Maruta Nericcho Soft Ice Cream DIY, Strawberry and Cider

Japanese candy includes many attempts at imitating ice cream without the meltiness, with varying but usually positive degrees of success. Now we have it in DIY form, with two flavors and these very happy little ice cream cones filling each other. The cider flavor (which likely means ramune) is of particular note, as I haven't had ice cream quite like that before. Maybe it'll work, maybe it'll be a disaster, or somewhere in between.

The contents of this DIY are quite simple, but simplicity can be sweet. A packet representing the ice cream, a spoon, and three cones. Which seems like a bargain considering only two are shown on the package!

Shin-Chan Gummy, Cola

 

Quite a simple little candy here, just a cola gummy. With a Shin-Chan character on it. I don't watch Shin-Chan though, so all I see here is a lady with very buggy eyes. Maybe that's her reaction after eating the gummy? Not sure if that's good or bad.

The packaging actually completely fooled me here and I thought it was the ramune variant because it appeared blue through the white filter so I assumed it was ramune. It's a little disappointing to have another cola gummy but they always bring a nice strong flavor. This one in particular seems to be no exception from the smell.

The gummy has a really nice texture, not chewy but quite soft actually, like slightly more solid jelly. The flavor I'm not enjoying quite as much as that texture. It's not as bold as the smell, and seems to lack sweetness as well to help bolster that. In fact, it doesn't taste like too much of anything. And with that tiny of a gummy it better be memorable. This was at least pleasant but definitely not any kind of taste experience that stands out.

Rating: 3 - Rrr

Yaokin 7 Stick

The name of this product stumped me for way longer than it should have. Why was it 7? 7 ingredients? Nah, literally seven sticks! I'm not sure why this is the basis for naming something, but hopefully there's something more to this treat than having seven of them. Maybe it'll give me 7 reasons to eat it? I'll try to come up with them.

Already opening the bag I see two reasons to eat this: first of all the smell. I was expecting to be overwhelmed but now I have much higher expectations with this great aroma wafting out of the wafer sticks! It smells almost like freshly baked sugar cookies, and there's the cream filling wafting through, mmm... Another reason is the shape. I'm not sure what it is but I really like the round sticks with the square edges. Lots of variety when I sink my teeth into them!

Unfortunately the taste and filling isn't quite as vibrant as advertised. The wafer doesn't have quite enough flavor for my liking. It's somewhat of a typical taste to a wafer sandwich cookie, the wafer having a pleasant sugary buttery flavor but ultimately really light and unsatisfying.I keep eating more hoping for more satisfaction but... nothing. And the cream is barely there as shown in the picture. I get a glimmer of the cream, but that too ultimately is disappointing because there's only a smidge of it. Why do you tease me so??? So ultimately the 7 reasons aren't really there, because while this seems like a good snack in theory, it's too light on flavor and substance to really work. Disappointing, because it had all the components to be 7 shades of aroo.

Rating: 3 - Rrr

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!

Pretty Cure DIY Strawberry Milkshake

The DIY item from the TokyoTreat box is, rather awrrr-worthy... a milkshake. Last time I had one of these it was just some kind of artificial powder that barely mixed well with the milk in the first place. And from the looks of it, it's made by the same company that made the Minions milkshake. I hope they get the flavor and consistency right, but I'm rather doubtful. At the very least it comes with a collectible cup... of some anime I've never heard of.

Tirol Kiwi and Watermelon

After my first wonderful experience with Tirol I wanted to try more and found a couple of packs of different flavors available online, the first of these being this kiwi and watermelon one. These don't seem like flavors that really go well with chocolate, but Tirol seems to be really good at tying a bunch of unrelated flavors together in one delicious foil-wrapped package. So I'm very excited for some more fruity chocolate! Aroooooooo

Henshin! Transform Glasses

This has to be weirdest thing I got in Japan Crate this month for the fact that I have no idea whether it's even candy. Or, I wouldn't if there weren't nutrition facts on the back. In that case, the question is do the glasses come with a candy or are the glasses themselves edible? Guess we'll find out. These glasses also come in one of 48 styles, too bad it doesn't show me which styles these are anywhere on the package. Not that I'll be trying them on much anyways. Wolves don't wear glasses, y'know?

Tirol Choco Pack

I return! After enjoying the holidays with my pack, it's time to get to trying some candy again, and this time I've got a few things to try. I've heard of these Tirol chocolates for a while now but haven't gotten the chance to try them. Finally a pack appeared at my local Japanese market and I pounced on the opportunity. I love the square wrappers, when you put them together it looks like tiles! Not sure how to describe it, almost like a retro vibe. And I'm certainly excited to try the cookies & cream flavor, I love that Hershey's cookies and cream bar!

Taberundesu-Hi

Yes, do not be fooled, it looks like a camera. A little weirder looking than the one I nabbed at the park one day to take these pictures for sure. But instead of dispensing film it dispenses candy. Not only does it dispense candy, but it's a fortune telling camera. These are the possible outcomes:

• Green: Things are looking up!
• Pink: Popularity is coming your way!
• Orange: Uh oh! Mom's gonna be mad at you.
• Gray: Something will make you anxious.
• Yellow: You'll have good luck tomorrow afternoon.

Um, pretty random outcomes, especially since I assume there's more than one of some colors in here. They I assume I have an angry mother then, but mine is nothing of the sort. Regardless, I guess I'll try to interpret what these outcomes might mean. It's also worth noting that the word Taberundesu means "I'm gonna eat it" which is a rather odd name to pair with a fortune telling camera. What were the humans behind this thinking? No idea. Strange creatures, they are.

November Japan Crate Odds and Ends

Aruff! Hi everyone, this is my first blog post so thank you all for reading as I begin this journey. I have quite the appetite, especially for new and out there stuff, and like any good boy I want to share all my food adventures with you.

But before we begin I'd be amiss if I didn't talk about the Japan Crate that just arrived a few weeks ago, and that would be my first Japanese candy box, the November Japan Crate. I started off getting a three month subscription and we'll see where things go for there. I'm all for whatever gets me the yummiest snacks at the best value.

Now since I've already scarfed up most of the snacks in here I won't do a full review for everything, but I'll give mini reviews for ones that I ate long ago.

Kagikko Chocolate Key - This one's pretty self explanatory - it's a bunch of chocolates arranged in a key shape. Why? I have no idea. It seems there are a bunch of these out there all in different shapes. The candies themselves tasted exactly like M&Ms, maybe a bit smaller. I ate them almost immediately because nobody eats just one M&M. Cool idea to arrange them in a shape I guess, but I wish the candy itself was more unique?

Rating: 3 - Rrr

Rilakkuma Gum - Okay first of all this packaging is ADORABLE! I love how cute Japanese packaging can be and this one certainly made me whimper in adoration. The gum itself surprisingly had a ridge shape to it, but once in my mouth it behaved like any other gum. It had a nice cola flavor which at first was pretty strong then it lost flavor quickly, which is kind of sad. I suppose I'm used to Extra.

Rating: 4 - Boof!