Japan Candy Box Review and Giveaway!

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Heyya Littlest Sweet Shoppers

My husband calls me the 'Munchies Expert' so I guess it is my duty to make another subscription food box review. I will be checking out items from this month's Japan Candy Box and we will be giving away 1 Japan Candy Box to a lucky winner!

Japan Candy Box - bringing Japanese sweets to your front door!

When you subscribe to Japan Candy Box, you will receive a box filled with carefully selected mix (8 - 10) of quirky Japanese sweets & snacks. It cost only $18.20 a month to subscribe from absolutely anywhere on the planet. 

You will always get a set of different sweets each month so it is a pleasant surprise every time. Early this month my box arrived on the first week and included 10 of the cutest sweets I've ever seen! Here is a breakdown of the items:

1. Kabaya Pokemon Pikachu Pretzel sticks

This is a small pack of long crispy pretzel sticks which is coated with what I assume is a cookies and cream flavour. The flavour and sweetness is subtle and the biscuit itself tasted bland. Pure novelty for the kawaii picture of Pikachu on the box.

2. Lotte Koala March Biscuits

These had a crispier and lighter biscuit compared to the Panda biscuits that I usually get. Each piece has a clear picture of a Koala in different costumes/activities. The chocolate itself was not too sweet (which I love about Japanese food!) and I wish the pack was bigger! They even stayed crispy after a week being in an unopened pack!

3. Pucho Mixed Fruit Chewy Candy

In the west we call this type of sweet 'taffy' like Fruitella. This Puccho has drops of assorted fruit candy in the taffy itself. This made it a bit confusing when you try to guess what flavour you are tasting. Taffy is one of my favourite type of sweets and this particular Puccho delivers a unique flavour.

4. Meiji Petit Grape Bubblegum

I can never disagree with Meiji. Everything they make taste so darn good! You can have a handful or tiny amounts of this bubblegum at a time. It is so soft that you will find yourself chewing it for a long time (and blowing bubbles of course). The grape flavour is spot on and the outer layer is a crunchy candy. The pack was generous so you can share it with people you like ;)

5. Mini Dorayaki

This is the popular Japanese pancake that Doraemon would kill for! I love the mini size since the original size of a Dorayaki is much bigger (and they are quite filling!). Inside is a generous layer of red bean paste and the pancake itself is soft and light. I read Doraemon manga when I was a child and I've always been curious about these small pancakes that drove the robot cat mad. Today it is no longer a mystery.

6. Marukawa Fusen Bubble Gum

This tiny pack contains 4 gumballs. They are absolutely delicious! I am guessing that it is yogurt flavour and Japanese sweets do it just right. At first I thought it was Ramune (also another favourite candy flavour!) but as I chewed on I noticed the distinct yogurt flavour coming through.

7. Meiji Marble Chocolate

Surprisingly similar flavour to Smarties with a softer colour scheme. The portion is small since this is a mini sized box. I'm keeping the box since it's so cute!

8. Popin' Cookin' Neri Candyland DIY Kit

I ended up spending hours making kawaii artisanal sweets using this kit! I've always been curious about the Kracie brand Popin' Cookin' products since I love playing with my food :p

This is my first experience and it is basically 5 packs of sugar paste that you can mould and sculpt just like clay! I would suggest that you do this on a cold day since the 'clay' can melt easily on warm hands and become really sticky and tricky to play with. I attempted to make some sculptures from the pictures on the box just to see how possible and achievable it was. Since I couldn't use my own clay tools (never mix polymer clay tools with food), I sculpted everything myself and some using the template that came with it. The sprinkles are included as well, how cool is that?

This is all that I managed to make since some of the 'clay' went straight into my mouth before it could even be moulded into anything! It taste surprisingly good since at first I thought it was just sickly sweet marzipan like the ones the use as cake decoration. Each 'clay' colour has a different flavour. So when you mix them to create colours, you are creating a new flavour as well. I really liked the white 'clay' since it tasted like yogurt and the blue 'clay' tasted like bubblegum. Overall I was not disappointed with this product even though my first impression was that it was purely novelty. The 'clay' was also light, a bit like a marshmallow version of taffy. I would recommend it as decoration on your cupcakes or cookies since it is not too sweet to be overpowering.

9 & 10. Kabaya Fish gummies and Yaokin Sour Paper Candy

These are both basically gummy candies. The reason why there is no photo of the fish gummies is because they were so good that my husband managed to eat all of it in one go! It isn't a small pack but each gummy was irresistible, especially the orange 'adult' fish. I couldn't guess the other flavours of the gummies but it was quite refreshing to taste something so unique.
I've reviewed the same sour paper before. It's not really paper thin but a long shape that you can scoff in one go. It's also coated in sugar and it is actually not too sour despite the name.

But, what if I want more!?

If you really like a specific item from the box and would like to buy more, just visit Blippo.com where you can sample even more Japanese sweets and snacks. Here are some sweets from the store: 

Puccho Chewy Candy - Pink Grapefruit

Grapefruit taffy is definitely a rare one. It's also infused with yogurt flavour and real fruit juices! Puccho is also a very soft type of taffy so you won't break your teeth! It's not as sour as eating a real grapefruit so you can enjoy the delicious flavour without the tartness. 

Morinaga Hi-Chew Candy - Green Apple flavour

I always expect green apple flavour to be so sour. However this taffy was pleasantly sweet and not sour at all. Usually I try to avoid anything with green apple flavour so this one totally changed my mind.

Fancy winning a Japan Candy Box? Enter here (worldwide promotion)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

That's all for now. See you next week with August new arrivals right here at Littlest Sweet Shop.

Bye!

New in! Rainbow cheesecakes, Tootsie pop, Scotch eggs, Sundae and more!

Hey hey Littlest Sweet Shopppers!

I just came back from a short holiday in Manchester so apologies for the post delay! We have a lot of new items for this month:

New items for July

Our first item is new to our Brunch menu in the 'Drinks' section. We offer milkshake in a real glass container! It may be a bit more pricey to commission but the glass itself is a delicate handmade piece on its own. 

Chocolate and strawberry milkshake

You can even opt for a simpler glass of milk (of any flavour) if you wish.

Glass of full creamed milk

Next we have the Rainbow cheesecake, which is a big phenomenon in Asia right now. I was so impressed when I saw a photo of it a few months ago and was determined that I would make one for the Cake menu. Each cake has 6 different colours (in rainbow order) with a thick crumbly biscuit base. They look amazing in slices but of course you can have it as a whole cake especially if you are catering a tea party.

2 designs to choose from

Rainbow cheesecake will add colour to any event! The layers are so pretty <3

Whole cake with one slice

Next up is an update to our sundae and parfait line-up. Available now in the Ice Cream menu.

You can now opt for a soft serve ice cream in a sundae cup or a parfait in a tall sundae glass dish.

New in the Ice Cream menu: Strawberry soft serve ice cream in a sundae cup with strawberry sauce and rainbow sprinkles. On the far right we have: Vanilla ice cream in tall sundae dish with blueberry and peanut layer and decorated with chocolate sauce, rainbow sprinkles, fan wafer and cherry.

We have another new cheesecake in the Cake menu. This time it is the Japanese cheesecake which is known to be super light and soft with a cottony texture. Usually the Japanese cheesecake is served plain but our version is topped with summer berries and has that signature Littlest Sweet Shop realistic cheesecake crumbly base. Japanese cheesecake was always my favourite type of cheesecake growing up. It's very rich and moist and has an almost melt-in-your-mouth texture. 

Japanese cheesecake is super soft and cottony

All of our cheesecakes come with the signature (realistic) crumbly biscuit base. This is a large cheesecake with whole strawberries

If a whole cheesecake is too big, make sure to order a smaller version instead. This Japanese cheesecake is topped with blueberries

Another new arrival are Scotch Eggs which make a great savoury snack for picnics. Find them in the Deli Snacks section in our Delicatessen menu. These large deepfried balls have a thick coating of breadcrumbs with savoury sausage meat and egg inside. Your dolls can have it hot or cold!

4 Scotch Eggs in the Deli

Next is a cream pie with rainbow sprinkles. The cream looks sweet and light with a perfect shortcrust pie base. Of course, the cream pie can also be plain or with any other decoration that you choose. Available now in the Bakery menu.

Cream pie with rainbow sprinkles.

We have just stocked a new selection of pick'n mix sweets - the Tootsie Pop / Suckers. Get your classic lollies in grape, strawberry, lemon, lime, orange and bubblegum (blue) flavour. Available now in the Sweets Boutique menu.

Our sweets are made perfectly to fit the scale of your choice. Akiko's favourite is the grape Tootsie pop

Our last new arrival for this month are these light Choux buns (or cream puffs as my mum calls it). They are slightly bigger than the Choux à la crème. You can now find them in the French Pastries menu.

Choux buns perfect for tea time

That's it for now. I hope you like some of our new items, please do give them a try. I will be reviewing more Japanese sweets (real ones) next week so please stick around!

Bye!

Commission Update

Hello Littlest Sweet Shoppers!!

Here's an update on recent commission items that I made for a Littlest Sweet Shopper in Italy and New York. I hope they like it!

Akiko with a commission for a Littlest Sweet Shopper in Italy

Ice cream, milkshakes, glass of milk, box of chocolate, pancakes, chicken sandwich, cookies, and popcorn

Each kernel of popcorn is an individual piece. Comes in a handmade box

Special commission request for a 'melting effect' ice cream cone

1:12 scale Croquembouche for a Littlest Sweet Shopper in New York

Enjoy your week! Bye!

Littlest Sweet Shop x Komikku SUMMER COLLECTION

Heyya Littlest Sweet Shoppers!

Here is our new Littlest Sweet Shop accessories which is available exclusively through Komikku. Our summer collection is bright, kawaii, colourful and sweet featuring lots of candy and ice cream .

Wear one of our unique creations to a music festival or the beach and let people know your love for yummy sweets. These are all handmade and one of a kind and you can only get it at Komikku in Norwich.

There are also key-chains, bracelets and charm bracelets which are new to the collection. 

Doughnut bracelet

Marshmallow flump bracelet

Liquorice bracelet

Marshmallow flump earrings and cream biscuit earrings (each biscuit with a different flavour cream)

Charm bracelet - cream biscuit, macaron, doughnut, pancake and  chocolate charms

Marshmallow flump, rainbow ice cream and lollipop key-chain

Sundae cup key-chain

Pancake and lollipop phone charm

Pancake, rainbow ice cream cone and Totoro (animal doughnut) necklaces

Erasers

Please do check them out if you are in the area.

Have a good week, BYE!

My interview with NEO Magazine and the Blippo Kawaii Giveaway winner

Hey Hey Littlest Sweet Shoppers!

I announced my interview with NEO Magazine  (Batch 136, May issue)  via Littlest Sweet Shop flickr page back in April but I haven't posted it here on the blog. 

Maya just heard about her appearance in NEO Mag from Naru:

Naru: Hey Maya, did you know that our photos were published in a magazine?

Maya: Really?! No I didn't. Show me!

Naru: Here it is. It's a feature on Littlest Sweet Shop.

Maya: OMG that's so exciting!

Maya: It's an interview with Nadia, the owner of Littlest Sweet Shop. 

Naru: Yup. 2 page feature - NICE!

Maya: Yeay! 2 pictures of me in this feature. Thank you NEO Mag!

Our Blippo Kawaii Giveaway winner is.................................

Madeline Brubaker


CONGRATULATIONS from all of us at Littlest Sweet Shop!!!!!!!!!!!

We hope you like your prizes. Make sure to hang around because we will be running another competition soon.


Have a great weekend, BYE!!

Candy Japan Review

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Hello again Littlest Sweet Shoppers!

Today I'm doing another review for a Japanese snack/sweets service named 'Candy Japan'. You can subscribe to the service and receive mystery sweets not just once, but TWICE in a month!

The monthly subscription only cost $25 and here is a sample of the most recent box (you will receive a box fortnightly):

Candy Japan sweets

You only get a few items but they are better for sharing (bigger portions) compared to other subscription boxes that have more items, but smaller (single) portions.

This company is run by a nice Finnish person who makes sure that he picks out only the most exclusive sweets and snacks for the Japanese market. Shipping takes 2 weeks to the UK and you get a lovely box of sweet and savoury snacks that you could probably never get in England.

1. Chibi Sours

Naru is serving up some Chibi Sours

The name is a bit misleading since it's actually not so sour but reminds me of traditional gummy sweets especially because it is coated in sugar. I love Japanese sweets because they don't taste as sweet as our usual sweets and the flavours are not the usual common type that you get here.

The flavours are grape, orange, peach (my favourite) and apple.


2. Frozen Strawberry Milk Snack

I have never seen the movie Frozen but obviously I am aware of it (lol). I wasn't sure at first if this item was gimmicky because of the Frozen characters on the packaging. I guess the link with the film is that the balls of cereal were 'frosted' in light pink coating.

Despite all that, they are absolutely DELICIOUS! The balls are not tiny and they are packed with flavour. Imagine doughnut balls that are crispy instead of soft with a yummy sweet strawberry coating. The balls itself were dense enough and even though I shared this with my husband, I quickly regretted sharing them since it was just so good!

3. Sour Poifull

The texture of these sweets are like jelly beans but with an intense and sour punch to it. The flavours include Lemon, Raspberry, Grape and Kiwi and they have a very soft texture inside. Biting into the grape one reminded me of Grape soda. All of the flavours are brilliant and it comes in a zip lock bag since you won't be able to finish a whole bag in one go!

4. Avocadooza

These crackers are so good with beer that my husband almost finished the whole pack without me! It is crispy and wonderfully flavoured with a hint of wasabi (but not too much) and leaves you with a lingering taste of avocado in your mouth. My husband would even buy these if it was actually sold here in the UK since he likes it that much.



That is all for now. Remember to visit Candy Japan at www.candyjapan.com to receive a wonderful surprise from the far East.