PIKAGENIE

Watch Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M42RgFYELaI

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wovzaw71TMI)

GOOD CAT-TERNOON!

「the summoning」

What is PIKAGENIE craving today?

I plan to talk about any treats (from sweet to savory) that come across interesting and yummy! These treats will mostly be centered towards, but not limited to, the Asian category!

Instead of reviewing treats, I am going to share my experience in making my first ichigo daifuku! Thank you, otaku-food, for the recipe!

When I was in Japan, my Japanese was super limited. It still is pretty limited today. Anyway, my sister and I were looking at these desserts and we saw some dark complexions on the mochi. 

Why did we think it was chocolate flavor? We don’t know. It looked like it. 

But hey! At least we like red bean. It’s not like it wasn’t anything foreign to us.

SMALL KITCHEN

I live in a basic apartment. My kitchen is small, which made it difficult for me to actually keep everything in one place. I had one corner for cutting up strawberries and wrapping them up in red bean. Another corner was dedicated to mochi. The third corner was for the end product. Thinking back to it, I should have kept everything all on the table in my living room. That way, the mess would have stayed in one place. (Seriously, the cornstarch was everywhere...)

MOCHI vs. BILO BILO

Oh my goodness. This is one of the most messiest desserts I ever made in my life! Props to all those who make these on a daily basis. 

I never made mochi in my life before- well, I technically have before. There is this dessert that I help my mother make. It’s a Filipino dessert called ginataang. I help her make the bilo bilo (sticky rice balls). Ingredients are pretty much the same. So I definitely know how sticky this can get! However, making this mochi is a much more stickier process than making the bilo bilo. 

The difference between making the bilo bilo and mochi is that you are holding a really hot mochi. I live in a hot area. Holding hot mochi while it is 90 degrees outside is just painful! And even if you tell me to let it cool down, I cannot do that! The heat helps keep the entire ball stay together. 

CORNSTARCH IS YOUR FRIEND

It’s a very sticky process. In the recipe, it states to stretch out the mochi into a flat disk. I assumed that I should stretch it out on my palm just like how I play with the bilo bilo sometimes. I held in the pain from the heat. Maybe I should have let it cool down a little bit. (Next time I make this, I am going to ask a friend to help so they can do this painful task for me. This isn’t really a painful task. I just cannot handle holding hot items sometimes.)

Anyway, as I placed the red bean covered strawberry in the middle of the mochi, for some odd reason, it became red bean covered mochi with the strawberry still inside. Basically, I did not use enough cornstarch for this process. The dough was just sticking EVERYWHERE. I was so close to just giving up since I was just tired from a long day, but the idea that I am giving this to family kept me going. 

For the next piece, I decided to use hella a lot cornstarch. I made sure to dunk my hands with cornstarch. As I was stretching out the dough, I kept adding in the cornstarch so it wouldn’t be as sticky anymore. It worked!

Even though that worked, I forgot how tiny my hands were. It was quite difficult for the next few pieces since I was working with really huge strawberries. The cornstarch was really accumulating on my hands and it was getting annoying for me to keep rinsing them. So, another idea came up. Since I was using two cutting boards (one for red bean covered strawberries and the other for mochi itself), I decided to take advantage of it. I grabbed a rice scooper, dunked it into the cornstarch, and started pressing down on the mochi clumps so it can stretch out. Just like before, I continued to add in the cornstarch on the stickier parts of the mochi.

Huzzah! It worked!

This process made everything go much more smoothly afterwards! Having the mochi stretched out onto the cutting board made placing the red bean covered strawberry and wrapping it up a lot easier and less messy. I just wish that I figured that out sooner because there was literally cornstarch everywhere in the kitchen. 

AND OVERALL...

This was fun to make! I handed this out to friends and family and they all loved it! 

Next time, even though cornstarch basically saved my life, I definitely want to minimize the amount I use. It is quite powdery when you eat it. My housemate spilled some on the couch by accident. (Don’t worry. She cleaned up after herself.)

Also, I am pretty sure mochi should not be that big. I was working with huge strawberries and I didn’t bother to cut them in half. 

And if you have made ichigo daifuku/mochi before, I have one question. Would red bean paste work and taste better than canned red bean? It was quite difficult keep some of the beans from poking out of the mochi. I’m sure the layer was not thick enough, but I would like to know the difference it would make. My mother also suggested that I should make my own anko. I definitely want to aim for better quality next time!

Mila gettin turnt with Jay Park​'s MOMMAE.

몸매 MOMMAE (Cat Version) youtu.be/xT6AC8yHojI

What is PIKAGENIE craving today?

I plan to talk about any treats (from sweet to savory) that come across interesting and yummy! These treats will mostly be centered towards, but not limited to, the Asian category!

Sometimes, we need those small pick me ups to get us through the day.

Puppet Crunchy thing... 

So, I was offered this snack during filming. I asked my friend what exactly is it... And even he didn’t know! Others tried it and seriously... No one knows. 

Based on my experience, I believe it’s some kind of rice cracker. 

The filling in the middle really ties up the savory taste! I would describe the taste of this, but this snack... It’s more like you just have to try it! Anyway, I will just call it a rice cracker. Yet, this is not just an ordinary rice cracker! 

Usually, rice crackers are plain sweet, but you don’t taste some sort of kick into it. The filling here brings that kick! Maybe this treat is like the deep fried version of a rice cracker. 

I would definitely eat this again and recommend all to try! (I did not taste any peanut so I will assume it is peanut-free!) Warning: After taste is not something you would want to keep in your mouth. It’s not that it’s terrible. It’s that kind of after taste that just makes you want to brush your teeth afterwards. Definitely have mints on you if you were to try this.

The rest of the treats I will be introducing is from Japan Crate.

Fujiya Country Ma’am Crispy

You know those Famous Amos cookies? 

Very similar! Crunchy, lots of chocolate... Maybe even richer in the chocolate portion!

To be honest, this is not something I would definitely go out of my way for, but it is a nice snack to try if you get the chance. For me, it’s too similar to the Famous Amos concept to be considered unique.

(I have to admit though. They do taste a bit more fresh than Famous Amos.)

Lotte Kami Bikkuriman

When I first saw this in my crate, my first impression was, “WHAT?! I GOT A TRADING CARD?”

Actually, I did. With a snack. 

No idea what the worth value of the card is, but hey, cool prize. 

But on to the wafer!

Crunchy! (A lot of what I have covered so far are crunchy... hehe) The wafer does not taste stale like how some packaged wafers are. It’s not heavily chocolate based. It tastes... light?

I think I would buy again, but I could do without a prize. You know how some treats that come with prizes usually cost more? I would assume the prize would add to the cost. If the company was selling the wafers separately, then I would buy them!

Miniature Hi-Chews

I am sure that a majority of us have tried Hi-Chews before. My first experience with Hi-Chews led me to buying them every week from the 7 Eleven near my school. Hyper times...

This comes in four flavors: green apple, strawberry, grape, and lemon. 

I have never seen lemon hi-chews before. Let alone miniature Hi-Chews.

Anyway, right when I opened the box, the aroma totally took over the air for a brief moment! After tasting them the four different flavors, they basically taste like the regular Hi-Chews. The minis are not as overwhelming as the regular sized! I do admit that. For me, regular sized Hi-Chews make me salivate more, which makes me chew with more effort! 

My favorite flavor is definitely the grape flavor. Strawberry and green apple are tied while the lemon is last. 

Being adventurous, I decided to put all four flavors into my mouth at the same time. Oh goodness, I regret it so much. Lemon and green apple (mostly the green apple) overpowers the flavor. I felt so twitchy while consuming it.

Speaking of twitchy, I was holding my phone and my friend texted me. Right when he texted me, my hand spazzed, making me knock down the box and having candy spill out. He owes me. YA HEAR THAT, FRIEND? YA OWE ME!

Anyway.

I had a stupid moment as well. I totally did not scrutinize the box.

There is a designated place to open the box! If I saw this sooner, I wouldn’t have so much candy spill out! 

I think it’s convenient. The only qualm I have about it is when I start to get picky. There was a time at one point where I constantly got lemon. So, if you do open it the correct way and intend on getting a flavor you want, have fun with excessive shaking and trading!

I would definitely get this again so I wouldn’t have the need to stuff ten regular sized Hi-Chews in my mouth. Here, I can eat so much without feeling guilty! hehehe~

Once again, thank you, Japan Crate, for these sweet treats! Special thanks to my friend for that Puppet treat. 

What are some of your own small pick me ups? 

What is PIKAGENIE craving today?

I plan to talk about any treats (from sweet to savory) that come across interesting and yummy! These treats will mostly be centered towards, but not limited to, the Asian category! 

Today’s PIKAGENIE Cravings: LOOK A LA MODE CHOCOLATE

LOOK! Chocolate! 

I tried the LOOK brand chocolate before. However, the one I tried was green tea flavored. I honestly like LOOK green tea chocolate a lot more than the green tea Kit Kats. The green tea, in my opinion, tastes a lot richer in LOOK than in Kit Kats. Both are equally great, but I would definitely choose LOOK over Kit Kats if I had to pick between the two. I know for a fact that LOOK chocolate is quite expensive where I am from, but it is definitely worth it. (Just remember not to blow your money off.) 

Anyway, thanks to JapanCrate, I got the chance to try four different flavors from LOOK. The four flavors are banana, almond, strawberry, and caramel. 

All flavors taste amazing, but if I had to put them in order of preference...

1. Strawberry

2. Almond

3. Banana

4. Caramel

Surprisingly, I actually liked the banana flavor. The banana flavor was the one I was most concerned about. I have had bad experiences with banana flavored chocolates. (Ooh, the horrible flashbacks.) 

I know I labeled the strawberry flavor as the best. However, I was also skeptical with this flavor. Don’t misunderstand. I actually do like strawberry flavored treats. However, the one strawberry flavored snack that I really do not like is strawberry flavored Pocky. Yes, I said it. No regrets. ... I said as I began running away from the angry Pocky fans.

There is something about strawberry flavored Pocky that I do not like. I like Pocky. Chocolate, almond... Heck, even the cheesecake flavor wasn’t too bad! But for some reason, every time I eat the strawberry one, I feel like I am eating a lipstick. (Not that I’ve eaten lipstick before...) It’s not that it tastes like lipstick.. maybe the texture? I honestly don’t know. Am I the only one that doesn’t like this flavor?

Moving on...

Overall, LOOK chocolate is definitely a chocolate brand to look into. (Is this why it’s called “LOOK?”)

There is an even distribution between the filling and chocolate. First, you would taste the chocolate. Then, the filling will slowly take over. After getting acquainted with the filling, the chocolate taste will return and mix in with the filling. 

What I really love about LOOK is how even if you just bite into half of a piece, the flavor is capable of overwhelming your taste buds! When I was almost done with the chocolate, I wanted to savor the last few moments. Eating in halves really made those last few moments the best... Sigh. Can someone send me strawberry or green tea flavored LOOK chocolates?

One last thing I want to talk about is how nice the chocolates are presented! The presentation is very uniformed. You know how in See’s Candies, there are different shapes and designs (assuming we are talking about the assorted candies)? I grew up eating a lot of chocolate. Whenever there was See’s Candies in the house, I would always take the rounder pieces since they looked like the most promising ones. And they were (most of the time)! Because I’ve eaten a lot of chocolate growing up, it was not difficult for me to memorize the flavors. (I am aware of those little handouts that come with the box, but sometimes, those were thrown away to prevent my sister and I from being picky.) It may be just me to be this observant. My sister did it the “normal way”... She pinched the bottom or ate half the piece like any other person... Or she just gave me the rest of her half. (She’s older, so she had older sibling powers to choose which flavors I can and cannot eat... Skittles was our candy growing up. Well, it was mostly her candy. She would just give me and our dad the purple colored Skittles. I didn’t mind because I actually liked the purple ones! Our dad, however, got mad and kept telling her to just eat whatever she can get from the bag and stop giving the “bad flavors” to me and him.)

Anyway, all of the pieces in LOOK chocolates look the same! So, if you are like my sister, be sure to take out the pieces you want, which is coordinated with the wrapper. Then, give your younger sibling or someone you don’t like the other ones without the wrapper. They will have no choice, but to choose what is offered and be surprised. Better yet... If you are the younger sibling, do the same thing, except rearrange the chocolates so it does not coordinate with the wrapper!

Well, hopefully this makes you want to LOOK for this chocolate brand! Thank you, JapanCrate, for providing this yummy candy in your monthly crate!

Original post here: http://fav.me/d8obcot

Lyrics from Tablo’s version of Taeyang’s “Eyes, Nose, Lips”.

Original post here: http://pikagenie.deviantart.com/art/Hungry-Hungry-Panda-490071006

I am attempting to start blogging again. 

Let’s see how this works out.

I made a tumblr because I wanted to blog about this product. Originally, that product was going to be reviewed in a vlog, but I cannot review so well on camera. I still want to give this product a review so I made a blog. 

I plan to share things that I think are interesting... Maybe some of my works... I don’t know! What I do know is that I do want to try blogging again. It has been YEARS since I have legitimately used a blogging site.