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!

Meiji Takenoko no Sato Cookies & Cream

 

This is definitely one of the things I was looking forward to in this box, because I loved the original Takenoko no Sato. It's one of those snacks that nails every avenue, with it's nice rich semi sweet chocolate flavor with a nice sweet crunchy biscuit backing it on the inside. And this one steps it up a notch with a cookies & cream flavor! It's also a limited edition flavor, so this won't always be around sadly.

One of the things I didn't catch from the box is this actually seems to be the reverse of the snack I had earlier! There's chocolate biscuit on the inside this time and vanilla with cookies coating on the outside. I quite like this variation in textures from an idea standpoint. The smell is also absolutely tantalizing, it smells like an Oreo except the cream filling is even more pronounced than normal, being on the outside.

To my surprise, the coating is even softer than expected. My teeth slice right through the vanilla frosting, and it's incredibly creamy, having somewhat of a milky taste to it. The chocolate inside too is surprisingly soft, not as soft as the outside, but I quite like it. This means the whole thing really gels together and blends into cookies & cream goodness. One of my favorite textural touches in this is how the top point of this is entirely frosting so there's one bit of really soft cream that makes the whole thing just that more enjoyable to eat.

Just like an Oreo though neither of these components is exceptionally great alone (yes I'm looking at you cream-lickers), but together they form something really special. The creamy frosting would be too sweet and one note if not backed by the less sweet chocolate filling. The only thing holding this snack back is like the other one, the dryness of it. But the flavor combination is incredible, as is the texture variety, and it's so great that I think I can give it a perfect mark. Oreo could certainly learn a lesson here!

Rating; 10 - AWOOOOOOO!!!

Kakigori Ramune Candy

We've had our fill of popsicle candy in this TokyoTreat, and now it's time for another cooling summer treat in the form of shaved ice! This is always that thing that you find on a super hot festival day and then it becomes the most appealing thing in the world... and it's fairly hot now, so I come to this snack with the same request. It seems that it has a cooling sensation much like the popsicle kit, and I'm certainly ready to be cooled. Hopefully everything will gel with the strawberry and ramune flavors a little better this time.

The candy, as depicted on the package, comes in these tiny tablets, which is good because, while tiny, it ensures I'll think twice before eating them all at once. Or maybe not if they're amazing. Both have a sweet vibrant smell with their respective flavors shining through and have a chalky texture, as some of it rubs off on my paws.

I pop the strawberry one in my mouth and it has a very satisfying pop as I bite through it, and I get the cooling sensation that was promised to me. It's a bit different from a purely strawberry candy, the flavor definitely seems more like the strawberry syrup that comes out of those shaved ice machines, which means it's quite accurate, and the sweetness and cooling sensation skew it away from a purely strawberry flavor. This is not a bad thing, actually it's a pretty refreshing difference, and the cooling sensation is used very well here, not being overbearing or obscuring the flavor. I already feel a little more cooled down, as I start to pant less. The ramune flavor also provides some nice refreshment. It has the rare distinction from other ramune snacks of actually feeling like it quenches my thirst, in part because of the wonderful cooling feeling. This takes everything the popsicle snack tried to do and does it right, managing to capture all the sensations of shaved ice in one convenient candy. I should keep more of these around for the summer!

Rating: 9 - Arooooo!

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!

DIY Popsicle Kit

Summer is rapidly approaching, and though it's still a little chilly outside here, TokyoTreat comes to the rescue for those hot days with this popsicle kit. Oh, you mean there's no actual freezing involved? Well then it's perfect for days like today! It'll be interesting to see if they try to still make this kit have the cooling sensation that popsicles are known so well for.

Much like the candy apple kit, the contents are simple: some pre-made candies and two toppings. I'm not sure what exactly the toppings are, looks like a syrup and... powdered sugar? I taste a bit of the syrup and it seems to be ramune flavored, and the powder... what is this stuff? It has such a cooling sensation to it, I'm really impressed, whatever this is. The ramune candy doesn't have much of a smell, but there's an intoxicating strawberry smell coming from the entire package.

The assembly process is not the cleanest one. The syrup adheres well, but the cooling powder in turn doesn't seem to adhere that well to the syrup. It actually seems to merge with it a bit, which is a little odd. But here we go! It's an odd combination of flavors. The strawberry candy is nice, but I feel like it needs something different than what's presented to it. The ramune syrup and cooling are nice touches, but it still doesn't give me a popsicle sensation. I guess I am crunching it and not licking it after all, but what's a hungry pup to do? The ramune one is even more questionable. It comes off a little strong at first, but has a weird aftertaste? Something about it is not pleasant and I can't put my finger on it, but it crosses the flavor line into a not-so-great place. Overall I can't really recommend this one, the strawberry candy is okay, but every other decision going into these popsicles is questionable.

Rating: 2 - Awrr