A Bit of Morning in Bali

Here's a little bit of my morning in Bali for you to indulge on. 

Tokyo Banana: Banana Caramel Custard Cream

Other than the Baked Cheesecake Kit Kat that Dad brought from Osaka, he also brought home a box of Tokyo Banana. But, it's a different kind of Tokyo Banana this time. Dad usually bought Tokyo Banana Miitsuketa, the original ones where the sponge cakes are in plain beige color and are filled with banana custard inside, but this time he bought the caramel flavored Tokyo Banana. God bless Daddy!

The sponge cakes came inside a rather large box, wrapped in a very lovely white wrapping paper with pink colored giraffe patterns. On the wrapping paper itself is printed a picture of the Tokyo Banana, looking all adorable with its' giraffe pattern and big pink ribbon. I have to say, whoever design this adorable packaging deserves a raise because he, or she, did a great job in selling the product with this whole kawaii-ness! 

Each box are filled with 12 pieces of little sponge cakes - and by "little", I meant not that kind of small inhuman-mini-sized munchies that would disappoint you by just looking at it, but an average palm-sized kind of little. You will find some more giraffe patterns on the beige colored sponge cakes, yet I still have no idea why they would relate caramel with the animal itself. Maybe it's because the share the same color? I'm not sure. 

I tore open the individual wrapping of the Tokyo Banana caramel flavor and was welcomed with a super soft and super fluffy sponge cake. It was so fluffy! I am serious! I was expecting a plain jane kind of texture, you know how cakes feel like when you touch them, right? But, instead, I got a fluffy sponge cake that reminds me of a fat puppy with soft fur when you touch it. Sure, there are other cakes out there that are way fluffier than this particular sponge cake, but to find such texture in a Japanese souvenir is something. Don't you think? 

My mouth was filled with a mix of sweet banana and caramel goodness and fluffy sponge cake the moment the cake entered my mouth. Again, the cake was very fluffy and spongy, it was not the slightest bit airy, nor dry. The caramel custard filling was light, yet thick, and it did not eclipsed the banana sponge cake with its' strong flavor. Both sponge cake and custard blend it so well into a sensation of sweet and softness that tingled my taste buds. Delightful. 

True, Tokyo Banana can be a little bit overrated sometimes, but this custard filled sponge cake really is delicious. Maybe you should try it for yourself to judge whether this Japanese snack is receiving too much love or not. For those local Indonesian citizen who would like to get a taste of Tokyo Banana caramel flavor, you can try exploring your Instagram for some online shop that sells Japanese product, they might have it on sale. For those who are planning a trip to Japan, buy yourself a dozen! 

Sugar Rush

A late souvenir that I got from my Dad was this beautiful bowl of Japanese Artisan Candy

Artisan candies, or rock candies, are hand-made candies that have the same basic ingredients with lollipops. They are called artisan candy because them candy makers express their creativity in designing the candy. As you can see from the picture that I attached above, in the middle of the candy were printed adorably colorful drawings and patterns. Now, those patterns is what make artisan candy unique. Not just drawings of flowers and cherries, writing can also be printed on the middle of the candy - such as "Kiss Me", or "I Miss You", or "I LOVE NYC". I don't think one can run out of ideas in designing such candies. 

A unique paper packaging that enveloped the candy

After Dad went home from his flight to Tokyo, Japan, he gave me this pretty pack of candy. I opened the oh-so-japanese paper wrap, with drawings of funky people on it, my eyes sparkled from the rainbow I saw. 

The rock candies were colorful and adorable, nicely packed in a black container that has red-colored borders. One of them was pink, and the other was green. Swirly patterns were drawn at the middle part of the candy and I couldn't contain the excitement I felt I went "Ooooo, pretty!". 

Don't you just love that burst of colors?

Rocky, just like the name of the candy, and lollipop-like. What makes artisan candy and lollipop different are the fact that lollipop is served on a stick and that artisan candies are slightly more coral-like and fragile. It took me ages to finally decide to open the packaging and have a taste of the rock candy. I ate the blue one and it tasted like bubblegum. I wonder what flavor the yellow one is. 

I bet King Candy wishes he was here to taste all of this

Popin' Cookin'

There is this DIY candy kit from Japan that is climbing the Stairway of Popularity. Its' name is Poppin' Cookin' and, boy, does it pleased the heart of this 18-year-old. Even the colorful and eye-catching box itself would make me go "EEEPPPP WHAT IS THAT I WANTS IT" without knowing what it actually is. 

I got this as a souvenir from my Dad. He brought back home three boxes of Poppin' Cookin' and I went full glee. Each boxes was very colorful and bright, and each had different pictures of the DIY candy. I decided to try one of the candy-making kit one afternoon and ended up spending hours on the dinning table twisting my fingers. 

Popin' Cookin': DIY Candy Kit

Some instructions on how to shape the candy and mix the color

To emphasize, the box of Popin' Cookin' is very bright and eye-catching. On the front side of the box, you will find neon-colored Japanese writings and adorable pictures of the shaped candy, and you will find quick instruction on how to shape the candy and mix the color of the candy. The person who designed this candy's packaging is a genius - because what would make people be interested in buying the product other than attractive colors and interesting pictures? 

The box was not, in the slightest bit, difficult to open. You just have to tear the specific part and voila! you will find yourself another packaging locked inside it. The inner packaging is another adorable one, puffy wrapper made from plastic with colorful pictures of the shaped candy. 

Dad, opening the Popin' Cookin' box

When you tear the plastic open, you will find a brittle plastic container, some play-doh-like object wrapped in plastic, colorful chocolate sprinkles, and a tiny rolling pin that looks like a pencil. I thought that I was going to actually make candy from scratch, but it turned out that I was only going to mold them into the desirable shapes I like. I concluded that what differs Popin' Cookin' from Play-Doh is that you can eat your masterpiece after you finished shaping it.
 

What you will find inside thebox

I decided to use a cutting board as a base to shape my candy on, otherwise the table would get dirty. Those clay-like candies were very sticky - it sticked to the board, to my finger, and even to the rolling pin. I had to glaze some margarine (Mom, you're a genius!) onto the shaping tools so that the candy would not stick every time it made contact with another object.

Popin' Cookin' really is a Do-It-Yourself candy-making kit as it displayed very few step-by-step instructions on how to shape the candy. They just glued the picture on the packaging and let us, the consumer, use our imagination to shape it. There were pictures of pancake-shaped candy, panda-shaped candy, mont-blank-cake-shaped candy, but not a single direction on how to mold it. To be patient and cautious is required in the process of shaping the candy, as well as being imaginative and highly logical. It was, like, being told "You have a brain. Use it!".

Le me, working hard to shape them candy dough

Roll 'em nice and slowly

I spent hours flattening those candies and shaping them, and I'm quite satisfied with the result. I managed to make myself a wide selection of desserts and dishes, such as Rolled-Cake, Crepe, Melon Pan, Pancake, Donuts, Mont Blank Cake, Sushi, and Spaghetti. 

I shared my masterpiece with my Mom, Dad, and some of my friends who came by my house that day. I had me the Mont-Blank-shaped candy to celebrate the success of trying out my very first Popin' Cookin'. The candy was a hard-candy-kind-of sweets, similar to Sugus - a hard candy produced by the Wrigley's company. It was hard, yet chewable, and it got slightly gooey the more you chew on them. It tasted sweet, a little bit too sweet for my taste, yet still delicious and very enjoyable. 

In my opinion, the best way to play Popin' Cookin' is when you do it with a bunch of people - friends, cousins, parents, grandparents, anybody! The more people join the activity, the more fun it gets. You can test your imagination and compete with your cousins in 'Who's Making the Most Awesome Candy' category, or simply make candies of your own then eat your friends' in the end. And don't forget to share it with other people. Just look at their expressions when they found out that the 'modeling-clay' that you played with is actually eatable.

Yo dawg, I heard you like food, so I decided to make food with food

Melon Pan

Pancake

Spaghetti 

Mont Blank Cake

Strawberry Rolled-Cake

Donuts

Sushi

Strawberry Cream Crepe

Hello Kitty Bubble Gum

"This is the candy that I used to eat when I was a kid," said Dad handing me a box of Hello Kitty galore. This particular Hello Kitty themed snack is one of the souvenir that my Dad bought during his trip to Osaka - it had printed pictures of Hello Kitty everywhere, including the box and the candy wrapper! Each box is filled with 20-something wraps of bubble gum and each wraps has different picture of Hello Kitty on it. So, those who love Hello Kitty would definitely go ga-ga over it!

A pack of Hello Kitty Bubble Gum

Which one, which one. . .

I took a candy, slide it out from the adorable and colorful Hello Kitty wrapper, then undress it from the aluminum foil wrapped around it. Inside was a rectangular light-colored bubble gum candy. Judging from the color of the gum, the flavor had to be orange. 

I chew the candy and I was right, it had the flavor of an orange. The gum is very chewy and elastic, unlike any other bubble gum I have ever eaten. I chewed the candy for 10 to 15 minutes, probably longer, and didn't harden and was still elastic and gooey. What I love the most about the candy is that you can make a big balloon bubble with it! 

I have never eaten a bubble gum that stays gooey and stretchable after half an hour chewing it, even the flavor was still there. As expected from a Japanese product.

The sight of the bubble gum

Japanese Knick-Knacks

My Dad just got back from Osaka, for the third time this year, and he got me a sackful of knick-knacks! "I brought your treasure," Dad said when he arrived at our home. He unzipped his luggage and pulled out numerous colorful boxes, it lasted for several seconds. It's like watching Mary Poppins pulling out a lamp from her magic purse. 

Dad got me a pack of Hello Kitty Gum, a box of Strawberry Mouse, three packs of Asahi Biscuits, and three boxes of Popin' Cookin': DIY Candy Kit. All of them are very colorful, as expected from Japanese products. I can't wait to taste them all!

Hello Kitty Gum

Strawberry Mousse

Three different flavors of Asahi Biscuits

Blueberry Biscuit, Chocolate Biscuit, and Caramel & Fruits Biscuit

Three boxes of Popin' Cookin'

Me precious treasure!

P.S. Thank you Dad, for all of these lovely Japanese goods! 

Bourbon's Mochi Chocolat: Strawberry

When my Dad went to Osaka, he brought home two packs of Bourbon mochi, one is chocolate flavored and the other is strawberry. I posted about the chocolate mochi before, and today, I shall describe to you how gooey and sour the strawberry ones were.

Strawberry flavored mochi

Adorable pink colored packaging

I didn't put my mochi in the fridge before I ate them because I wanted to know the texture of the filling when it is at a room temperature. I unwrapped a pack and was welcomed by four pieces of pink-colored rice cake. They looked adorable, the color reminded of of a Japanese cherry blossom. 

The Japanese sweet was very gooey and elastic, and they were sticky as well, just how I like my mochi. It consisted of three different layers: rice cake skin, strawberry yogurt, and strawberry jam. I took a small bite and, as I savor it, the flavor of the filling was sour, yet still sweet. I don't usually like strawberry jam, but this one is an exception. 

Because the mochi was stored in the room-temperature food cabinet beforehand, the filling underneath the rice cake was gooey and yogurt-like. It was delightful and delicious! I couldn't take a picture of the inner part of the mochi because it looked ugly after you take a bite, so pardon my lack of imagery. 

The sight of the Strawberry mochi

Small and gooey, simply delectable

Bourbon's Mochi Chocolat: Chocolate

Bourbon's Mochi Chocolat is a souvenir my Dad got me from his trip to Osaka a few weeks ago. For those of you who might not know what a mochi is, it is a popular traditional snack from Japan made out of rice. Traditionaly, the rice is cooked and pounded into paste, then shaped into round balls. Some mochi are usually filled with bean paste, or any kind of ingredients the maker favors, but some are left with no fillings. 

Bourbon's Mochi Chocolat

This particular mochi that my Dad bought me is filled with chocolate. I guess y'all figured it out already from reading the main title of this post. As you can see, the word "Mochi Chocolat" was written on the packaging, with pictures of three mochi and a pot of swirling chocolate. On the side of the box was a picture of the mochi's anatomy, along with the description of the layers. Unfortunately, I don't understand a single word because it was written in Japanese. Do I have any volunteer translator? 

Can anybody tell me what those words mean?

I opened the thin box and was welcomed with a couple of square-shaped chocolate packaging. They were thin and considered small as they somehow fit on my palms. I'm guessing that the mochi are contained inside those chocolate packaging. There is only one way to find out, right?

What you will find inside the box

Anybody care for a package, or two?

Tear 'em up like savages! Inside the petite packaging you will find two pairs of chocolate mochi. They were very small, very tiny, very unfulfilling for those who have monstrous appetite like me. Because I put the box in the refrigerator beforehand, the mochi were stiff and cold. Try to pinch it, and your thumb and index finger will ache. Been there, done that. 

Behold!

The mochi was more like a stiff and cold chocolate covered in chocolate-flavored rice cake, instead of mochi with chocolate filling. Get the idea? Even though the whole treat itself was stiff and cold, the longer the mochi stays in a room-temperature area, the more gooey the rice cake skin gets. 

The Japanese snack was sweet from the chocolate. And instead of using milk chocolate, I think they used dark chocolate for the filling, judging from the slightly bitter aftertaste after taking a bite. The mochi came in three layers, chocolate rice cake, dark chocolate, and chocolate ganache. It was delicious and suitable to be consumed when one is bored. And instead of frozen mochi, I prefer to have them slightly melty and gooey. 

Very tiny, don't you think?

The inner sight of the chocolate mochi