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.

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Frito-Lay Japan website

Tirol Mitarashi Dango

Sorry for the recent lack of updates, but I've been on vacation in Japan. So, as a result, I have a lot of candy to review! I was able to find a ton of Tirol chocolate, so I'll start with the Mitarashi Dango deluxe Tirol. It cost about 20 yen at a convenience store.

Mitarashi Dango are made with syrup from soy sauce, sugar, and starch. I ate some at the Mitarashi Festival in Kyoto during this trip, and they were quite tasty, especially washed down with blessed spring water from Shimogamo Shrine.


The treat smelled like rich, slightly toasted white chocolate, and inside, there was some of the mitarashi syrup over a mochi gummy center. The mochi itself doesn't have much of a taste, but the syrup was tasty, with a slightly bitter flavor.

It definitely wasn't as good as the real thing, and the sweetness of the white chocolate was a little much. It wasn't too sweet, but having tried it after trying the real thing, I thought the syrup went better with mochi than with chocolate.

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Tirol Chocolate website

Nestle Soy Sauce KitKat

I spent the last part of October and the first couple days of November in Japan with my husband. What a vacation! I'm still jet-lagged as I type this, but I'm trying very hard to get back on my local time schedule. Anyhow, I thought I'd do a little blogging to help me stay awake.

Here we have the Tokyo only limited edition Soy Sauce KitKat. This is pretty much the weirdest sounding KitKat in the world. I bought this one at Tokyo station just before catching my train. They also had a kinako (toasted soybean flour) flavor, which sounded a lot better, but I couldn't find it and I was in a hurry.



The packaging is very stylish and fancy, as this is meant to be a gift (おみやげ). In Japan, most regions are known for some kind of snack or food, and it's common to bring those things back for other people when you visit that particular place. I don't know if Tokyo is known for soy sauce, but they had a matcha version in Kyoto, so maybe.

I had read about this flavor before leaving for my vacation, so I knew what to expect. Not to be anti-climactic, but I can confirm what everyone else says: it tastes like maple syrup. I could go on and on about how nasty the flavor sounds, but the truth is, they don't taste like soy sauce. They might have had a slight soy aftertaste, but that might have just been my imagination.

The bars are white chocolate, and a little smaller than the normal KitKat double-stick. The box contains 12 mini bars. I've seen these special regional KitKat boxes for anywhere from 700 to 900 yen, so they are a little pricey.

If you were expecting a fun tasting experience, prepare yourself for disappointment. At least they don't taste bad, even if I secretly wanted them to. All in all, if you like maple syrup, you'll like these. Maybe they should repackage them and sell them in Canada or Vermont.

Check out other reviews: The Impulsive Buy, The AV Club, Pretty Pretty Yum Yum, Hamburger Calculus, and Jen's Kit Kat Blog. PHEW!

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KitKat Website (Japanese)