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!

Kracie Popin Cookin Japanese Festival

After going through the large box of Kracie kits I had, I found another one. Guess this calls for a celebration! Thankfully this kit has everything I need to do that. Four different components here being french fries, candy apples, chocolate bananas, and corn on the cob, so it's sure to be involved but no short on fun.

I expected a lot of components in this kit, and that's exactly what I got. Three different mats, 5 packets of powder, some yellow soft candy, sprinkles, toothpicks, and a shovel-spoon (my favorite!). The cutting board mat in particular seems rather excessive, but I guess it's nice to create the mood.

Boruto Hand Gummy

There are two Boruto snacks in this box and both are pineapple flavored. I assume that's not a coincidence here and pineapple is the designated Boruto flavor. I wonder if they assign flavors to every anime? That would be interesting. This one is supposed to be energy drink flavored, while not an actual energy drink, but I did already get that vibe a bit in the last Boruto snack. Hopefully this will add something a little different into the mix, and if not, it'll at least be a different texture and same refreshing pineapple taste.

The gummy certainly seems to resemble one of those stretchy hand toys. I think I've said this before about other gummies, but this one more than any of them seems to be inspired by that. The hand is very loose and curls up just like those. The flavor is also quite unique and very distinct from the pineapple jelly. Where that was more sweet, this adds a sour component as well, which is really nice, creating an interesting balanced flavor.

When I eat it I just get more of that and it's really nice, definitely like drinking a pineapple energy drink and feeling recharged after a nice romp, except it's slightly more solid. The gummy texture isn't the most satisfying around though, there's a weird consistency too it where it's lacks a little bit of the bite it needs so it melts in your mouth just a little too quickly. I say that though because the flavor is so nice that I want to experience it for longer, but alas it's all over too soon. Not even the tiny second helping of the star can prolong the sadness after that nice flavor left me. Of course I wouldn't be saying this if the flavor wasn't amazing, so it is. Just don't expect it to last too long.

Rating: 8 - Rowf!

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!

One Piece Bubbly Jelly DIY

 

Been a while since I've had a jelly DIY! These are always pretty fun except for figuring out how to eat them of course, because those tiny straws never cut it. This one also comes in the slightly more unique flavor of melon, which I at first haven't been a fan of but it's certainly growing on me as I try more and more melon snacks. Japan just does the flavor justice. This one also seems to come with a reusable cup, which actually worries a bit because the snacks with reusable cups I've had before haven't been good. Can this one break the mold?

Pretty simple setup this time, but also more involved than the other collectible cup DIY drinks, haing two packets. Likely this means there's a soda and jelly layer, like a DIY drink I had a while back. There's also a spoon instead of a straw, yay! No issues with trying to slurp up thick jelly, which is always a plus. The souvenir cup is nice too, but these are always so tiny that I don't know what to do with them.

Sriracha Rice Chips

 

Hmm, another box, another spicy snack. I do like sriracha, but in very small doses, as it packs nice flavor but also a ton of spiciness. Hopefully this one can do the same! The other ingredients listed on the package all sound like the components of a very nice rice bowl, although I had to look up what okara is (it's a type of flour). Sesame and soy beans and the pictured garlic and brown rice should also add a number of nice complementary flavors to this.

All looks good so far when I open the package. The crackers have both a nice appearance and smell. They're quite solid and have a varied texture, lots of little air bubbles, but can definitely see that they're baked perfectly and have lots of little sesame seeds in them, and a nice sriracha dusting. The smell brings to mind a lot of crispy rice snacks, with the nice accents of both sesame and spicy tomato-ey sriracha. Now I just have to hope it isn't too spicy!

The spiciness is definitely there but manageable, I'm certainly not rushing to lap up water. The first thing I notice though is the nice crunch as I break through the crispy rice layer. It's neither burdensome nor unsatisfying, and then my mouth is introduced to a wave of flavors straight out of a rice bowl. It almost feels like I'm eating just that, it's incredible just how realistic this is, and the nice aftertaste of that bowl lingers for a while. Even though I'm spice adverse, the spice here doesn't feel cheap either, it's a long lasting heat that adds to the flavor and doesn't cover it up. It also seems to taste a little nutty, and maybe that comes from the soybean flavor. All in all a really nice treat that's really representative of Asian cuisine!

Rating:  9 - Arooooo!