The Jungle Stand ~ July 2013 ~ Tastes of Japan

If you are new to The Jungle Stand, please see my post here.


Well, it's that time again! It's time for my monthly review of The Jungle Stand! As you recall, I had a less than an enjoyable experience last month. In June, we received a tasting bar from Taiwan. I absolutely hate seafood and seaweed, and 3 out of the six items contained those flavors. When I saw another Asian themed tasting bar, I have to admit, I was somewhat nervous I would have to endure the same flavors....yuck! Unfortunately, I did spy seaweed again this month, however, it was much more tolerable than last month's tastes!

Let's take a look!

Baked Cake ~ A steamed cake with a sweetened white bean paste filling.

This was good, but nothing special. The flavor and sweetness was very subtle. By the looks of it, you would think it's a mini chocolate eclair. Unfortunately, that wasn't chocolate on top!

Nori Koiwa ~ A rice cracker dusted with seaweed

Okay, here we go....more seaweed. I only tried one of these, and gave the rest of my seaweed/sushi loving husband. You would think these would be savory, but they were actually sweet, similar to the flavor of caramel corn, ruined by seaweed sprinkles.

Age Ichiban (Rice Cracker) ~ Crispy & crunchy rice cracker flavored with with soy sauce.

I only took one small bite of this, and gave the rest of my hubby who enjoyed it. I thought it was disgusting! I didn't enjoy the flavor at all. And, why do all Asian snacks have that shiny glaze coating it?

Hitokunchi Kurobo ~ Wheat Cracker is what this taste is called when translated, but this tastes nothing like a wheat cracker!

This has a very light & airy cake texture, with the flavor of brown sugar. It looks terrifying, but tasted good! It was dry, but very delicate.

Taruyaki Goma Senbei ~ Crunchy rice crackers with toasted black sesame seeds, coated with a soy sauce glaze. 

Why, oh why! This is just like the "pink" taste, but with added sesame seeds. Now, I like sesame seeds, so I had high hopes for this taste, but alas, after one small bite, it got passed to my hubby. Enough, with the soy sauce glaze! I like soy sauce, but the glaze on these crackers is just gross!

Strawberry Caramel Corn ~ Strawberry & Caramel flavored puffed corn.

Yay! Something yummy! These look like grubs, but taste delicious! I don't recall a "caramel" flavor, but definitely taste the strawberry. They're like strawberry flavored "cheese" puffs.  I wish The Jungle Stand would include more tastes like this in the future. I would love to discover unique eats from other counties that are sweet & delicious!

Come back next month to discover where The Jungle Stand will take me in August! 

I keep going back and forth about whether or not to keep this subscription. I paused my bar a few days ago, but then un-paused it yesterday,lol.  I hope I un-paused in time to receive the August box! I don't like paying for tastes that I hate, but the excitement of getting to try unique items that I might enjoy keep bringing me back for more!

The Jungle Stand Tasting Bar ~ June 2013

If you are new to The Jungle Stand, please see my introduction post here.

The theme for this month's The Jungle Stand is Welcome to Taiwan!

The postcard above says to dust off my passport, because I'm going to take a trip around the world!

The first stop is Taiwan! This leads me to believe that upcoming boxes will be featuring other countries!

I'm not very familiar with Taiwan, but the postcard says, that Taiwan is a culture blended from Chinese and Japanese, with influences from the west.


Okay, here we go!

Green ~ Sachima 

A caramel treat resembling uncooked, instant thick noodles. A light fare, this is a common Chinese pastry found in many Chinese speaking regions, including Taiwan. It consists mainly of flour, butter & sugar. A fun taste because the texture is crunchy, then chewy.

This was okay. It smelled like donuts, and tasted like a French Cruller. The texture was chewy, the flavor was light, and not overly sweet.

Yellow ~ Rice Cracker

This taste is influenced by the Japanese. The rice cracker is a dry wafer made of rice. Taiwan's interpretation dusts sugar all around, adding a sweetness.

This sounds good in theory, but really wasn't. The rice cracker was very crunchy, with a salty, soy sauce like taste, and a sweet after taste. Blah!

Pink ~ Sesame Pastry

This sesame flavored pastry also has a crunchy & chewy texture. When you bite into it, you'll think the middle is hollow. Although this delicacy looks quite ordinary, the process of giving it a dual texture is quite complicated.

The flavor of this taste, again, was okay. However, the texture in the center, throws you for a loop. The sesame pastry is chewy, sweet & very strong in sesame flavor . The flavor of this taste is identical to the Mrs. May's Sesame Strips, I posted about here .

Red ~ Squid

This is a dry, shredded squid. It's like beef jerky, minus the beef, add the squid. Extremely popular in Taiwan and throughout Asia.

Let me start off by saying.....I HATE seafood, so as you can imagine this did not go over well with me. I literally had to stop myself from gagging, not only from the smell, but the taste. Absolutely disgusting!!  

The Jungle Stand suggests that suck on the squid, revealing a hint of sweetness. I did this, and it does have a sweet taste.

 Blue ~ Pumpkin Cake

Made from Chinese Pumpkins, which are a bit different from it's American counterpart. If you're unfamiliar with the Chinese version, smell the cake. This delectable is topped with seaweed, which will be the first flavor to hit you. Very nice balance of saltiness & sweetness. Best taste in the bar.

Okay....this would be edible without the seaweed! Why does Taiwan have to ruin a perfectly good taste with seaweed (Just kidding,lol). Yuck! This taste is nothing like what you think the texture, of pumpkin cake should be. It's very crunchy and crumbly.  This taste reminds me of the crunchy outside of a sugared pecan or almond, but completely ruined with the flavor of seaweed. Again, yuck.... I couldn't even finish it.

Orange ~ Peanut Brittle

There are many subtle variations and names for this peanut confection. But no matter the variety, they're always bite-sized and hard. Made from a mixture of peanuts & sugar, which is then heated to a thick state & cut into small pieces after cooling.

This was my favorite taste in the bar! Yum! The texture of this taste, was like peanuts that were ground up (with sugar) into little bits and pressed together into a log shape. Tasty, but very hard.

 

Honestly, I almost "paused" The Jungle Stand after tasting this box. Well, actually I did pause.  Then, I was contacted by Jackie at This Jungle Stand asking why I paused. I explained to her, how I absolutely hated this box, but it was because of personal preference, and not because of anything they did wrong. After giving it some more thought, I resubscribed. I'm going to give The Jungle Stand another chance, since the brownie brittle was so awesome last month!

Please come back and see what tastes I get from The Jungle Stand next month!

The Jungle Stand ~ May 2013

Welcome to my newest food subscription box : The Jungle Stand.

This subscription is not like any other food box available. What makes The Jungle Stand different is, it offers tastes of each item, which are centered around a monthly theme. These tastes replace the sample size or full sized product, you would normally see in a Goodies Co. or Love with Food subscription box.

The Jungle Stand refers to these tastes as a "bar" or "tasting bar." Each box or "tasting bar" you receive is designed to be experienced like a game. In this months tasting bar, I had to guess the secret ingredient in different pieces of brownie brittle.

The Jungle Stand is $9.92 a month, including shipping. In my opinion, the tastes are generous! There was definitely enough for 2 people to share! This would be an awesome date night activity with the hubby!

The Jungle Stand Tasting Bar is beautifully packaged & presented, complete with nutrition facts. There is also a colorful, glossy card that explains how to play the game on one side, and a scorecard on the other side.  Each taste is color coordinated to the corresponding information on the card.

The Jungle Stand also provides a package of saltine crackers to cleanse your palette between tastes.

  Taste Number One ~ Green

Delicious!

Taste Number Two ~ Yellow

Delicious!

Taste Number Three ~Pink

Delicious!

I was torn between Cinnamon Cappuccino & Orange, and initially chose Orange, but had to change my answer after I tasted the next item.

Taste Number Four ~ Red!

Delicious!

Taste Number Five ~ Blue

Spicy, but Delicious!

Taste Number Six ~ Orange

Delicious, and a perfect way to end the tasting!

As you can see, I finished every last bite!

So, did I guess correctly?

Yes! I got them all correct!

Please come back and see what I get in my June, The Jungle Stand Tasting Bar!