Calbee: Japanese French Fries

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Calbee: Japanese French Fries 

These chips can come in many different flavours, the ones I purchased were cheese and sakura. They both tasted very oishii (delicious!). They are ever so crunchy with a little bit of flavour. You can pretty much purchase these in any convenient store or supermarket. They range from around 70 - 90 Yen per cup, depending which store you purchase. 

Just an interesting youtube clip of the Calbee potato chip commercials in Japan:

The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada... but in this case its Linh wears Prada! haha (lame joke I know)

Here is my brief review of my first ever Prada bag. I would like to say the Prada range of tote bags is amazing. Three reasons why I love their range: the bag represents a business women with a tailored design, class and sophistication, and high-end couture style.

So on the 3rd April 2014 my friend and I attended James St Up Late (a Marie Claire event) in the Valley. Not expecting to be making any purchases that night, as I was just there to browse and network with the organisers of the events. As we walked through James Street I saw in the window of a French Boutique, a Prada bag! I literally had to double take because I couldn't believe my eyes. I was seriously considering purchasing a Prada bag in Japan however it was much more expensive and considering the exchange rate, it wouldn't be worth it. So I left Japan a little bit disappointed. Anyway, to my astonishment Brisbane, the Valley had a re-seller of Prada! That is extremely rare, because Brisbane has no Prada stores at all. They are all located in Sydney or Melbourne (the larger cities).

So with this impulse decision I purchased the bag with my friend's persuasive skills. I do not regret it at all.

This bag is great because the size fits small note books, tablets perfectly whilst having space for wallet, phone etc. I prefer to carry this bag on my arm rather than shoulder bag as the size a a little awkward when dangling off my shoulder. In that situation, I am also thinking of purchasing a smaller Prada tote for the casual occasions! Let's wait and see!! :)

Details of the bag:

Saffiano Leather Tote
Double Handle
Detachable Shoulder Strap
Metal lettering logo on saffiano leather base
Snap closure
Two outside pockets
two inside pockets
L 33 H 23.5 W 14.5CM

Souvenirs: Japanese D.I.Y Waffle Lollies

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Souvenirs: Japanese D.I.Y Waffle Lollies 

So for this post I decided to try some editing on my photos and add that little extra jazz. I hope you like it! Once again this packet was purchased at Don Quijote for around 200 Yen. This one was more expensive as it has more steps involved to create the lolly. 

In the pack you receive the following:

1. Orange packet - waffle mixture
2. Purple packet - grape mixture to add on top of the waffles
3. Blue packet - whip cream to add on top of the waffles
4. Pink packet - strawberry sauce to add on top of the waffles
5. Cut out container to use as moulds and mixing containers 

You create the waffle mixture by combining water and the orange packet. If there are no more crystals, create two balls which you will now press into the plastic waffle shape moulder. This should create around 3 waffles per packet. Next steps are to combine the other packets with water to create the toppings for the waffles. You need to work fast in the next steps because the jelly will solidify quite quickly with the gelatine crystals. As I couldn't quite figure out how to read the instructions in Japanese I was unsure of the quantity of water. So I ended up using the triangle scoop to pour water into the mixing container little by little.

This was the final product! once again I was not surprised by the taste of the lolly... had a strange taste! It required more sugar for the waffle, but the grape and strawberry sauce provided some sugar delight and flavour.  

Souvenirs: Japanese D.I.Y Jelly Candy

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Souvenirs: Japanese D.I.Y Jelly Candy

Another awesome Japanese D.I.Y Candy that I purchased at Don Quijote. This was awesome, better than the previous two I posted about. With this packet you get to create the solution (candy) by combining jelly crystals and food colouring. Then you use the jelly cutter to create the different shape candy. 

I found the end result a little weird because the candy didn't turn jelly like. A lot of the jelly crystals had not mixed properly (I'm assuming). It was very different to aeroplane jelly, definitely does not wobble. The candy was most similar to cloud lollies, chewy and sour. Cost for a packet 230 Yen. 

Some things I noted: you do not have to wait that long for after your drop your food colour into the jelly crystals. I had to assume the amount of water to add into the container for each food colour. 

Components in the packet from top left to right: 

1. The green packet is jelly crystals which aid the solution to solidify. 

2. The white container is where you mix your powder and create the lollies. 

3. The orange is jelly cutter and fork mixer. 

4. The yellow, red, and blue packet is the colouring. 

5. While just above the coloured packets is the droplet tube to mix the colours with the jelly crystals. 

Souvenirs: Japanese D.I.Y Octopus Candy

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Souvenirs: Japanese D.I.Y Octopus Candy 

During the preparation of the candy we faced some problems. When we were press the candy (blue & orange packets) into the mould it is difficult to press them out. As the candy starts to melt when touched by the heat from your fingers we had to use plastic to scoop out the octopus heads. Similar thing happened to the octopus legs. The candy was sour similar to zappo candy. Cost is 150 Yen. 

Souvenirs: Greentea Chocolate Yatsuhashi

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Souvenirs: Greentea Chocolate Yatsuhashi 

Another famous confectionery souvenir of Kyoto is the Yastuhashi. Similar to a hard cookie, it is made from glutinous rice flour, sugar and cinnamon. They can be baked or unbaked, but most people tend to associate Yatsuhashi as baked. The baked Yatsuhashi I purchased was at the Osaka Airport not in Kyoto for around 500 Yen. 

P.S This 'Japanese version of a wafer stick' is so hard! nearly took my tooth out haha

Souvenirs: D.I.Y Japanese Candy

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Souvenirs: D.I.Y Japanese Candy 

So Japan have these pretty interesting D.I.Y Candy kits that can be purchased at stores such as Don Quijote. I think I bought around 7 different types of candy so I shall be posting them all up soon. For this particular one I don't think I will be buying it again because it wasn't too hands on. Also the level of sweetness was too much for my liking. Cost for these packets are around 150 Yen.

Front of the packet

Back of the packet

Contents for the D.I.Y Kit

Preparation for the D.I.Y Candy

Final product!!