fondue, which is a very nice smell to have compared to many of the other cheese snacks out there. They may even be the same composition as Umaiwa Cheese, considering the description for this one mentions corn puffs as well.

One again, I get that nice cheesy fondue flavor tasting the puffs, and it mixes quite well with the puffed corn center. The cheese taste is very solid but not overwhelmingly strong, the corn puff does well to help dull it down. It actually seems to continue to be dull the more I eat, but then when I eat another one after a while all the cheesy flavor comes bacl. Very strange phenomenon... This cheese puff seems to do everything right, but it still doesn't seem like a snack I'd be itching to eat. The flavor is good but not outstanding, same with the texture. It doesn't go super saiyan for me, but it's at least a solidly good pick.

Rating: 6 - Aruff!

Pakkuncho Disney Custard Pudding Biscuits

Two pudding snacks in this month's TokyoTreat? Double the arooo! This also seems to be a limited edition snack so if I like it, better try it now while it's still around. There are also some nice Disney easter designs on thiese, this one with Donald... holding an egg with his tail? Maybe I could be the package mascot if I was able to do that, better get onto training.

Not only do the biscuits in side smell great but they have some great designs on them as well. I can only name two of the characters on these for sure, I think the top left is Peter Pan and the bottom right is Zazu? There must be a variety of designs on here for a more obscure character like Zazu to be on them, so kudos to Disney for the great variety. The pudding smell from these is absolutely tantalizing and onto of that a fresh baked cookie smell, mmm.

The custard filling in these cookies is a little more liquid than the other snack in this box which is always appreciated. Still not incredibly runny but enough to melt around the cookie in my mouth and create a great mix of flavors. The cookie also complements the custard well, having a little more substance to it. The custard flavor doesn't come out as much as I'd like it to though, and it feels like this snack is missing something... maybe a bit of caramel? Feels a bit empty, and after eating all of these, I don't feel very satisfied. They also have a very dry taste. That being said, this is still pudding and delicious cookie flavor with a satisfying crunch, but it could be so much more.

Rating: 6 - Aruff!

Umaiwa Cheese

The name of this snack sounds similar to Umaibo, and for good reason - it's made by the same company, and with the same corn puff filling, only this time, it's multiple smaller pieces and in a bag. And certainly not because they got broken up in shipping this time. I'm not usually the biggest fan of cheese snacks myself, but maybe this one will change my mind, as it seems to be based on cheese fondue, and I am a fan of that taste much more than something like Cheez-Its.

As advertised, the snacks are ring shaped. They are bright orange which worries me a bit, but the smell reassures me, as it does seem more authentically cheesy than a lot of other snacks out there. It's still in your face, but it reminds me of nacho cheese - maybe not the closest to real cheese, but still with a lot of depth and not entirely artificial like cheese dust.

The taste is a little less satisfying than that. For some reason while the smell brings to mind cheese fondue, the taste is a bit more on the cheese dust end, and maybe this is because of the texture, it's very "dusty" itself. However over time I still do get the nacho cheese flavor, and like other umaibo-type snacks there's also a corn flavor added to it that I didn't get in the initial smell. There's a little sweetness from that end but it's more appreciated than it is clashing, as there's a nice balance between the salty outside and the sweeter inside. If you like cheesy snacks but want a little more authenticity, this one may be right for you, if this was any other cheesy snack I would be appalled, but this one can stick around.

Rating: 6 - Aruff!

Teriyaki Burger Umaibo

After some weird umaibo flavors, this one seems a little bit normal, but still scrumptious. I love me some burgers and with teriyaki added it gets even better! There also seems to be a knockoff McDonald's logo on the drink off to the side of the burger. I wish McDonald's served teriyaki burgers, I would be all over that... And there's a monkey trying to grab the burger off to the side which would totally be me but I'm not as sneaky with my four stubby legs. As always though a wonderful design on the package.

This is the first umaibo in TokyoTreat that managed to stay in one piece so hooray for that! This umaibo though in terms of color looks a bit like an underdone burger, either rare or no toasting on the bun. Or maybe that's the supposed to be the teriyaki sauce. The smell worries me as it's VERY heavy on the teriyaki, almost to the point of being cloying, but I do get some of that nice burger smell in there.

The good thing about umaibos though is despite the strong smell there's a nice puffed corn taste inside to even things out, and that remains here. So the strong teriyaki smell becomes much more tolerable, so now I can really appreciate it, as it's sweet and tangy but not too much so. As always it's crispy as ever in a delightful way, and I get the nice crunchiness that makes it satisfying going down my mouth the entire time.

The main criticism I have of this is that the burger flavor is barely there. When I want meat I mean it! And here it tastes more like teriyaki fries or a teriyaki bun more than anything. So without that taste it becomes a little one note, but still a worthy eat.

Rating: 6 - Aruff!

Kit Kats - White Chocolate Citrus, Pumpkin, Beni-Imo

Now that I've gotten past some of the standard fruit flavored Kit Kats, things are starting to get a little stranger. There's a white chocolate citrus flavor which sounds great and also has a baseball theme to it. Then there's some kind of pumpkin, which is always welcome, and a peculiar purple sweet potato flavor that sounds like it could be a recipe for success.

Oh no, the citrus one is melty! It has been a hot day, but I don't think I expected this. It's a plain white color, but has a distinctly orange smell that's really nice actually. Kind of reminds me of a creamsicle? I could go for one of those in this hot weather.

Despite the meltiness, this one really doesn't disappoint. It somehow creates such a refreshing feeling in my mouth that it's unreal. It's so creamy and orange-y yet feels so light at the same time. I don't even understand how it can be like this. You'd think that something with white chocolate would be so much heavier, but it isn't. This tastes like all those light refreshing orange-y drinks out there, except unlike those it's candy! I hope they hand these out at hot ballgames... except they'd melt. But you feel so relaxed and cool after eating these. Like a fan blowing orange scented goodness in my mouth.

Rating: 10 - AWOOOOOOO!!!

Kit Kats - Rum Raisin, Shinshu Apple, Tokyo Banana

Another trio of fruity Kit Kats, this time with some more out of the ordinary flavors for Japanese fruit candies. Rum raisin is the most confusing one, as I typically think of raisins as being purple or brown but the packaging and picture on the package is decidedly blue. Maybe Japanese raisins are made from blueberries? Apple and banana are more standard flavors but in the context of a crispy wafer snack not too often seen, and both of them have their regional flairs with Shinshu and Tokyo.

Surprisingly, despite having a packaging seemingly fit for a blueberry, the rum raisin Kit Kat looks and smells more like one of the sake ones. I definitely get a bit of an alcohol smell along with a fruity smell, but I can't exactly decipher which fruit that is. I'd say it's closest to grape, but then wouldn't that just make this wine? What is rum made out of anyways? ...sugarcane, huh.

Unlike the sake kit kats though, the fruity flavor in this one is more pronounced than the alcohol flavor, giving it a much sweeter taste with a side of rum. The fruit flavor does actually taste somewhat like a mixture of grape and blueberry. It's probably one of those but my tastebuds are not distinguished enough to pick it out. Overall despite not being a fan of alcohol taste I quite like this. It's more sweet and refreshing than anything, like chilling out on a summer day, by the pool, not a care in the world. Can those days come quicker already?

Rating: 7 - Aroof!

Calbee Salty Split Pea Sticks

Once again we have another crispy vegetable snack. There are sometimes good and sometimes overwhelming, all depends on the salt levels and amount of vegetable flavor involved. These are of course based on split peas which I am quite ambivalent about myself, but I hope this snack can bring out some flavor that I didn't notice in them before.

One nice touch about these is that the snack itself looks like the split pea that it's based off of! It has the pointed ends that they're known for (and I'm always uncertain about eating) and the classic light green color with some bubbles in there. The smell does resemble a pea flavor, although it was a bit tricky to recognize at first because usually they're served warm.

Right off the bat I like the texture of these snacks. There's a crunchy outer layer but it also goes all the way through with a softer crunch on the inside, meaning that my teeth never get confused or disappointed. The flavor seems to be a bit of an acquired taste on the other hand. It's ever so slightly bitter, or it could be that I've never noticed the pea flavor before in this form.

There is a large amount of flavor in the snack though, and as I munch on it I get more adjusted to that flavor and it is pleasant in a different way. So many of the potato flavors in these types of snacks makes this a very nice change of pace, every bite I get plenty of earthy green goodness, though it's strange that it took me this long to adjust. This flavor may not be for everyone but it is a nice surprise and worth a try if you're used to the same old salty snacks.

Rating: 6 - Aruff!

Puccho Gummy - Hoppe-Chan Cherry

Well, this is one cute snack! I love when companies include kawaii characters on the packaging, it's like little cute spirits luring me over to eat whatever they made... which could also be easily used against me but I'm a wolf so it's okay right?  Hoppe-Chan especially, not sure how she gets around being just a blob, but she seems to have made her way onto a gummy this time, and I guess we'll see if she was forced there or it actually got her stamp of approval.

There's a nice surprise hidden in this packaging: the cap is actually a toy! It's one of those ones where you invert the cap and then after a long while it pops up into the air from all the tension. I thought it didn't work at first, but I was wrong, it takes forever to pop up! I guess it could be used to surprise my packmates. Test their reflexes. The actual gummies are pretty tiny, making this a nice bite sized snack, and they have a nice cherry flavor that balances sweetness and richness. I've heard these are sweet and sour cherries, interested to see how that ends up working.

The gummy texture is a little hard which is a bit jarring. You have to let it sit for a little while before chewing it, which is hard for a pup like me with no patience. But eventually that patience pays off and it becomes chewier. There is definitely a bit of sourness in these gummies, and it seems to add some depth of flavor here which is good, it's more interesting than a plain sweet cherry. But I think the form factor plays against the gummies here, because it's a lot of chewiness and then I don't really get a chance to experience the cherry flavors, I'm left always wanting more. The little cherry I get is pleasant, but it's not quite enough to make the whole treat satisfying. I guess maybe it works better for Hoppe-Chan because she's tiny.

Rating: 6 - Aruff!

Kit Kats - Matcha, Raspberry, Strawberry

For this batch of Kit Kats, we've got the ones with fairly plain packaging, but the flavors are sure to be anything but. I'm particularly excited about the matcha one, but the fruity flavors are sure to add a great touch alongside the crispy Kit Kat presentation too.

The matcha Kit Kat, despite the very dark green package, has a bit of a lighter color, but this makes sense. The matcha scent however is very strong ,and there seem to be specks throughout, so it's sure to be great.

Like the smell, the matcha flavor is incredibly strong. Some might almost find this too strong as it seems to lessen the candy properties of the Kit Kat, transitioning more from sweetness into the bitter tea flavor, but for tea enthusiasts like me it's a nice kick.


Rating: 7 - Aroof!

Ice Cream Lolly, Strawberry

Ice cream? Lollipop? Sounds like an unlikely pair but the more I think about it the more it could be the next big thing. So many times you want that flavor of ice cream but don't want it to melt or are in colder weather. But this treat promises an ice cream flavor without the brain freeze or melting, and with two flavors to boot - one vanilla and one strawberry!

Unfortunately the treat is smaller than it appears on the package, but still has some quite vibrant colors. The vanilla is a little more brownish than expected, but the strawberry has a nice dark pink color. It's also uneven on the stick, so hopefully it doesn't slide off! Smelling it yields a faint combination of the two flavors, as expected.

Both flavors, just like the smell, are slight, but the more I lick them the more they make sense. As this is ice cream flavored, both are slightly milky. Surprisingly the vanilla flavor comes across much stronger than the strawberry one. Actually if I didn't know any better, I could confuse the strawberry for the cherry on top of the ice cream easily. The combined taste, however, is where this shines. The vanilla flavor is not too sweet, very well defined and authentically vanilla, and then the strawberry part adds a bit of a fruity undertone to the whole thing. It's nice, but it doesn't scream amazing because of its relatively mild flavor. Very pleasant and long lasting though!

Rating: 6 - Aruff!

Kracie Popin Cookin Donuts

Time for some more DIY fun! Everything Kracie has made so far has been delicious and more fun than any chew toy, so I already have high hopes. This one instead of Japanese food is donuts, so there won't be much manipulation of flavors here. I expect it to taste pretty close to the source material. Also look how cute that bear donut is!

Nissin Choco Flakes

I got this from a grab bag at my Japanese market that was intended for Christmas, and it included some things that I gave away because I already tried them - a Black Thunder bar, caramel corn, and potato rings among others - but of course I couldn't give up the new things without trying them! Greedy pup I am. So these seem to be Japan's answer to Choco Pebbles, maybe? Or maybe it'll be something entirely different. One thing I am pleased by already is how heavy the bag feels. In a world poisoned by air-filled bags, this snack already stands out.

From the sniff test, I get a scent similar to some of the other Japanese chocolate snacks, mainly the Ginbis shimichoco corn. It's a chocolate iced smell, but the texture of the snack doesn't seem to be quite that. It's chocolate all the way through, with some crispy bits in the middle - I'll assume that's rice? And they seem very prone to sticking together, I pulled out more than a few clusters. But those could be even better than individual flakes.

Tasting the flakes, I get a little bit more rice than chocolate initially, then the chocolate manages to seep through. I'd like a little more chocolate here, but it's nice to have this be a little lighter of a snack, works well for an afternoon pick-me-up (which I'm using it as now). The crunch though is very pleasant, quite satisfying for such a little treat. It's even better with the clusters. I'm glad they melted together so I ended up seeing the best way to eat them. It's not exceptionally sweet either compared to similar snacks. These actually seem more like crispy rice cereal flavored with a bit of chocolate. Overall a pleasant eat but a bit different from what one may be expecting. Especially with the chocolate flowing onto the flakes on the package.

Rating: 6 - Aruff!

Koikeya Savory Salt Potato Chips

At first glance these just look like plain potato chips, granted with 100% on the bag twice for whatever reason. However, these chips have their own Japanese touch to them in the form of an umami flavor consisting of bonito flakes, anchovies, and konbu (kelp). So basically land meets see, potatoes with a touch of the ocean's offerings. Guess I'll find out if that's a pleasant marriage.

Black Thunder Kinako

Two Black Thunders in a row? Guess Japan Crate isn't too good at mixing up their candy month to month. Regardless I loved my first Black Thunder bar, and this one has an extra touch to it of kinako, which is a soybean flour. What would that make it taste like? No idea. But Japanese folks certainly know what to do with soybeans from my experience. Many times have I glazed a catch with miso. Mmm.

Appearance wise, it's the same. Smell wise there's definitely something different. A bit more of an earthy flavor I think? Not sure.

Tasting it I can see that the extra chocolate was instead subbed out for the soybean flour. It's a bit of a different taste than the other one. I like the original Black Thunder better because chocolate chocolate is always a pleasing combination and I don't get quite enough chocolate from this one, but it's still very good. The crunch is the best I've had of any chocolate bar and the added soybean flavor is interesting, but there's ultimately not enough of it in here to make up for the loss of extra chocolate.

Rating: 6 - Aruff!