So I realize that October was a pretty makeup heavy month, and while that is not a bad thing by any means, I thought I would take a break and try to branch out more this month. So, I thought now would be a good time to start reviewing something I've actually been receiving for a year or more now - the J-List Japanese Snack Subscription box!
In case you aren't familiar, J-List is a website that sells items directly from Japan. They have a wide range of anime items, along with kitchen and household things, snacks, and more. The "more" includes a lot of "ecchi" or adult items, so if that kind of thing offends you you can always check out the J-Box site, which is a G rated version of J-List. This subscription is actually not currently available from the website. J-List recently changed over to a completely new site and they are still working to transfer things like subscriptions over. Unfortunately, this means I don't have any information about pricing for you at this time. (I prepaid a year in advance, so it doesn't get charged every month.) I will update this post as soon as the subscriptions go live again!
J-List usually includes an information card in each box, letting you know what is inside and if there is a particular theme. October's theme is Autumn and features some of the flavors often associated with the fall season.
I just HAD to try this snack first. It's a cola flavored corn snack! I was a little scared, but it's actually quite delicious. The base of the snack has the texture and flavor of a cheeto, but instead of cheese powder it is covered in a cola flavored powder. Very sweet and a little fizzy. Weird, but I like it!
Next up we have a Sweet Potato Flavored Chocolate. Sweet Potato is a crazy popular autumn flavor in Japan, and I was curious to try it in a chocolate form. These come in individually wrapped bite size chocolate squares. Overall I liked it but I'm not sure I could really taste sweet potato, it just tasted mostly like white chocolate to me.
Mmmmm Green Tea Kit Kat. I didn't even have to taste this one to know I love it, but I did anyway. You know. For science. The bag included was quite generous, with 12 individually wrapped fun size Kit Kats. Did you know that Kit Kats are super popular in Japan because their name (pronounced "kitto katsu") sounds like a phrase spoken for good luck!
The next snack is another soda/cola flavored one, though this one might be a little more familiar to American palates! It's gummy candies shaped like Super Mario Bros. characters. The brown ones are cola flavored, while the blue ones are Ramune - a Japanese soda that kind of tastes like bubblegum to me. I thought the texture and flavor on these were really nice.
So this next bag is kind of scary... its a Tyrant Habenero snack that features an anime character on it. I'm not the biggest fan of spicy things so just one of these delicate little rings sent me running for some milk! They aren't kidding when they show those five chili peppers on the bag - this stuff is no joke. Luckily, my husband loves spicy things so I will probably pass this on to him. Before the spice hit, the flavor was quite good, savory and garlicky.
Hoping the next snack would not try quite as hard to kill me, I picked up the Shrimp in Chili sauce Corn snack. This is a single serving snack that is about the size of a corn dog. It has a crunchy texture and a sweet shrimp and chili sauce flavor to it. Definitely some heat, but not as bad as the Tyrant. Thank goodness.
After letting my mouth recover, I wanted to wander back into sweet territory, so I tried the Milmake Coffee Candy. These are individually wrapped hard candies with a soft, sticky center, flavored like coffee. The coffee flavor was definitely not too strong on this one, lending it a flavor more like coffee milk than say, an espresso. Very enjoyable.
As a nod to Halloween, we received some "Horror" Candy. These lollipops are shaped like body parts such as eyeballs, noses, a finger and a.. jaw? Really weird and fun. I didn't taste any of them since they are more of a display thing for me, but I thought they were a great addition.
And the final item in the box was this DIY candy kit. These seem to be really big in Japan, especially the Kracie Popin' Cookin ones. This one is a "Magic Bubble" kit from Meigum. The instructions are all in Japanese, but luckily I found a translation on J-List's website.
First I added water to the lowest line on the square tray (10 ml) along with the packet marked 1, and stirred until it dissolved.
Then I added water to the lowest line of the round tray (20 ml) along with the 2 packet and stirred again.
I then poured the liquid from the square tray into the round tray and stirred. This turned everything kind of purple.
Next, I filled the now-empty square tray with water to the second lowest line (20 ml) and stirred in the final packet, marked "3". I had a little bit of a hard time getting all the lumps out.
I then poured the liquid in the square tray into the round tray and stirred for 30 seconds. It started bubbling pretty quickly and this was the end result. It's like little gelatinous pods filled with carbonation. Magic? I dunno. It tasted pretty gross though. I guess the appeal in these is more the fun in making them than the flavor, though!
Final Thoughts: This snack subscription warms my little weeaboo soul. I love trying new foods and I think J-List does an excellent job of curating with a good mix of sweet and savory, tame and adventurous.
What do you think? What are your favorite snacks? Let me know in the comments!
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