Frito-Lay Sukiyaki Cheetos

Sukiyaki is one of my favorite Japanese dishes. The sweet, earthy sauce goes perfectly with all the ingredients that simmer in it. I love the tofu, the enoki mushrooms, and, though I'm not a big beef eater, the delicate, paper-thin slices of marbled beef. It's not too tricky to make, either!

I also love Cheetos. They were my late Grandpa's favorite snack, so I always remember him when I eat them. So, if sukiyaki is good, and Cheetos are good, then Sukiyaki Cheetos must be good, right? When I saw them on napaJapan, I knew I had to get them. After reading reviews of things like Smoked Fresh Ham and Mascarpone Cheese Pizza Doritos on Food Junk, how could I resist a Japanese take on an American snack classic?


If I didn't see the word Cheetos in the corner of the bag, I never would have guessed what these were. The open bag smelled like sukiyaki - toasty soy sauce with a subtle sweetness. The Cheetos had a tart and savory flavor, mostly soy sauce with a hint of fruitiness, a subtle fishiness, and sweet beef.

The crunch was just like regular cheese Cheetos, but cheese powder was not among the ingredients (however, various meats and fish powders were). Although I wasn't a huge fan of the initial punch or the aftertaste, the middle range was good and they were certainly edible. My husband liked them more than I did, but I don't think I'll be buying them again.

As a savory snack accompaniment to beer, they'd probably do all right, but later today when I'm using the Superbowl as an excuse to eat unhealthy snacks, I think I'll leave the rest for my husband.

C

Frito-Lay Japan website

Meiji Royal Milk Tea Meltykiss

My love affair with Meltykiss goes back years. I can't remember exactly when I first tried them, but I've tried so many varieties that I've come to consider them a sure thing. New flavors therefore must be sampled.

This winter, Meiji brought out Royal Milk Tea Meltykiss, which doesn't seem to be a re-release. I purchased my box from napaJapan for $4.99, which is 50 to 70 cents more than other flavors, suggesting this could be rare (or popular) even among limited edition flavors.


The cubes were wrapped in a lovely bold metallic blue, and had the signature Meltykiss dusting of cocoa powder. They smelled bitter and a bit floral (much like milk tea). Initially, the cocoa powder seemed extra bitter, but it's been a while since I've had Meltykiss, so my memory could be failing me.

The chocolate reminded me of Earl Grey tea, and though it tasted like bottled royal milk tea mixed with hot cocoa, it was missing that rich heavy cream note. Of course, the chocoalte had that signature Meltykiss meltaway texture. Despite the lack of heavy cream, this was a very tasty flavor, and if it was available locally, I'd certainly buy them again.

B+

Meiji Website (Japanese)

Juicy Fruit Groovy Fruity

In keeping with that gum theme, I bought myself this cute little cup of Juicy Fruit Groovy Fruity because I was attracted to the funky, colorful packaging. Despite nostalgic jingles about the moving taste of Juicy Fruit, I was never a big fan, simply because I couldn't really tell exactly which fruit it was supposed to taste like.

Well, neither of the two flavors in Groovy Fruity were well identified, either. They didn't taste like the original, vaguely tropical Juicy Fruit. Since I'm not sure what the two flavors were, I'll go by color: white and red. In my cup, there seemed to be more white than red.


The red pieces had an artificial cherry-like flavor, so what I'm really saying is that they tasted red. The tabs were firm at first, but they softened as the crunchy shell dissolved. Red was sweet, juicy, and just a tiny bit tart. It wasn't minty but did have a slight cooling effect. The flavor lasted five minutes or so before becoming a dull hint of fruity sweetness. At this point, the gum had a firmer, denser chew than I prefer.

The white tabs were a little more like the original Juicy Fruit, only with a very strong minty flavor and intense cooling effect. These chewed softer than the red gum, but didn't taste as fruity. The flavor was longer lasting, but neither flavor was all that good. I still like the container, but I wouldn't buy this again.

C+

Juicy Fruit website

Vitamingum Fresh Cinnamon

Press Sample
Cinnamon is the last of the three flavors of Vitamingum Fresh samples that the kind people at Vitaball, Inc. sent for me to try. I definitely enjoyed Spearmint and Peppermint.

Most of my cinnamon gum memories are associated with classic Dentyne, since it was my mom's favorite for most of my childhood. My dad liked Doublemint, and I used to wrap a piece of Doublemint around a stick of Dentyne for a cinnamint flavor.


Vitamingum Cinnamon was a straight cinnamon flavor with a strong, spicy punch (hotter than classic Dentyne). It was a nice, caffiene-free jolt in the morning! It lost its intial intense flavor faster than the two mint gums, but the remaining flavor wasn't bad.

Like the other two flavors of Vitamingum, Cinnamon had a good texture that chewed neither too hard nor too soft. Simply because of personal flavor preference, I didn't like this one as much as the Spearmint, but it was still a very good gum, and not just for a niche market.

B+


Check out another review at Gum Alert!
Vitamingum website

Vitamingum Fresh Peppermint

Press Sample
Like many other residents of the Midwest, USA, I was snowed in yesterday. This would have been the perfect time to catch up on some blogging, right? Although I had the motivation to work from home (I kind of have to, since I'm salaried), I never got around to blogging. Did anyone else get snowed in?

In case you didn't catch my recent review of Vitamingum Fresh Spearmint, Vitaball, Inc. kindly sent me samples of three flavors of Vitamingum Fresh. Today, let's look at Peppermint.


The packaging was nearly identical to the Spearmint flavor, only with oddly bright blue mint leaves for color consistency. Like the Spearmint, Peppermint had a strong minty burst, and a thoroughly chilled, fresh flavor. Again, it was an excellent breath freshener, though I prefer spearmint to plain mint.

The texture was bouncy and not too hard or too soft, and the minty flavor, somewhat subdued after the initial intensity, lasted well over 20 minutes. I'm still not a vitamin taker, and I don't know if this gum will change that, but I was pleasantly surprised that Peppermint (and Spearmint) Vitamingum is a good gum and not just a multivitamin.

B+

Vitamingum website