Sakura Marshmallows

Haven't had marshmallows in a while! As some of you may know Japan has instilled a love for marshmallows in me I never knew I had, and while these ones aren't filled with anything the sight of marshmallows again is still enough to make my tail go whap-whap-whap. It's also the first time I've had something sakura flavored I believe, I believe I'm familiar with the cherry blossom smell but in food? Should be an experience.

 I love the shape of these! They seem to take on a sakura blossom shape of sorts which drives home the whole theme of the cherry blossoms blooming. It would be amazing to see that in person. The bag also definitely gives off the sakura smell, I'd describe it as a rose smell but less pungent and more sweet, and with a cherry accent. I'm not sure how it'll play out with marshmallows, but very excited to try them!

The sakura flavor in the marshmallows is quite subtle but it plays off the marshmallow taste and accents it in such a harmonious way. The little bit of flavor that regular marshmallows are lacking, these have. The marshmallows themselves are the perfect texture too! Really soft, but just enough bite to give them substance before they dissolve into a pool of cherry blossom ambrosia.

Tasting them makes me feel like I'm there, curled up under a sakura tree and petals fall onto my nose-ACHOO! Okay so maybe not all of it would be as pleasant as this marshmallow depicts. But there couldn't have been a more appropriate treat in this box - this is a great way to embrace the blossoming of all flowers, and they can even go well in hot chocolate, for when it's not quite warm enough yet for those spring months.

Rating: 9 - Arooooo!

Sweet Soy Sauce Cracker

It seems like there are a bunch of these types of crackers around, considering I couldn't find the brand name of this one, but I suppose "cute pictures" may be enough of a brand name this time around. Just their smiles make me want to eat these - but the sound of a soy sauce flavored cracker is quite enticing too. If these are truly a Japanese snack staple, hopefully it holds up well.

Well, the crackers sure give off a pleasant first impression. I was expecting something thin, maybe flavored with powder - but these look practically freshly baked! Lots of interesting variations in the texture with some crispy parts and some lighter parts. And they're plenty thick - hopefully the inside is as flavorful and interesting as the outside looks. Their smell also falls on the more savory side of the spectrum but I definitely get the sweet umami flavor of the soy sauce in my sniffer.

The crunch is very interesting as I anticipated. All the little aberrations make these a joy to munch on, my teeth finding all the little crevices to sink into, and it's a very satisfying crunch too. The soy sauce flavor isn't as prominent as I would think it was - it's flavored like cracker first and foremost, I almost taste a bit of a rice flavor from this, which wouldn't be too out of the ordinary if that's what it was, and the soy sauce is a light accent on top of that. But it never tastes flavorless, there's plenty of interesting things going on. I think the soy sauce flavor could still use improvement though, it lacks the depth that I've had from real soy sauce. But this was a nice pleasant surprise and I'll sure be munching on more of these in the future!

Rating: 7 - Aroof!

Ginger Tea Hard Candy

This is the kinosei snack in this month's TokyoTreat and it unfortunately came a little late for me, as it's suppose to sooth throats, and I had a cold last weekend... But regardless, my throat could always use a little soothing. The flavor for this one worries me just a bit because ginger in the past has been a bit too strong for me at times, but maybe this candy will strike a nice balance.

Unexpectedly, the candy came invidually wrapped in these foil wrappers, which made it a bit difficult to open, but that also should be good since it helps them maintain their freshness. The candy itself looks really pretty. It's this slightly clear amber color and the most aesthetic rounding that a rectangle could have. No noticeable smell though, but that has been the case with hard candies before and hasn't affected the flavor.

The flavor thankfully isn't overbearing. It's actually quite pleasant - slightly sweet, it's almost like a warm ginger tea hug right by the fire.Everything about this flavor feels nice and gentle with a little bit of spice that only serves to emphasize the warmth and caring it seems to give. As time goes on that hug only seems to be warmer as more of the flavors release. And it really does feel soothing to the throat - as those flavors slide down, my throat gets clearer, as if the spicy was attacking all the gunk in it, and replacing it with the earthy taste of the tea.

The flavor doesn't ever really evolve into anything else, or have any change of texture, but it's nice and solidly comforting, and really doesn't need to be any thing else. While I doubt it would ever be a substitute for cough drops, this is a really nice way to soothe a throat that has taken a beating, and even without that this flavor is sweet, earthy, pleasant, a little spicy... All like a nice warm hug.

Rating: 9 - Arooooo!

Ginbis Shimichoco Corn - Milky Red Bean

My stomach is growling more than I ever do right now, and of course because of that I grab the largest, most appetizing, filling snack I can find in the TokyoTreat box - this one! I know shimichoco corn has had a really nice texture and flavor, with a puffed corn base on the inside and icing on the outside, and I hope this red bean flavor will take it up another notch. I love red bean normally, and combined with the milky white chocolate flavor? It seems like it's set up for success with this type of combination, and the image on the bag of red beans drowned in milk looks tantalizing.

The corn itself takes on the white color of the milk more than the red bean, but you can see the red bean in there through red flecks mostly on the tips of the stars. The smell however seems to be an even distribution of milk and red bean, the red bean adding some earthiness and substance, and the milk adding creaminess and richness. They seem to go well together.

Biting into it, I once again experience the nice texture of the shimichoco corn, with the the inner corn part providing some real substance, and adding a new flavor to what I smelled before that works quite well, in this case the starchy base. This snack seems to have everything going for it: sweetness, earthiness, richness, a bit of fruitiness actually that I wouldn't expect from having the red bean in here. There's also some grittiness that the dust on the surface adds to it that I'm really enjoying.

In fact, it's hard to write this review because I can't stop eating this. There's so much depth of flavor and a ton of sensations that I'm getting here, and it's a really satisfying bite all the way through. I may have developed some self control from some of my canine brethren but I'm losing all of it here, because this is too good. Maybe I'll need to go out and hunt for more!

Rating: 10 - AWOOOOOOO!!!

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!

Pandaro Melon Bread Cookie

This snack comes at a very convenient time because I just watched an episode of the anime Yakitate!! Japan all about melon bread and after seeing that I couldn't not go for the melon bread snack first thing when I opened this box. By the way if you love baking, go watch that anime, it's quite stellar and I'm learning a ton about bread. And licking my lips the whole time. But now, let's dive in! A small cookie, hopefully it packs tons of melon flavor.

First impressions are good. The cookie has a really cute panda face, and has some green in it to represent the melon. But the smell is absolutely tantalizing! I didn't get how melon bread was supposed to work watching the anime, but I certainly do now. It's primarily a butter smell but with the fruity tangy accent of the melon. It all makes sense, this could supply the one thing butter cookies are missing which is flavor depth. I can't wait any longer to dig in.

I get pretty much everything I was expecting from the cookie. It has a strong butter flavor, and while I'm not a fan of melon normally, it's the perfect accent here, adding some tanginess to contrast the stark sweetness and richness. And none of that annoying watered down nonsense.

Although the texture of the cookie is slightly disappointing. I would've liked this to be a bit softer. One of the things melon bread seemed to be known for is the combination of fluffy bread and crispy cookie but all we get here is cookie. It means too that the depth of flavor doesn't last quite long enough or really melt in my mouth too well. Good start, but mostly it just had me craving real melon bread. I have to find some!

Rating: 7 - Aroof!

TokyoTreat March 2018

The March theme for this TokyoTreat box is Sakura Season Surprise. While I was very pleased at the quantity of items from the last box and many of them were delicious, I got a little tired of the nonstop strawberry flavors, so I was a little worried that this one would be nothing but sakura flavor. Luckily that's not the case - there's some sakura in here, but a lot of varied flavors all with a spring theme, so I can't wait to dig into this box!

The contents in the above pic are (reading order):

• Sakura Marshmallows
• Ginbis Shimichoco Corn - Milky Red Bean
• Chocolate Kinako Mochi DIY
• Anpanman Festival Rice Puffs
• Puccho Gummy - Hoppe-Chan Cherry
• Squid Jerky
• Ginger Tea Hard Candy
• Amazake Kit Kats
• Veggie Salad Umaibo

And in this pic we have:

• Sakura Shrip Potato Ring Party Pack
• Salty Split Pea Snacks
• Peach Coca-Cola
• Sweet Soy Sauce Cracker Share Pack
• Melon Bread Cookie

All in all a lot of variety and good portions in this box. I can't wait to dig in!