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!

Kit Kats - Wasabi, Sakura Nihonshu, Sakura and Roasted Soybean

Ever since I got my box of Kit Kats I've been fearing this day and alas it's finally here... the day I'm going to try the wasabi Kit Kat. I can stand some spicy foods, but the instant slap to your tastebuds that wasabi delivers can be a bit too much. I hope Kit Kat has realized this and dulls it down a bit, or maybe they'll go for the hyperrealism approach. If the worst-case scnario happens though, at least I'll get to cool down with some nice sakura flavors afterwards.

The wasabi Kit Kat seems benign from the outside, with its lovely light green color and creamy smell. But I'm not going to be deceived by that, no way. Wasabi itself has this same inviting color. I take a deep breath, and see if it's going to sting me the same way...

And surprisingly it doesn't burn at all. In fact the first thing I get is the creamy taste, which leaves me wondering if this is even the right Kit Kat. But then I get the taste. The familiar pungent taste that accompanied the quick fire that wasabi produces, but without any of the fire. How they did this I don't know, but it's a miracle and it's pretty wonderful. It's pleasant to eat and hides a complex flavor underneath it's simple creamy exterior. The Kit Kat creators must have been wizards to come up with this.

Rating: 9 - Arooooo!

Kit Kats: Caramel Pudding, Tokai Red Bean Sandwich, Strawberry Cheesecake

What an interesting trio of Kit Kats! I'm stoked for all of these flavors, but particularly the pudding one, as anyone who's seen me review a pudding snack would know. The red bean sandwich one is certainly a mystery in taste to me as I've never had a red bean sandwich myself. The cheesecake one of course I have a good idea of how it'll taste, having had snacks in this kind of flavor before.

The caramel pudding flavor doesn't appear to have much caramel with the pudding judging by the color, but the smell seems to tell otherwise I get some eggy pudding deliciousness in the smell, but also lots of caramel, almost overshadowing it completely. I hope this doesn't upset the balance of flavor, as these two are amazing in ths right proportions.

Looks like I didn't have to worry too much about that. The caramel dominates the smell but I get more pudding in the taste, though something seems off about this pudding flavor. It's a lot more gritty and shallow, and I'm not too much a fan. The caramel also seems that way, being way too sweet rather than rich tasting. It could be the adaptation to this crunchy wafer texture, but they could've easily done a way better job even on the flavor with that in mind. As it is now it's not too pleasant to eat.

Rating: 2 - Awrr

Easter Banana Kit Kat

While I have already tried a banana Kit Kat, that one was chocolate banana, and this one is pure banana. It's also got cute bunny pictures on it, so what can go wrong here? I'm looking forward to seeing how the Kit Kat form factor works with a purely banana coating.

The appearance and smell, however, worry me a bit. I have stated before my issues with artificial banana flavors and I'm sure many can agree, and already I'm getting banana Laffy Taffy vibes from this. It's very shallow smelling, and a lot of sweetness and fake banana, and I hope the actual candy doesn't taste like this but I'll find out soon.

Fortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case. The filling saves it here, as it's a bit banana flavored itself and has a deeper, richer taste. It reminds me of a more ripe banana on the inside, very squishy, darker, and a lot more flavor, along with the signature Kit Kat crunch, and I quite like it. It's a surprise that the snack tastes so authentic when the smell isn't quite that, but sometimes the nose deceives. Especially mine. I'm so glad there are more of these included in the ToykoTreat box because it's a great way to get that banana fix in dessert form with a bit of crunch on the side. Kudos to Kit Kat for making a banana candy that doesn't suck!

Rating: 8 - Rowf!

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!

Kit Kats: Amazake and Japanese Sake

This time we have a pair of Japanese Kit Kats that look very similar, but are likely to have some difference or another. According to the TokyoTreat guidebook, the Amazake Kit Kats are sweet sake, meaning that they'll be sweeter than the traditional Japanese Sake. It's also worth nothing that I have never had actual sake before, so I won't know anything about the source material. Could that make it hard to describe? Maybe, but I've had more difficult before.

Starting with the Amazake Kit Kat, which is the one included in this month's TokyoTreat box. The appearance is nothing special to describe: just a plain white. The smell of it is what I'd best guess a sake smell is like, it has an alcohol smell to it, a slight fruity smell, and bit of milkiness and sweetness.

Now I can't say I'm a fan of the alcohol smell or taste myself, but this Kit Kat seems to make it worth with a very creamy taste backing it. And as I eat more of it that taste seems to go away, and I get more of the fruity/milk flavor. It's a pleasant taste but not particularly noteworthy for me. I think it could actually benefit from a little less sweetness, as I don't get enough of the actual sake flavors.

Rating: 5 - Ruff!

Kit Kats - Kyoho Grape, Hokkaido Melon, Wa-Ichigo Strawberry

This time we have three more Kit Kats with some different fruity flavors. While matcha and strawberry are familiar territory, I'm really interested to see how grape and melon translate into Kit Kat's wafter structure. The last one is the ever-familiar strawberry but with Wa-Ichigo tacked onto it. I wonder if that will be any different?

As usual I look up the meaning behind any unknown words and see that kyoho grapes are a type of grape grown in Japan. Regardless  I don't expect this to be too different from the normal grape flavor, though this one has a lighter color and different smell than I expected. It smells... almost like grape toothpaste? Not sure if that'll be an entirely bad thing. It's definitely not pure grape smell, kind of muddled with a milky flavor and added sweetness.

The flavor does seem to work a bit in context of the wafer. Without it I imagine a pure grape flavor would be in stark contast to the rest of the treat. It still feels a little out place in candy, after adjusting to it, it's okay, but still odd and not quite what I'm looking for. It's a bit too sweet where from fruit flavors I expect something more authentic. This... is okay, but doesn't quite work for me.

Rating: 4 - Boof!

Kit Kats - Uji Matcha and Otono-no-Amasa

Technically both of these two are labeled Otono-no-Amasa (chocolate for adults), and so were the three I reviewed before, but the last one... doesn't seem to have any other label as far as I can tell. What I can assume is that it's some sort of upgraded kit kat for the more refined consumer, in this case tasting it with my unrefined puppy tastebuds should make it an extra good treat! Also in there is the Uji Matcha, in hindsight I should've tasted it alongside the normal matcha to compare but this is what we got now... if it's really different it should stand out on its own.

The coloring of this one looks mostly the same, maybe a little bit lighter than the other matcha, and gone are the speckles that were on the other one. I looked it up and Uji refers to a type of matcha that comes from a specific region. Maybe better quality? Who knows. As for the smell, it's a matcha smell alright, about as good as they come, not too overpowering.

Tasting this, I can definitely tell it's less bitter than the other one, which definitely makes this more mainstream-accessible, and I like it better too. As good as matcha is, to put it raw in this normally sweet wafer treat makes it out of place, so they got it right here. The matcha itself doesn't come out as strong, and I would like to taste it just a bit more, the sweetness masks it a little bit. But otherwise, comes closer to striking a nice balance, sweet but with that matcha taste I know and love.

Rating: 8 - Rowf!

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!

Everyday Luxury Kit Kats

The runts of the Kit Kat pack I got, I'm not really sure what to expect from these. Many of them share the same flavors, with the top being the most basic and progressing from there. Will this truly be a luxury as Kit Kat claims? One thing's for sure, I sure can't have them every day... darn shipping times.

The first one is simply cranberry and almonds, hopefully a chance to get a feel for the core flavors that are in all three. Already it looks promising with that delightful Kit Kat smell I know and love plus an interesting looking crumbly top. No cranberries in sight, but they're probably inside.

First taste, and already I'm loving the inclusion of almonds in this! Normally the texture makes me not eat them raw but they really add a lot to the chocolate here. I still don't get any of the cranberry though. The inside seems akin to a normal Kit Kat. All in all very nice even with that flavor seemingly missing, not an especially different experience but still a welcomed addition.

Rating: 7 - Aroof!

Update: Domain name, upcoming snacks, and Kit Kats!

Got a couple of things to talk about! First of all, this blog now has a domain name! If you haven't been redirected already, the new address is puppyeats.blog.

Also in case anyone was wondering, what I was going to munch on soon, there's a new entry to the side bar called "In the Food Bowl" for things I have and will review soon.

Most exciting, I ordered a box of Kit Kats! This way I can get the full experience of all those lovely Japanese flavors available, 30 flavors here so a lot to talk about. The list of flavors in reading order is (after the jump):

Baked Ice Cream Kit Kat

So this I believe marks the first Japanese exclusive Kit Kat flavor I've had and boy is it a flavor. For those who don't know Japan has tons of exclusive Kit Kats. It's actually not fair. If I knew this I would've gone back in time to tell mama wolf to swim to Japan before having me but nooo, that's an impossibility. So it's still possible to get them here, but it's more inconvenient for sure. I'm interested to see how they get an ice cream flavor in this, and you can bake them! Luckily Japan Crate provided two so I will be trying one as is and one baked.