New Review: Hello Kitty Kinder Surprise Eggs

Hello Kitty Kinder Surprise Eggs.  Enough said. I should just end the review here. Just look at the adorable photos. It's a cuteness overload that brings together two of my favourite things; Hello Kitty & chocolate. Of course, now the only downside is that I need to collect THEM ALL. I need all the Hello Kitty Kinder toys right now.

Each Hello Kitty Kinder Surprise toy comes with it's own scenic background that is decorated on both sides. The details are all so cute and well done. 

I've got three Hello Kitty figures in my collection so far, each with a unique themed background.

Zoom in to see the eight figures available - I NEED the reindeer kitty!

The Hello Kitty Kinder Surprise Eggs are part of a release with the Hot Wheels Kinder Surprise Eggs but honestly who cares about Hot Wheels? I bought just the one for my sons to fight over. Anyhoo, Hello Kitty is awesome! 

Grocery Gems Verdict: Kinder Surprise Hello Kitty

RATING: 10 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes!
Purchased: Asda.
Price:  £0.80p each.

Meiji Apollo Strawberry Chocolate Cones (Hello Kitty Edition)

I'm having a few technical problems at the moment so here are a few photos only. I'll update it later today (hopefully) with a review!

Happy Halloween!

A very late post but I just have to show off this awesome Hello Kitty pumpkin carving that Mr. Grocery Gems did today. I had no idea he was planning this and I was so excited when I first saw it - it's so cute! Over the years Mr. Grocery Gems has been honing his pumpkin carving skills and I'd say he's now an expert.

Have a great weekend everyone! Katherine x

Oishi Fun - Japanese Candy & Snack Box

Oishi Fun is a surprise subscription based candy & snack box, that ships direct from Tokyo, Japan. Each month Oishi Fun send out a box crammed full of different treats and goodies, often with limited edition and seasonal products included too. The boxes cost $25 (around £15) and unlike some other subscription boxes, you don't need to sign up for a set number of months - the subscription can be cancelled at any time. More details: http://www.oishifun.com

It was exciting to be asked to review the October Oishi Fun box, and once it arrived, I was staggered by just how many items were crammed into the medium sized box (it was like the Tardis in there!), including some awesome Halloween and kawaii items. There were plenty of full sized products along with lots of individual sweets and snacks. I've already decided to sign up for a few more boxes because the selection was just amazing and I can't resist the lure of these limited edition items. Check out the photos below for all the items. A little warning here - there are a LOT of photos!

Lotte Koala Halloween Pack: I'm going to jump straight in with the seasonal items that I was delighted to find included in the box. Lotte Koala are little biscuits with a chocolate fillings. This limited Halloween pack is not just cute packaging as the little biscuits are also printed with Halloween images. I've been eyeing this up on Facebook recently so I was thrilled to find it in the Oishi Fun box. I'll have a review up soon!

Kit Kat Pumpkin Pudding Bake-able: These look like the same Pumpkin Pudding flavour that I reviewed last year HERE but this time they are also bake-able. Take a look at my review of these baked Kit Kat HERE and you'll get the idea! As such a limited and coveted item (these sold out really fast last year), I was very surprised to see them included in the Oishi Fun box! Having such limited edition items really puts the Oishi Fun box ahead of other subscription boxes in my opinion. 

Halloween Treat Bag: There were also more sweets and chocolates included in a little cello treat bag put together by the lovely people at Oishi Fun. I loved the Halloween cello bag used  here - it's so cute. 

Inside were even more Japanese treats. I couldn't quite believe just how many were in this little bag, and amazingly there was another Kit Kat Pumpkin Pudding in here! There were also two Halloween themed lollipops (these are so cute!), some Hello Kitty sweets, Banana Milk Caramel and other candies.

A very scary looking gum. Okay, so here's the spooky thing - this gum has gone missing. I know it was in the box earlier today, but when I went back to write this review... it's gone. I have a feeling I'll find it on top of my pillow one day. It's seriously creepy looking but perfect for Halloween. Once I find it I'll update with more details!

Calbee Jagarico Crunchy Potato Sticks: These crunchy Jagarico potato sticks are so tasty, they have a deliciously buttery and salty flavour.

Tirol Chocolate Mix 9 Pack: This is an adorable box of nine different chocolate each with a unique flavour, including; Strawberry Jelly, Hot Cake, Coffee Caramel and White Cookie Crunch. I was so surprised to find this is in a subscription box, it's just fantastic!

Glico Collon: These were also wrapped in a cello gift bag (which you can see in the top left corner of the above pic) - it was lovely to find these individually wrapped items in the Oishi Fun box. 

Baby Star Ramen Chips: These are a classic Japanese snack that have been around for many years. They're chicken flavoured dry ramen noodle chips - I'm looking forward to trying them.

Kanro Puré Fruit Gummy: I've been wanting to try this range for quite a while. There were two different flavours included in the box; Lemon and Grape. 

Umaibo Pizza and Umaibo Corn Potage: Umaibo snacks are really tasty corn snacks that come in lots of different flavours (see my previous review HERE).  I always make sure to include a few different varieties whenever I order from my favourite online Japanese stores. However, I've never tried the Corn Potage flavour before so I was pleased to find these in the Oishi Fun box.  

Riska Choco Snack: These are chocolate biscuits in a long tube shape. I haven't tried these yet but they look like a sweet version of the above Umaibo snacks! :)

Glico Watering Kiss Mint: This is an interestingly named gum! Going by the packaging this one is pear flavoured but if you know more about this product then feel free to leave a comment below!

Morinaga Milk Caramels & a Popcan Disney Lollipop: I've reviewed the Morinaga Milk Caramels before HERE - they're deliciously creamy, soft caramels. The lollipop is so cute because it's shaped with two ears like Mickey Mouse. It looks like something that would be quite expensive to buy.

Meiji The Chocolate: Two individually wrapped Meiji chocolates. 

Even more Japanese candy!: And these are the rest of the smaller candies that were in the box. There are several different jelly based sweets, mini chocolates from Lotte and Meiji, a Fujiya grand nut and just too many other sweets to mention. There are actually a few chocolates missing from the picture above which gives you an idea how much was in the box! 

There was even this cute little kawaii cat in the bottom of the box (I seriously don't know how Oishi Fun managed to fit everything in). This cuddly cat is actually a small bag as there is a long strap that unfolds from the back and it has a little pouch too. Just adorable!

Overall, I'm extremely impressed with all the items in the Oishi Fun box. Not only is it stuffed full of exciting products, but it also has the feel of a gift that has been packaged up and sent by a friend. This is not something I've come across with any other subscription box before and I really can't wait to see what goodies the next Oishi Fun box will include! On the basis of this October box, I think the Oishi Fun box would make a fantastic gift too. 

Subscription Box Details: Oishi Fun

Rating: 10 out of 10 - I'm signing up!

Price: $25.00 each month (just over £15).

Delivery:  Free shipping. Parcels are sent out on 15th of each month.

More details: http://www.oishifun.com/faq

Hyper Japan 2014 & my mini haul!

This weekend I visited Hyper Japan for the second year in a row. I had a great time last year with my eldest son and this time my youngest wanted to come along too. Once again the Tofu Cute store (above) was one of the highlights for me, but we also enjoyed meeting the various characters around the event (Mario & Luigi for example), and trying out Shaved Ice for the first time!

Lots of Hello Kitty cuteness to be found - I was good and resisted buying anything Hello Kitty related.

There's always so much adorable stationary, including a vast array of stickers.

I'm not sure what the fascination is with poop shaped stationary though! There were poo erasers, sharpeners, pens, in lots of pastel colours...

My boys are both big Nintendo fans so unsurprisingly we spent a lot of time in the large gaming zones. They even got to play a game that was only recently announced for release - Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. It looked really good. I didn't take too many photos in the gaming area as it was always so busy and very crowded. The nearby Nintendo Store had loads of fun merchandise (above), all quite expensive though.

I wish I could have spent more looking at the beautiful kitchenware, unfortunately this was the closest I got! Maybe next time. 

We tried Shaved Ice for the first time and it was totally delicious and refreshing, perfect on a hot and humid afternoon. The ice is shaved so thin it's melts in the mouth instantly and the added fresh fruit and syrups were gorgeously flavoured. We also ate Chicken Katsu Curry and a chicken noodle dish from one of the food stalls, but I found this type of food to be very over priced and disappointing in taste. I had the same experience last year so maybe I'm just unlucky with the stalls I picked. 

And of course there was lots of cool Japanese candy and chocolate to look at. A new Snoopy Pocky!

I could spend days just looking at this stuff but here's what I bought in the end - my Hyper Japan mini haul:

There was lots of Pocky to choose from but in the end I went for this Berry Carnival flavour as it seemed the most unusual and is certainly one I've never seen before. I could have bought lots of different Kit Kat flavours but after lots of indecision I eventually chose this Raspberry flavour from their "adult sweetness" range. I was also very excited to finally get my hands on the Meiji Rich Banana 70% bar. This is one I've been wanting to try for ages and I can confirm it's extremely tasty!

I couldn't resist picking up a few sweets too. The Puccho Cola and Soda flavours are ones I've tried before but the Puccho Pyramid Blue Soda Candy Balls are new (top of the photo above). They have awesome triangular shaped packaging.

In the end I did buy a little bit of stationery too, there was just so much temptation. The syringe pens are filled with colourful liquid and are very odd I admit, but funny at the same time. I figured I can't have too many notepads and these mushroom ones are just so bright and fun. 

My Hyper Japan round up seems quite shopping obsessed but there were lots of other cool Japanese events that we enjoyed. There were wrestling fights, singers, dancers, karaoke, cosplayers everywhere, kawaii dress up, and lots more :)

Hong Kong Snack Haul!

Mr. Grocery Gems visited Hong Kong a few weeks ago and he somehow managed to bring a huge snack haul home with him. I've obviously trained him well as a snack spotter! Here's a quick round up of some of the products.

These Calbee Potato Grid Crisps have an interesting grid shape and are flavoured with onions, peppers and barbecue chicken.

The Calbee Olive & Garlic Pizza look similar to the Calbee Pizza chips that I reviewed HERE. Unfortunately, this Olive & Garlic variety was very disappointing - inside was a mostly empty packet!

My husband is quite annoyed that he made room in his luggage for a bag that has been pumped full of AIR. What a waste of time!

Potato chips from Nissin with pretty pink blossom packaging and an intriguing flavour too - Sour Plum! I'm not sure if I am brave enough to try them, the last time I tried a Sour Plum flavoured product it did not end well! See my review of the Ume Ninja Meshi HERE (third product down). 

A fab selection of sweets! There are Lemon Hi-Chew, Peach Hi-Chew, some Matcha Milk Candy, Puccho Soda Flavour, and lastly Puccho Miracle (assorted fruit flavour). 

The packaging of the Puccho sweets is so much fun - especially the rainbow bright Puccho Miracle!

Pocky Mango Mousse (I've reviewed these previously HERE), Calbee Jagabee potato snacks and Crunky Crunch Chocolate - the last two have been on my wishlist for some time.

It's quite hard to convey just how adorable this little box of 9 Mix chocolate are. I'll try to take better photos and do a full review soon. Each chocolate is wrapped with a completely different style of packaging, from retro to folksy, and yet the whole thing works together to create a bright appealing look. I can't wait to try these.

Oreo Chocolate Wafers - Strawberry flavour. I've tried a few of these Oreo wafers from China before (see review of the Peanut flavour HERE). I also have a box of Mint flavoured ones I bought from Chinatown recently. Reviews to follow.

I have a slight obsession with maneki-neko (lucky fortune cats) so I was thrilled with this bag of Kikko Lucky Cat Candy mix - hard candies in fruity flavours. The packaging really does make me smile! 

More cuteness in the form of these pastel coloured (and Bunny themed!) Hello Kitty candies. I should have reviewed these for Easter!

These look so cool! These Tada Banana Castella Cakes are bean paste filled banana sponge cakes that are also banana shaped AND even have the word Banana embossed across them. Just in case you didn't get the message. I expect these to be epic!

My husband bought a few products from the Bourbon range of Petit biscuits;  a Matcha Choc Chip and also a savoury Cheese Crackers variety. He said these biscuits were on sale everywhere in Hong Kong, and were available in such an array of different flavours, that curiosity got the better of him. I'm so glad it did as I've always wanted to try these mini biscuits. The Matcha Choc Chip variety are available from Oyatsu Cafe HERE. 

These beautifully packaged Coconut & Pineapple cakes from Aji Ichiban were mainly bought as presents for family and friends. 

Lastly an enormous "Gift of Hong Kong" box of biscuits with a delicious selection of flavours. The little Ginger Cookies and Jasmine Green Tea Cookies in particular, were divine, whilst the mini Panda Cookies are just too cute to eat!

All thanks to Mr. Grocery Gems - I think he may have brought home the equivalent of a small supermarket back with him! There were actually a few other items that I haven't included above (yes, really), like some noodle pots and even Hello Kitty shaped cookies. Bringing home new snacks is always one of the best aspects about going abroad! :)