Ramune

Hi everyone! Today I'm going to show you a Japanese soda called Ramune, have you heard of it? It's a hot and humid day today, so this will be the perfect refreshment!

Let's take a closer look at the bottle.

As you might notice, the packaging is in Japanese, but this bottle shape actually has its origins from England. This is called a Codd-neck bottle, made of glass and sealed with a marble, named after its inventor Hiram Codd. He invented this to help reduce the need for corks in bottling production.

Then, a Scottish-born pharmacist named Alexander Cameron Sim introduced the drink to Kobe, Japan in 1884. Since then, there have been at least 50 flavors of Ramune, with some interesting flavors such as:

- chili oil
- teriyaki
- octopus
- mystery flavor

I should suggest a salmon flavor, huh?

Here are the instructions for opening the bottle. Hmm, it is all in Japanese...

Oh, here are the instructions in English!

I've removed the seal from the top and now I can see the marble holding the seal together. But what do I do next?

Inside the cap, there is a piece that looks like it can be separated.

POP!!

Yes, that's perfect! I was able to pop the middle piece out.

It fits right on top of the marble like a plunger. Now, I'm going to push it down hard so the marble drops down into the bottle.

POP!! PLINK!! FIZZ!!

Look at that! The marble went down, and it is caught in the thin neck of the bottle and kinda spins around.

And what does it taste like, you might be wondering? This is the original flavor, and it tastes a bit like a mix of Sprite and ginger ale. It's the perfect treat for a summer day!

Miniature food kit

Hey everyone! Today I am going to show you how to make miniature food with this cool kit.

I'll first set out all the supplies.

Now let's flip over the box to read the instructions. Hey... wait! All the instructions are in Japanese!

I can't read Japanese! Oh no, what am I going to do?

Well, I am just going to keep on going and do my best. From the pictures on the box, it looks like I am supposed to add some water to this red pouch...

...then mix it up and put it in the freezer for 10 minutes.

From another picture, it looks like I'm supposed to mix the white pouch of powder with more water...

...and shape the dough into 3 small balls, like this.

I am really winging it here, folks. Okay, now I am going to make the fish-shaped cookies. I put the mixture into a mold. Then I put it in the microwave for 15 seconds.

Is this right? I'm really not sure, but I am a fearless blogger! Okay, now I'm going to mix up the chocolate that goes in between the cookies.

Let me taste it a little bit. Yeah, it tastes like chocolate!

Next, I'm going to start arranging the food onto a plate. Presentation is everything, you know. Some of the white dough is stretched out and I add a dollop of chocolate on top.

Remember the red thing we put in the freezer? Well, now it's time to take it out and flip it over. It's a strawberry mold! The three small balls are skewered onto a small stick, and then I add a caramel syrup on top.

There's also a miniature cup and a final pouch that I add water to. It's a blue fizzy soda!

All things considering, this project turned out pretty good I think!

Here's a video if you want to take a closer look!

Japanese candy kit

Hello everyone! Today, I am going to show you this wonderful Japanese candy kit I got for Christmas. My mom has always told me not to play with my food, but we are going to make an exception here... because this is a moldable candy kit!

The box is in Japanese.

Hmm... so this is going to be a slight challenge, because I cannot read Japanese. I will have to do my best just following the pictures.

So it looks like there are different colored types of candy, and some molds. The candy feels like the consistency of Starburst candies.

We need to roll the candy into little balls, then put them in the mold.

Just like this!

Now we just give it a firm squeeze, like so...

And after we open the top mold, the candy will be in the shape that we want! There is some excess candy we have to trim off.

After we mold all our pieces, we can stick them together. Hey, how does this finished piece look?

Here's a closer look - it's a horse! (Unfortunately, there was no bear mold in this candy kit.) Now I have to wash my sticky paws! As for the candy, it looks too cute to eat!