York Peppermint Patty

After spending an extended period of time writing about treasures from the Far East, I thought it was time to write about candy that can be found at almost anywhere. I've neglected to write about simpler things such as the Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar, various M&M's, and so on. Today, I will be dissecting a candy that I haven't had in quite a long time and see if time has treated it well.

The York Peppermint Patty is a unique candy that still confuses me even to this day. Like the Klondike Bar, it doesn't follow the trends of its peers. Whereas most candies come in bars or in little bits, the York Peppermint Patty comes in the form of a patty. I slightly remember the commercials for these, but I can't say that I can really recall what these tasted like. If anything, the first candy that came to mind were Junior Mints

An unwrapped York Peppermint Patty

A York Peppermint Patty cut into two pieces

This tasted like a really big Junior Mint. The chocolate flavor was very subtle in this candy; I could only taste mint and more mint. It had a smooth, creamy texture, but the flavor did not appeal to me. What is the chocolate shell on the outside for if it's only there for decoration? It certainly was refreshing, but I had hoped that there would have been more of a chocolate presence. In short, it was too minty for me and I probably would not purchase this candy again.

York Peppermint Patty: 6/10

Japan Loot part 8

I'm somewhat familiar with the next item I'm about to write about. I've written about a product from this brand before and I didn't exactly praise it. However, despite it not being my favorite brand of chocolate, I will do my duty:

Another LOOK chocolate bar and this time it's Parfait A La Mode. I don't know why I'm not a big fan of this chocolate. Maybe it's the chocolate and not the filling that I have an issue with. Regardless, I tried to keep an open mind about this. At the time that Karina and Phil gave this to me, I hadn't seen it yet in markets. However, I have recently seen it on at least two occasions. Back to the candy, this time I assume it's going to be some sort of creamy substance with fruit flavoring

From left to right: Blueberry Parfait, Pudding Parfait, Strawberry Parfait, Chocolate Parfait

What's not shown in the picture is the fruit filling. Yes, right above that creamy layer is a spread of fruit jam or something. Some of it oozed out when I tried getting the picture above. Right off the bat, I really liked the blueberry parfait flavor. I don't know what it is about blueberry filling, but I really enjoy it. I'm not sure how many widely available candies have blueberry outside of fruit snacks. I also really like Meiji brand Blueberry Chocolate bars as well. The pudding parfait flavor was not my favorite. That's not to say it was bad, but it was because I couldn't tell what it was. I have no idea what pudding parfait tastes like. Moving on, strawberry parfait was good, but not as good as blueberry parfait. I could definitely smell the strawberry flavoring in it. The chocolate parfait tasted and smelled like coffee. Not exactly chocolate, but hey, it's different from the other fruity flavors. I think this was a better showing than the previous LOOK product I wrote about, but I still have an issue about the chocolate. Something about their chocolate rubs me the wrong way. Regardless though, I will state it again, this is better than LOOK Baskin Robbins.

LOOK Parfait A La Mode: 7/10

Japan Loot part 7

Again, as mentioned in my previous entry, I am approaching the last items of the items Phil and Karina got me, and I saved one of the most unique items for this one:

Gummy sushi. The concept doesn't sound too weird, does it? I mean we have gummy burgers, spaghetti, etc. (gummy pizza, as my friend Brittany showed me via text) So what makes gummy sushi any different? That question will be answered later, so let's focus on the bag for now. There's an overly excited sushi chef packing fish on rice and there's one of those wooden things they have sushi rice in. For some reason the sushi rice container is disappointed. I'm going to assume that the question mark means that there are infinite possibilities

The sushi unwrapped. It looks very nice

I have to say that this was one of the best looking candies I've seen in a while. The colors are very vibrant and the shapes are very pleasing to the eye. I think the the rice is peach, the orange things are orange, and the red things are cherry. Now what's the difference between gummy sushi and other gummy items? I don't have a distaste for sushi. I'm not going to lie, I hate gummy burgers, spaghetti, and the like, so I was very skeptical of gummy sushi. However, this didn't look like Play-Doh or silly putty molded to look food; it actually looked appetizing. The taste was very typical, except it was a bit stickier than most gummy candies. The flavors were very good and the aromas didn't smell artificial. I liked this product, but you don't get that much at all. I suppose you should take good things in moderation, but candy should never be taken in moderation, if anything it should be consumed in mass quantities. For that, I can't give it as high as a score as I want, but if I had unlimited quantities of this candy, it'd get a higher score.

Gummy Sushi: 8/10

Japan Loot part 6

If I recall, the next candy was advertised to me by Karina and Phil as, "Hella good", so I saved this for one of the last entries.

There are four flavors, as shown on this bag. There's grape, lemon, apple, and soda. I noticed that this bag has a ziplock seal, which is very convenient for later eating purposes. I was also told that I was supposed to open a packet of some sort of powder and shake it up, so that's probably why they have a ziplock seal

Here are the candies next to the packet of powder. The colors should be self explanatory, but I'll list them anyway: grape (purple), apple (red), soda (blue), lemon (yellow)

Instructions on how to do it correctly. For all I know, I could have been doing it terribly wrong though

Candy lightly dusted in crack

What did I expect? I don't really know what I expected. Well based on what I felt, I suppose I expected something gummy, which is what I got. I had no idea what the powder would taste like. I expected something sour, but I got something...unique. It was powdered, kind of like powdered sugar. However, it wasn't sour...the best way to put it was that it was refreshing. It was cool and it was slightly sweet. It made what would have been regular gummy candies better by adding an unexpected sensation. Yes, I am confident that without this powder, the candy would have been just good, but with it I'd say it's a little better than good.

Gummy Candy w/ Powder: 7.5/10

Japan Loot part 5

Coming up, I have another candy which I don't know anything about. When I asked Phil what it was, his said, "It's like...Fruit By the Foot..." I received two packets, each of them is a different flavor. The first one I will be writing about is...

Judging by the bag, it looks like it's cola and soda flavored. There are tentacles or something wrapping around the bag. Yep, that's about as much as I can derive from the bag

I tried pulling out a "piece" and realized it was all one long thing, so I broke it off. Anyway, it's a slightly slimmer version of a gummy worm I'd say

So the flavor reflected what I thought it would be, which was cola and soda flavored. The flavors were like those of any other soda or cola flavored candy found anywhere else and I enjoyed it. The texture reminded me of a slimmer gummy worm. Overall, this candy reminded me of cola and soda flavored gummy worms, which is to say it was pretty good.

Soda and Cola flavored Gummy String: 7/10

Based on the picture, I'm sure it's safe to assume that this is grape flavored. However, what's the difference between green and purple grapes? This candy will answer that question

Again, it's one long strand until you break it off

So what's the difference between purple grapes and green grapes? Well...I couldn't really tell the difference between the two grapes. Maybe the purple had a slightly more intense grape flavor, but that's it. Other than the fact that purple grape was a little stronger, I couldn't really tell a difference between the two. However, I do enjoy grape candies, so this one was quite a delight. The texture was the same as the previous mentioned candy. Overall it was pretty good as well.

Purple Grape and Green Grape flavored Gummy String: 7/10

Japan Loot part 4

Okay, this time I've finally decided to not do a review on the remaining chocolate candy that Phil and Karina got for me, and I've decided to do it on:

Grape Soda and Grape flavored gumies. When I saw this bag, I thought this was an interesting concept and wondered as to how grape soda would taste different from grape. The picture of the grape soda looks pretty refreshing, but it looks like there's tons of ice in there. I also wonder what that mascot with the sunglasses on top is all about

Top grape, bottom grape soda

I decided to try the grape flavored gummy first. The flavor reminded me of a Kasugai Gummy or any other sort of muscat/grape candy, but it was the texture once again that really won me over with this candy. The chewiness seems just right, and I was glad that it wasn't too chewy nor was it too soft. When I tried the grape soda one, my first impression was, "Well, this certainly is soda flavored." I honestly could not taste or smell any sort of grape flavor in the soda one. I wouldn't say I was let down, but the grape soda could have been better if it had some trace hints of being grape flavored. Overall however, the excellent texture and the grape flavor made this one very good.

Grape Soda and Grape Gummies: 8.5/10

Japan Loot part 3

This next item was brought to me because Phil said that he saw my post about chocolate and strawberries:

Chocolat Dessert: Dessert of Strawberry & Milk. The box and pictures reminded me of Melty Blend. I noticed that on the picture of the strawberry, they have milk or some sort of cream being drizzled on it, but no chocolate to be near it. Anyway, I thought I would want to write about something that wasn't chocolate after reviewing the Purple Yam Crunky yesterday, but I felt like strawberries and chocolate regardless of that


A picture of a cube outside its wrapper. I tried dissecting it to get a good look at the middle. Things did not go well

The flavor, like with Milka Strawberry Yogurt, made sense. I feel like I'm beating a dead horse, but people love chocolate covered strawberries, so I think it's time that strawberry chocolates were more widely available in my area. I don't know about the rest of the U.S.A., but I don't see Hershey's Strawberry Chocolate bar or anything being made. The closest thing I've seen are Strawberry Whoppers and PB&J M&Ms.

Back to the candy at hand, I thought it was very good as well. The strawberry smell and flavor was apparent as I put the candy in my mouth, and as it melted I tasted the chocolate. I noticed that if I chewed right through the candy though, the chocolate would overwhelm the strawberry. The only downside I would say to this candy is that it was a little too sweet, but that's not always a bad thing. Again, Phil and Karina are 4 for 4.

Chocolat Dessert Strawberry & Milk: 8/10