So good morning.
Today we are in my backyard here in Canada.
And we are going to be doing a Japanese taste test.
Now I've never been to Japan before but I'm really curious about the snacks they have
over there.
And just a few weeks ago the Freedom Japanese Market asked if they could send us a few products
to try.
So we're going to be rummaging through that little box and trying the snacks they sent
over.
So what I like about this box is that it actually comes with some instructions and some pictures
so that you actually know what you're trying because you probably won't be able to read
the names of these things unless you speak Japanese.
So I'm going to be trying this first.
And apparently it is a soup stock flavored bag of potato rings.
It is called Nagewa.
Probably butchering the name but let's get started.
Oh man, that is some solid packaging.
Okay, this is what it looks like.
It looks like little rings.
Awesome.
Those look tasty.
Mmmm.
Yeah.
Is it salty?
It kind of has a beefy taste actually.
Like beef stock.
It is kind of fun.
You can wear them.
Wear them as rings.
Extra wedding rings.
Let's show those off.
Let's show those wedding rings off.
Tada.
Fun little snack for sure.
Here I've got chocolate sticks.
And these look something similar to what we had in Korea known as Pepero sticks.
So let's see if they taste the same.
Oh, wow!
Look how many there are.
Oh, you'll have to share.
One package for me.
Maybe the other package for me too, right?
Okay.
I'm just going to try one here.
So as you can see it is a stick that has been coated in chocolate almost all the way to
the bottom.
They give you a little almost a handle.
A little room to grip it but that is it.
The rest is in chocolate.
So is it a pretzel stick?
Yeah.
You can imagine it kind of like pretzel stick.
It is not salty.
And then you've got chocolate coating on top of it which is sweet.
It is quite good but it is not overly powering in terms of the chocolate taste.
Just a small layer of chocolate.
Nice little snack.
So next I'm going to play around with the candy land do it yourself candy kit.
So this is what the back of the package looks like.
And it seems like we're going to making our own candy.
It should be interesting.
Let's see.
Oh, wow.
It is really like a kit.
This looks complicated.
Oh my goodness.
So, okay.
I imagine this is food coloring.
So I've got yellow, red and blue.
I've got this little plastic mold so that I can shape my candies.
Show the mold again.
Into fish and sea lions.
And then I've got the candy itself here.
And I have this little pallet where I can mix all of the colors together.
So this might take me a few minutes.
So let's get back to this in a second.
Okay, so this is how my little fish turned out.
And by the looks of it on the back of the packaging I think I'm supposed to use a little
brush to paint it.
I don't have a brush so I'm just going to dip it in the red food coloring.
Let's see that.
Tada.
I'm pretty sure Japanese kids can do a much better job and they're probably more artistic
than I am.
But this is my first time and my hair is even stuck on the candy.
Ew, that is gross.
So yeah, I'm just going to try it and not worry about the way it looks.
This is bubble gum.
I'm pretty sure it is bubble gum.
It is chewy.
Maybe it is candy.
It's kind of like a Starburst if you're from North America you're probably familiar with
that candy.
It is a bit like a Starburst but chewier.
Is it just as sweet?
It tastes like bubblegum.
I'm going to try blowing a bubble.
No, it is not bubblegum.
Cut!
Alright, next up I've got something called Mi No Nazo.
And this appears to be Cider flavored candy.
When I first took a look at the package I thought oh this has got to be gum but apparently
it is candy.
And there is pirates so let's go taste this pirate candy.
Oh neat, they have a lock.
It is a zip-lock bag here so if you don't finish it all at once you can have some more.
You can see they come in different shapes.
They look like pills.
I'll just pop them all in.
I've got 3 kinds here.
Yeah, it is.
Cider flavor.
I think by Cider flavor.
And this is at least according to what I remember in Korea, is it sort of tastes more like a
Sprite or a Seven Up.
Okay, so next up I've got this little can.
It is called Mini Sour.
It looks like a roll of film.
But apparently there is sour candy in here.
So this is what the little candy looks like.
Let's just pop them in.
It is not that sour.
I was expecting something like sour skittles.
Or something more bitter.
Is it more sweet?
Yeah, it is more sweet than sour.
I'm chewing on them.
So this next one that I'm trying here has quite an interesting package.
If you take a look.
Check that out.
Is it chicken?
In the shape of it looks more like a chocolate bar.
But apparently it is what chicken curry?
Some kind of chicken curry snack.
Oh, Wow!
Yeah, it is has got that orange look to it that you would think of in a curry.
Okay it is definitely incredibly light.
Let's try that.
Is it like a rice cake?
Oh my gosh, it kind of is like dried rice cake.
And you can really taste that curry.
I can smell it over here.
Mmm.
Oh, yeah.
We need smell-o-vision.
You know what?
This is the one of the weirdest snacks I've tried but it is delicious.
I like it instantly.
This is cool.
Who would think of this?
Chicken curry snacks.
Japan!
And now I'm trying something called Happy Turn which is a rice cracker with sweet soy
sauce.
It kind of looks like a miniature lady's finger if you've ever tried those cookies.
Okay.
So it is a fluffy rice cracker.
Kind of chewy.
I'm not sure if it has gone stale or if it is supposed this crunchy slash chewy.
I think it is.
And yeah, it is kind of salty.
Yeah, it is an alright snack.
Alright, next up we've got Hello Kitty marshmallow.
And I didn't say marshmallows because it is just one.
It is a very tiny little snack here.
It is cutely packaged.
You can see you've got the little Hello Kitty over here.
Alright, check out that marshmallow.
I'm going to eat about half of it right now.
Oh, it has got something inside.
Look at that.
Show us.
It is sweet.
I still can't tell if it is a chocolate or a jam.
I think it is yeah.
It is a jam.
Strawberry flavored?
Yeah, that's pretty good.
I mean I love my marshmallows so this is a nice tasting marshmallow.
And now for something sweet we're trying Konpeito which is a lollipop that apparently has candy
inside the candy.
Candy inside the candy.
I don't know if you can see through that but there is some little red and green candy balls.
I can't really tell if it is fruit flavored.
But it has the picture of a girl with a soda glass.
Maybe it is supposed to be soda flavored.
I can't tell.
Yeah, if you've ever tried any of these Japanese snacks let us know because we're at a loss
here.
We don't know what we're eating even with the descriptions.
I love Japan for its quirky snacks and this really lives up to that.
Check out this.
This is Puchi.
And it is a kind of snack here.
And apparently when you open it up you can also use it as a dog whistle.
So here is the potential dog whistle.
And here is the candy.
Let's try that.
Candy for first or whistle first?
I think we'll do the candy.
I'm hungry.
All of the different colors.
Yeah, it is like a chocolate candy but it has that real crunch on the outside.
That is pretty good.
I like it.
And now time to demonstrate how the dog whistle works.
Yeah, I have no idea how this works.
No.
Complete fail on the dog whistle.
Well, that wraps up our Japanese taste test.
I'd love to know what kind of interesting or strange Japanese snacks you've tried?