October 26, 2005
You can burn Ramen
Yes. There it is. A pan of burnt ramen. Bet you didn't know it could be done!
I should of used a pot, something shallower. Because I used the specified 550 ml water and I let it boil for the required 5 minutes and I get a kitchen smelled with smoke.
To top that off, I go into the kitchen and breathe the smoke. No big deal, usually. The only problem is that the seasoning contained Capsicum. The Smoke mady my nostrils and throat burn like crazy! Well, they still do, actually, but only a little.
Posted by akijikan at 11:47 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
August 26, 2005
Aloe Vera Drink
I found an asian food market in Knoxville, and I while I was there I spied a curious looking drink.
I've never heard of aloe vera for internal use, let alone to satisfy thirst
Incase you're wondering its okay maybe even good. It's peach flavored so I didn't really get to try the aloe vera taste alone, and the can said it contains pulp, but its not like orange juice pulp. Thier idea of pulp is actual chunks of what I assume are aloe vera plant in the drink. Which texturally could gross some people out.
Next time I'll have to see if I can find some unflavored aloe vera drinks.
Posted by akijikan at 9:06 PM | TrackBack
April 18, 2005
Bird's Nest Drink
This came from the same visit to the asian market as when I purchased the marble drink.
There was a number on the can that looked like a date...and if it was then this drink was past date, but if not it's just plain nasty.
Yan Wo is chinese for bird's nest?
Nevermind whether is was past date or not, I thought it was plain gross. I didn't finish it after a couple of sips.
Posted by akijikan at 5:45 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 26, 2005
Marble Drink
So while my girlfriend was still in town, we had to take my dad to the doctor for his back (that's another post). Just down the street was an Asian market. We decided to go there while my dad was at the doctor.
My girlfriend went for the candies that her Japanese grandmother would give her every Christmas: Pocky, and some small cookies that were shaped like koala bears with chocolate and strawberry centers.
I looked around a bit and just on a curious whim, picked up a couple interesting-looking drinks. One was a carbonated beverage that had a special feature I didn't even notice until I went to drink it.
The top is sealed with a Marble!
This is very interesting and I didn't know what to do to get it out. I realized there was a lot of numbered text on the wrapper! Aha, that means instructions!
If it's hard to tell, that's my girlfriend's finger which is pointed to a picture of a palm pushing the included plastic device down on the marble to push it out of the bottle opening and into the bottle. Which I did. It wasn't easy either.
No the marble isn't floating in the drink. At this point I've already drunk it all.
The bottle is just made narrow there so it traps the marble.
Now as to the taste of the drink, it's not all that great. It really doesn't taste like anything, well maybe except for a non-distinct citrus flavor, and some sugar. I wasn't too fond of it, but my girlfriend loved it. This is nice though, just for the marble gimmick.
Posted by akijikan at 10:30 PM | TrackBack
February 28, 2005
Kellog's Mini Swirlz Cinnamon Bun Cereal
This is Kellog's cereal that is supposed to taste like a cinnamon roll. Now I am a big fan of cinnamon rolls, so I think I can fairly gauge how well they managed to get the taste correct.
Does it taste like a cinnamon roll? Not exactly. Does it taste bad? No. It tastes like a cinnamon-flavored cereal. Nothing too exciting or unexpected. If you like cinnamon, then you'll like this cereal. Otherwise, skip it.
Posted by akijikan at 8:19 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
February 10, 2005
Reese's Big Cup
I saw these at Wal-Mart and I had to pick it up. Reese's is my favorite candy of all time, and of course the best part of a Reese's is the peanut butter. So they made these with more. I know they're not new, I jut haven't seen them in a while and I haven't seen them in a King Size (2-pack).
Awesome. Look at all the peanut butter!
Posted by akijikan at 11:31 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 31, 2005
Today at the Mall: PSP!!
So I went to the mall today for a preliminary interview at The Buckle. I didn't get picked up for the second round though because I lacked clothing retail experience. He said he would call me if any n00bs get fired or leave or anything.
I got some lunch at the mall. I tried this fast-foot Japanese hibachi place. I got chicken tempura and fried rice and accidentally covered the chicken in siracha. How adventurous am I?
I never finish all the rice
From there I decided to check out EB Games. I was talking to the sales person on the floor about the PSP and she mentioned that her manager had an import sitting in the back. She said he was gone, and she didn't want to touch it herself, but that I should come back in 10 minutes. So I did, and the guy let me play a whole race in Ridge Racers. What a guy! I've always thought nice of EBGames, but now I think a whole lot more of them!
Anyways my short impression of the PSP is simple: Freakin' Sweet! Anyone who is worried about the analog nub, forget about it. It's fine, especially if you're experienced with a dual shock. You hardly notice it's a sliding motion. It was all beautiful, and as far as I could tell no technical issues. I didn't experience button stick/squeak or notice dead pixels, but keep in mind I didn't get to spend quality time with it, just a quick race in Ridge Racers.
I've always been kinda fair-minded when it came to PSP vs. DS, but it's painfully obvious to me, the PSP blows the DS out of the water. Nintendo is really going to have to work hard for those third party games and exclusivity contracts.
SWEET!!
I cannot wait till I have my own.
Posted by akijikan at 8:59 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
October 9, 2004
Lay's Stax Original Flavor
We got these free for buying Fritos, Tostitos, and Ruffles all at the same time. Normally we wouldn't buy them, and if we wanted this kid of chip, we'd buy Pringles.
I was in a snacky mood so I opened the rather expensive-looking (nice plastic) can and ate one.
This tastes just like a pringle! What a rip. I expected something similar but not the same thing. Lame!
Posted by akijikan at 2:33 AM | TrackBack
October 8, 2004
Hi-C Sour Blast Green Apple Fruit Drink
When I was growing up, I drank Hi-C in boxes. I haven't seen juice in a box in a long time. I remember the only thing that came in a pouch was Capri Sun. Times have changed. Hi-C has apparently gotten in on that market, and is claiming a new share with this offering. What kid doesn't love sour candy?
standard explosive graphics on children's snack items
One annoying thing about Capri Sun was that there was this tiny plastic spot, where you would poke this flimsy plastic straw to try and get to the drink. Unfortunately, this would often be unsuccessful and you would have juice everywhere. Hi-C has taken care of that.
the pouch will eat your lips
As you can see the straw is simply poked through the top of the pouch, eliminating the trouble of trying to poke the straw through a tiny area. They have also made the straw thicker and stronger, so it can stand up to what the foil pouch has to offer in terms of being penetrated by anything.
So you think the whole poking things with long objects is fun...wait till you get to the drinking. The most interesting part is that the inside of the straw is coated in sour powder. So when you take your first sip, some very sour chunks make their way into your mouth. I'll tell you now, this is the most blast you are going to get out of the drink. After the first few sips, there is no more sour powder. You just enjoy the rest of the juice by itself. Though they did manage to capture the taste of a granny smith apple very well.
vanquished, the pouch laid there, knowing he had been foiled again
Excuse the puns and innuendo, I could not resist. I'm glad to get a post in that is really the bread and butter of this blog. I'd been turning to politics to come up with new posts, but here is what I really like. Enjoy!
Posted by akijikan at 1:30 AM | TrackBack
August 17, 2004
Nestle Overload Candy
King Size equals three peanut butter cups
package detail: three different types
This is new for me. I've never seen it before, though my girlfriend says she's seen it for a while. My mom picked it up for me. Moms are nice like that. The candies are peanut butter cups. But they're not Reese's Peanut Butter cups, so I knew they woulf be different from that all time favorite of mine. The first Type featured "Nestle Candies." These were basically M&M's...but since its not the M&M/Mars company its not M$M's (or Reese's). The next one was Butterfinger which sounded interesting, because Butterfinger is already a peanut butter and chocolate candy, seems they would seek something different to go on a peanut butter cup. Last was topped with Buncha-Crunch. Which is interesting because its double-brand leveraging. Why isn't it just topped with Crunch Bar? Buncha-Crunch is just small clusters of crunchy material (nuts?) covered in chocolate, with the "Cruch" brand leveraged from the bar featuring clusters of crunchy material immersed in a milk chocolate bar. So they then leverage "Buncha-Crunch" for this item instead of just "Crunch." Interesting.
package detail: hmmmmmm, assorted
Because the it said "Assorted" I wondered if there might be not always the three pictured on the front, and sometimes more than one of one type and none of another. I doubted this is the case though. Only one way to find out. Another thing I was how the peanut butter used in the cups is candied, if at all. What I mean is in a Reese's they don't use just plain peanut butter, its a special type for the candy. What would Nestle do?
good, one of each, I was hoping to try them all
the Buncha-Crunch
idividually wrapped just like a Reese's, though Reese's doesn't have the fancy tray in the ealier picture
I bit into this one. Ah, plain peanut butter was used. I guess they didn't want to make it any sweeter because of the candy on top. I found this kinda blah, and the "Buncha-Crunch" to just be, well, crunchy and a contrasting sweeter chocolate than the chocolate used in the peanut butter cup. Not especially good.
next up, "Nestle Candies" topped
Whoa! Can I get a little quality control?
First of all, Click on the picture above to examine it closer in full size (as you can do with all my pictures in this journal), and you'll see some "Buncha-Crunch" got on the "Nestle Candies" cup. Poor process leads to poor control, they obviously make the cups and top them in the container next to each other instead of making and topping in seperate batches before putting them in.
Second, though its not pictured, they double wrapped this one. Not a Huge deal...but just the facts.
Now the taste here was good. The chocolate inside these candies I find to be just right to accent the peanut butter cup's chocolate. Tastes sweet, but nothing special.
The Butterfinger
This is interesting, because they've used nuggets of the Butterfinger filling without any of the chocolate. As anyone who's had a Butterfinger before knows, the filling is very hard and crunchy. The flavor was good, but the nuggets contrasted with the real peanut butter in the cups poorly and wasn't very tasty.
Overall, I find this offering from Nestle dissapointing and lack-luster. They didn't try hard on this one, and were only going for novelty, not quality.
Posted by akijikan at 8:41 PM | TrackBack
July 15, 2004
Yay
I made the best chocolate chip cookies ever today.
there used to be a lot more....OMGWTFBBQ
Posted by akijikan at 10:57 PM | TrackBack
May 15, 2004
Daylilies' Sour Cherry Pepper Jelly
by Daylilies Unique Gifts & Baskets for All Occasions
We got this at the Four Bridges Art Show on Mothers day (see post on 5-9-04). Why it was at an art show I dunno. But my mom remembered tring something called pepper jelly at a party she went to when we still lived in Texas.
If you were flying over the jar, this would be your POV
Now I wanted to test just the flavor of the jelly, but I didn't want to eat the jelly straight because thats not the way jelly is meant to be eaten.
What could I put the jelly on that would have limited taste? White bread of course! I also decided it would be best to toast the bread.
this bread is what we always have around
toasted and ready to be jellied
It is jellied, but its thicker towars the bottom. I prefer my bread-spreads to be as even as possible, but it wasn't a huge issue here
Now that it was ready to go, I gave it a taste. I took one bite and the jelly flavor was nice and a had strong cherry-ness. But I didn't taste any of the peppers. Nor did I taste any sourness. And after the cherry flavor was past there was spiciness, but that's all the peppers contributed. My mom also said it wasn't the same as what she was thinking of from that party. Oh well. See yous guys tomorrow!
Posted by akijikan at 6:25 PM | TrackBack