Sunday 16 December 2012

[Review] CandyPlay 2011 -Popin' Cooking!

This has got to be one of the most interesting (and longest!) reviews I've ever done -with thanks to CandyPlay 2011 for sponsoring 3 DIY kits of my choice!
If you have been to any ToyPost outlet in Singapore, I am sure you would have seen them before - Yes, making your own food with just a few simple steps.

(It's like a child's play dough but they are edible! How cool is that, huh??!!)

I know some of you are pretty excited after I posted some preview photos of the DIY process on Facebook, so here it is...

 Enjoy the review!

The 3 choices for this review:
-Gummyland 
-Sushi set
-Curry set




Let's start with the first set - Gummyland (Yes, we are going to make our own gummy candies!):

Preparation you will need:
- A small cup of water
-Plate (To place your gummies after making them!)

What's in the set?


The tools and ingredients used to make the gummies:


Overall:

-1 shape carver set
-4 ingredient sachets
-1 water dropper
-1 palette


This is what I call the "shape carver". You'll have to use a scissors or penknife to chip them off into separate pieces!


Let's begin!
(I used a scissor to chip them off.)


The separated pieces: 
(The little fork is so cute, isn't it??!)


The plastic palette  - our main tool to hold our "ingredients" used to make the gummies:
(I've washed it for hygiene purposes)


I know some of you will be confused with the sachets as the instructions are mainly in Japanese. Fret not as there is an online video to guide you - which I'll post at the end of this review.
But if you prefer to refer to my review, you may, too. :)
 I shall try to be as precise as possible, I promise!

1) Green sachet 
(It's easier to go by the colors of the sachet packaging)

Pour the entire content onto the largest section of the palette.


*pours*
Yes, it does look like salt/sugar.

 It looks like a small "mountain" after pouring the entire content:


With the mini "fork", spread out and smoothen it.
It's just like playing with... ... sand. Lol.


Here's how it should look like:


Next, use the water dropper (I don't know exactly what it is called so pardon me!) and fill up the 4 small sections at the side with water. 
(You don't have to fill them up fully, just 40-50% will do!)


Next up is the Yellow sachet:

*pours happily*


Do not be freaked out by its color. It's normal!


And the next sachet to open is the Red one!

Yes, pour the whole packet in!



There you go:


Now, the Blue one:



Water slowly turning blue:


Now... Let the COLOR fun begin!
Use the water dropper to suck any color that you want and start mixing around to get different shades of colors! :)


*The first color orange was mixed using yellow and red*



*anyhow mix*


ANY color is possible! Just have fun!


Okay, this somehow reminds me of those watercolor palettes that I had used before when I was a kid.
 =P.. Except that this is EDIBLE!


Now for the shape carving! Remember the different shapes that you had previously cut out?
Choose any one of them to be your first gummy shape! :P
Well... I chose the flower here. Let's see how it is gonna turn out~ Hmmm...


It's time for some coloring!
Just "suck" any color of your choice from the color mixture and start all the color droppings. How your gummy is gonna' turn out in the end depends on you now!


 I didn't bother to mix around with other colors for my first try so I just colored the whole shape with Red. (It actually looks more pinkish than read, IMO)



A close-up:


Okay, here is one AMAZING fact... There is almost NO waiting time for the gummy to be ready!
It "dries" up pretty fast, and you can use the mini fork to extract it within a short time span.


Ta-da!
(Somehow it looks like a jelly here, doesn't it? LOL!)





Next.. .. A heart shape! (Imagine making this for your boyfriend/girlfriend... How touching!)


Okay, the process is the same for all the others so I won't be posting them here.


Sorry for the reflective plate.. I guess it isn't the wisest choice to choose a metal plate here! Haha..
I totally love the giraffe shape!
It's so kawaii. :)


Attempted to "dig" the giraffe out from the carver. I had to be EXTRA careful as I was afraid that I would accidentally break the "legs" of the giraffe.


Ta-da!~ My giraffe!!! Cute, right??!!!
I am sure it will attract kids! :)


Giraffe and flower gummies. :)


 Well, I didn't waste any ingredients at all!
Had used them all up to make gummies of all shapes. LOL.
Here is the aftermath photo:


 My verdict of this product:

Difficulty: 4/10
Taste: 6.5/10 (Not an exactly unpleasant taste, but definitely an acceptable one!)

Well... There is no denial that everything about it is FUN! I understand that there are people out there who have questions such as "Can those gummies really be eaten?!", etc.
Well... Trust me, they can! I wouldn't be alive now if they aren't. LOL.
I am sure it is a product that will appeal to kids. (Not to mention that it is safe too!)
Now.. I have just given you a Christmas gift idea, haven't I? *winks*

Here's the video to guide you to ensure you are on the right track!



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2) Sushi set


Preparation you will need:
- A small cup of water
-Plate (To place your your sushis after making them!)




Back view:



Well... Please do not misunderstand that you can make REAL sushis with it. (I know some of you might!) They are "Gummy sushis", meaning that they taste like gummies.
Nonetheless, it still fun to make. Just read on to find out! :)

Again, everything on the packaging is in Japanese. But fret not because there will always be online videos to help you. :)


Open it and you will find all the sachets of ingredients!


Again, a water dropper is included as part of the set so you can go ahead to fill up the main plastic tray with water. There is no need to fill up to 100% (That will be too much water!). Just a moderate amount will do. :)



The first sachet to open is the BLUE one:



*cuts*


 Don't worry and just pour everything onto the tray. It may seem like a large amount because it is actually used to make the "rice" for the sushi! :)


A small "mountain" is formed. LOL:


 Mix it with the water and it will *magically* transform into a rice-like texture!
I was pleasantly surprised because it actually felt like real rice! Gosh.


Moving on: Opening the YELLOW sachet:


Let's get down to work and pour it!


Again, mix it with water. :)


Just stir to and fro and it will turn into a sticky substance:


Ta-da! This is how it will eventually look like:


Here's next: Purple sachet


Do not forget to fill the tray with water as well!


 It's the same process all over again:


Okay, it is actually a BAD example I am showing here as I somehow messed up and everything started looking untidy. (But you get the idea... Right...??) *gulps*


Next, we are going to open this small packet (It will later be shaped to look like the "seaweed" portion for the sushi!)






I actually messed up the seaweed part as well (It's not really that easy!!)



Flip to the back of the packaging and you'll find this rectangle part at the bottom.
You can actually use it as a reference for the length of seaweed!




For this review, I had cut out the portion so I can easily use it to measure against the length.


Gosh, it looks damn ugly. :(


Well, let's move on to open up the other sachets!
Here's the GREEN one!



It looks transparent-blue:



Here comes the most interesting part!
Open up the orange sachet and you'll know why soon enough!


*Note: Please pour more water for the orange section as it will turn really thick if there isn't adequate amount!*


Stir it until it is completely even ; then use the water dropper to suck it up.
(If you do not pour enough water for this part, you will have difficulty trying to suck it up!)


Just this amount will do!


Carefully, drip your first drop onto the transparent blue liquid. AND it will turn into a small orange ball!
It DOES look like the real deal. #OMG

Trust me, you will have tons of fun dripping and watching those balls form. It may even come to a point when it becomes addictive! LOL.



Lalala~


I apologize for the deformed balls. LOL. I was kinda' nervous when dripping it and those balls turned into weird shapes. =_=


After you have enough of the balls fun, (Gosh, this sounds SO WRONG!) , use the spoon and scoop them out.



Remember the "rice" that you had on the tray earlier?
Now's your chance to mould them into a better-looking sushi rice shape!
(Mine looks freaking unglam!)


Dig the yellow portion out and place it on top of the rice:

Ok, this isn't the MOST perfect example.. But I tried!


 The red one:


 And here is where the orange balls will go to!
 I wrapped the "seaweed" that was made earlier around the "rice" - in an attempt to make it look like a real sushi.
(But I guess I failed! Gaahh)




 My verdict of this product:


Difficulty: 7/10
Taste: 6.5/10

I chose the Sushi set as part of my main choices because it is one of the best sellers on Candy Play 2011 site, and thought I would take up the challenge.
It is quite difficult to make as it does require patience and abit of skills to mould them into a perfect sushi shape. Nonetheless, you'll feel a sense of achievement even though they may turn out to be a slight disaster. LOL.  If yours happen to be a huge success - then that's an even bigger achievement!
Haha.
Well... One thing for sure, they do have quite a sweet taste. (Of course, its made of gummy ingredients, duh!)

Here's the video:



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3) Curry Set
(OMG! I'm so gonna rate this 10 stars!!)

I can't even begin to tell you how much I LOVE the curry set. Seriously, you have got to try it yourself to fully understand why I am going gaga over this product!



The full set contains:


Close-up:



You have got to prepare a pair of scissors to cut the tray into separate pieces, such as this:




 

Let's start with the blue sachet for this one!


Now, pour it into the compartment here (There is no need for water first):



Smoothen it evenly:


Retrieve the triangle-shaped compartment and pour water into it.


Transfer it here:


Yes, it will slowly "transform" into soft rice as you stir it with the spoon for quite some time!


Looking more like rice now:


Here's a close-up:
Can you freaking believe that this is not REAL rice at all, but some gummy ingredients?!


Remember to take the "rice" out (after you are satisfied with the look) and place it in the circle compartment.
It is meant to be a small bowl to hold the "rice"!


Now, cut open the orange sachet!


Similarly, pour water into it and we shall start stirring!


Okay, it may look somewhat disgusting at this point.. BUT please have patience and scroll down to witness the final product for yourself!


After a few rounds of stirring, try to keep it to this shape. You'll know the reason soon!


We shall move on to settle the other packet before continuing:


And you have got to smash it with your fingers until all the small balls are fully in powder form:


The power of my fingers~:



Now, let's continue where we left off earlier.
I've used a shape carver (not included in this set) from my earlier Gummy set to carve it into a heart shape.
Of course, there is no fixed shape or rule here. You can have it in ANY shape you want, or better still, mould it with your own hands! :)


I guess I was lazy and ended up using the shape carvers to create the shapes:



In order to give it a "fried" look, pour the packet of ingredients which was smashed earlier:




Roll it over the ingredients (it tasted like plain crackers!) and it will stick like glue.


Genius, right?
Here we have the "croquettes"! :)


 At this point, I had actually grown a strong urge to EAT it already. But that shall wait because it isn't over yet!

There is still a brown sachet yet to open:


Ya-da, ya da.. The same process again.




Looks like sand, but it isn't! It's gonna be some delicious stuff, I'm telling ya!


Watch in amazement as the color slowly changes to a shade of orange... and take a sniff..
No, you are definitely not dreaming of the curry smell.

IT REALLY DOES SMELL LIKE CURRY!!

I was astonished, really. (In a good way!)



*Please do note that the bits and pieces contain pork*


I am actually hungry just by looking at this photo!


Can you believe it?! It really does SMELL... and TASTE like REAL curry. No joke.


Now we are going to make a mini "full-set" meal. LOL.


Slowly and carefully, pour the curry onto the "rice":


Well, I suck at making it look good. But never mind that - you can place 100% trust in me that it does taste delicious.




  My verdict of this product:

Difficulty: 3.5/10 (Yes, it's not difficult to make!)
Taste: 9/10 (Goodness Gracious!)

It was definitely NOT something I would expect from a simple D-I-Y kit. It all turned out to be a pleasant surprise because it tasted nothing like gummies at all - BUT just like the real deal!
The "rice" was different from the ones we made from the Sushi set. This actually felt and tasted more realistic. It's abit salty - and NOT sweet at all. (You wouldn't have guessed!)

Well... Not to mention that the curry was AS AWESOME AS YOU CAN EVER IMAGINE. I was scratching my head so hard at the fact at how it can have such a great curry taste.
I was like "HOW CAN IT BE???!!"
LOL.
And yes, the "croquettes" tasted just like mashed potatoes, too!
Everything about this set is fantastic.
I strongly urge you to get one to try it for yourself.
I assure you that you'll be impressed. :)

Video:



If you have survived this long blog post, congrats!!! :D I hope you had fun reading through this review.  I had fun during the process!
There are still many more varieties featured in the store that you can try out with your friends or kids! :)
(Those that I featured in this blog post are priced at only $9.50 EACH! Definitely worth the fun, if you ask me!)
Quality is definitely assured and all the candies are imported from Japan.
If you are still cracking your brains for the perfect Christmas gift, look no more..

Head over to:
www.candyplay2011.com 
and HAVE fun!!


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