Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Contest!

Around the end of April last year I mentioned offhand to a friend back home that Japan had some crazy flavored candies, Kit Kats in particular. Her response was immediate and enthusiastic. I had to try them all and then tell her about them. And thus the idea for Jen Ken's Kit Kat Blog was born.

In fact my first post was one year ago today! In the past year I have posted 73 entries and tried 55 different Kit Kats. I don't even want to contemplate how much money I've spent on chocolate. What's funny is that at the beginning I considered reviewing other snacks as well because I was certain there wouldn't be enough Kit Kats to keep me busy. Boy, was I wrong! Sometimes I get overwhelmed with how many are in my kitchen waiting to be eaten (currently 3).

In just a year this blog has grown from just a few friends and family reading it to over 60 followers, a comment and a link on Twitter from a famous American musician, and links around the net from other snack bloggers. I just want to say thanks to everyone for reading and commenting. You have made the past year really fun!

To celebrate my one year anniversary I am having a contest. The rules are simple. Just leave a comment here telling me your favorite crazy flavored Kit Kat or if you haven't had the chance to try any then which ones you're dying to eat. And what flavor Kit Kat do you want to see? The crazier the better! After one month I will have one of my adorable students pick a number and that number comment will win some delicious (and some not so delicious) Japanese Kit Kats.

Fabulous prize

So what are you waiting for? Leave a comment-win some Kit Kats!

EDIT: The contest is now closed. I'll announce a winner later this week. Thanks everyone who commented!

67 comments:

  1. I'm absolutely not taking part in the contest (as it'd be silly to award me KitKats considering I have my own snack review blog and already sampled most of them), but I will get the ball rolling and say that my favorite weird flavor has been the kinako big bar. That's actually not "weird" for Japan, but probably seems exotic outside of Asia. The second best would be the sweet potato one, which I seriously loved the creamy flavor of. The best more mainstream one that I enjoyed was the tsuppai orange!

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  2. Hmm this one is not so crazy, but different I guess? My fav flavour has got to be the Kyushu edition sweet potato! :)

    I really want to try some of the strange ones like wasabi and kinako!

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  3. Oops forgot to say the one I want to try the most is blueberry cheesecake! I LOVE blueberry cheesecake!

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  4. wor! i've tried a fair few too and have a raspberry & passionfruit one sitting on my desk atm... favourite one was the おしるこ i had in 2009.
    but yuzu kosho definitely sounds interesting!! so amazing you've tried all of these, glad to know there are other people out there that share this joy :)

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  5. My favorite so far has been a sweet potato version. It was reviewed only somewhat favorably so I know there are much better out there.

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  6. I haven't really tried any crazy flavored kitkat.. only kitkat I had was the milk tea and strawberry chocolate... I really want to try the matcha and sweet potato... :)

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  7. I got to try a mini cherry kitkat at at Japanese festival--one of the candy vendors had brought some for his friends in the states and told me I could have one of the extras if I tried some strange variety of rice candy. The KitKat was delicious :)

    The only trouble is, now that I know my fav. candy bar is so good in different flavors, I'm going to have to strictly limit myself on napaJapan. It's way too easy to order them. I'm dying to try the raspberry and passion fruit flavor though!

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  8. I wish I had tried the sweet potato, yuzu, and apple vinegar flavors!

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  9. All we get here is plain milk chocolate or dark chocolate kit kats. I'd die for one with matcha!

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  10. I think I'd like to spend afternoon just trying a lot of the ones you've reviewed, but purple sweet potato seemed like fun!

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  11. Green Bean Kit Kat sounds so interesting

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  12. How about starting an exporting biz to bring these wacky flavors state side?

    Is there a rasberry kit kat? Id like to try that one.

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  13. There's so many I want to try! Here's a list to name a few:

    Melt in your mouth chocolate kitkat
    Kitkat Fudge
    Espresso Coffee Kitkat
    Salt and Caramel Kitkat Bites!

    There's sooooo many that I want to try! Why is America so unfortunate not to have such creative kitkats?! Thanks for the giveaway!

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  14. Oh man, that would be too cool!

    The ones I would really like to try are the banana and chestnut kitkats. And Yuzu sounds really good, too!

    Never had anything other than the plain Jane US version...

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  15. Oh man, that would be too cool!

    The ones I would really like to try are the banana and chestnut kitkats. And Yuzu sounds really good, too!

    Never had anything other than the plain Jane US version...

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  16. Lemon Vinegar!!!!

    And now I'm torn about promoting this contest on social networking sites cause I love you, or not promoting it, cause I love Kit Kats.

    Hmm...

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  17. Hi, my friend sent me the greentea sakura, omg it was so good! I'm dying to eat the melty dark choco ones or banana or honey dew one (is there?)

    I would like to see some soy sauce ones or just awkward ones. Maybe if you list the new ones that would be fun to see what is available. Congrats on your 1 year blog anniv!

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  18. i haven't tried many, but the most interesting was caramel salt. i really like raspberry&passion fruit too.

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  19. the weirdest one i had (i haven't tried many) was caramel salt, and my fav so far is passionfruit&raspberry

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  20. My favorite by far is the Kyoto Prefecture Limited Itokyuemon Uji-maccha.

    Review here: http://bit.ly/cv20Al

    As for one I'd like to try, the one that I regret letting slip past me the most is probably the chili one.

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  21. i've only had the chance to eat the green tea kit kat which was really great..creamy and tasty.

    there's so many flavors that i want to try! haha. i think it would be kind of interesting if there was a peanut butter or peanut butter and jelly kit kat. that would taste weird but i'd try it!

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  22. my favorite it green tea kit kat. they're so creamy and tasty.

    i think it would be interesting if there was a peanut butter and jelly or just peanut butter kit kat. doesn't that sound gross? i'd still try it though. :D

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  23. I used to obsess over different flavored kit-kats when I was living in Japan a few years back. I really loved the pumpkin kit-kat they sold during Halloween time.

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  24. Great post, while here in Japan we are loving the snack foods. We spent over an hour wondering around a grocery store in Kawaguchi-ko looking at all the great options. I would want to try a salt and pepper kit kat, as that is my favorite type of potato chip.

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  25. The soy sauce and miso kit kats were the craziest I've ever tried but I loved both of them :)

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  26. Well, I've tried a fair few, as can be seen on my own little KitKat appreciation bit on my blogspot (silverscreenlining should anyone fancy a gander), but I'd have to say my favourite is most probably the Maple flavour that was released to coincide with the winter Olympics. Yum yum yum!

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  27. I have tried surprisingly few strange Kit Kats – but I did manage to get hold of a Ramune one! Lemon and Bubblegum flavour and a blue colour – who couldn’t love it!

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  28. There have been a lot of good ones lately, haven't there? Some of my recent favorites are Sakura Matcha, Calpis, and Raspberry & Passion Fruit.

    As far as some crazy ones, I put nothing past Nestle anymore! How about mayonnaise? Kimchi? Beer? Daikon? I could see any of those happening. :D

    Congratulations on your blog's 1 year anniversary!

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  29. I would love to try the Salt and Caramel Kit Kat. That sounds delicious. The Milk Tea one sounds good, too.

    Most of those commenting seem to have missed the second part of the contest, which is to answer "What flavor Kit Kat do you want to see? The crazier the better!" I was hoping to see lots of crazy suggestions from people!

    For that, I'd have to say Peanut Butter and Jelly Kit Kat. Or maybe Maple Walnut. If they tried out some ice cream-inspired flavors, that would be great. Maybe tie it in with some popular Japanese ice cream brands. Butterscotch? Mint chocolate chip?

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  30. Wow...they all sound good. Okay, not ALL, but a lot. But the Green Tea and Milk Tea ones sounds cool. Wazabi Kit Kat sounds interesting.... And Blueberry Cheesecake! Sparkling Strawberry, Ginger Ale, Cafe Latte, Carmel Pudding, Salt and Carmel, Kinako Ohagi, Mixed Juice, Banana, Citrus Blend, Apple, Sakura Matcha, Yubari Melon, Purple Sweet Potato, Milk Coffee, and Yuzu Kosho Kit Kat sound awesome.

    I've never had anything but regular chocolate Kit Kat, but I love all kinds of flavors. I saw how many different Kit Kats there are, and I think it's so cool.

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  31. My favorites so far have been the yuzu kosho and the shoyu ones, but I love collecting all the different boxes even more. :)

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  32. Favorite would be Kyoto limited edition Matcha!! :) So good! Dying to try Raspberry Passionfruit (waiting in my pantry), kiwi, yuzu, chestnut and interested in what wasabi Kit Kat tastes like! New crazy flavors I would like to see are: tofu, pandan, fig (+/- rhubarb), black forest and maybe even durian!!

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  33. Sorry forgot to post using an account! This is Bev from the previous post...probably should discount one number if you're students pick this number :P

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  34. Would love to try salted caramel, or blueberry cheesecake. I don't think im adventurous to try some of the more savoury ones.

    What I would like to see - maybe a tutti fruiti flavour, or something with coconut!

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  35. Hmmm, I think my favourite Kit Kat flavour is any flavour with sakura (I was a little obsessed with it when I visited Japan) & it's definitely not the same taste as blech-y cherry stuff here.

    I have yet to find Soy Sauce Kit Kat, which I really want to try. Would also love to see flavours like Okonomiyaki Kit Kat (haha), Shochu Kit Kat, Pork Katsu Kit Kat or what about different fish-flavoured Kit Kats? :P

    Also, is there a Shiso Kit Kat? Oh, and a Chocolate Cheese Kit Kat would be yummy. I've tried the Meiji ones.

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  36. I'm waiting for my Matcha Kit Kat to come, but I would love to try a Wasabi or Soy Sauce Kit Kat. And Azuki one, and Yuzu and... there are so many!

    I would like to try californian plums in chocolate taste :)

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  37. Gosh, I envy you all here! I've been dreaming of tasting these various (and crazily) flavored KitKats from Japan, especially coming from the Philippines. We have Japanese groceries here and I kept on requesting them to ship it here but I think they forget. :(

    I would looooooooooove to try the Maccha, Soy Sauce, Curry and Corn, which are quite weird for chocolate (but I heard, good) flavors.

    If there's a new variant I'd like to have, how about Dried Squid flavored Kitkat? I think that would be nice. ;)

    Anyway, I just stumbled on this blog today searching about Kitkats and I must say, this is the best I've seen. Quite comprehensive and easy to read. Keep it up JenKen! ;)

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  38. Hi, I just found your blog today and I"m so excited to read the posts. I've never tried an exotic flavored Kit Kat but love reading about all the crazy flavors. Is there really a salt and caramel one? That would be the one I would want to try.

    Erinn in Colorado

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  39. Eek, this is the best Kit Kat blog ever! I'd have to say the one i want to try most is the Sakura Matcha Kit Kat. I would love to try that!!

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  40. I love your blog! If I could try any Kit Kat, it would probably be the green tea one, or maybe the Calpis one... Keep up the great work, I get to try them all vicariously!

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  41. I haven't had many different flavors, but my favorite was the black sugar. I'd love to see a pecan version... not so strange but it sounds great!

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  42. The framboise one sounds up my alley! Do they have any meat flavored ones? That would be fun to read you review!! laura@girlonfire.net

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  43. I really haven't had a chance to try any weird flavors but after reading through these posts I would love to try Blueberry Cheesecake or Sweet Potato! Two of my favorite foods combined with KitKat?? What could be better??

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  44. My favorite was hands down, the sakura-green tea kit kat. Soooo amazing.

    What would I like them to make? Peanut butter would be cool (though I don't think Japan is quite so into it) or Chai (also not so big for Japan) - though the milk tea was amazing!

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  45. The only different flavor I've been able to try is the British caramel version. It's caramel flavored chocolate is much better than the American version which had regular chocolate and a caramel filling.

    I'd love to be able to try the Framboise.

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  46. I just tried a Sakura Green Tea KitKat and loved it! The Framboise sounds delicious too :)

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  47. Hi! Great site. I stumbled upon it when I googled "calpis kit kat." I actually ordered some from Japan as well as soy sauce and wasabi. I have yet to eat them though. I got into the crazy Kit Kat flavors when I was in Japan in May 2007. Of the ones I had when I was there were lemon, green tea and brandy and orange. The one I liked the most was Green Tea although lemon was good in a "tastes like Pledge" kind of way. I would love the Chili flavored one.

    Thanks for blogging about these awesome Kit Kats!

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  48. Hmm...well, I'm dying to try a sweet potato Kit Kat - I've just ordered some, actually, so hopefully that dream will become a reality soon. I haven't really tried that many, so my favourites choice list isn't very long, but I did like the caramel flavoured ones when they were sold here.

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  49. I would love to try grilled corn and strawberry ones. What flavour I would like to see? Hmmm... Oh, I know. Bailey's!

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  50. Waouh, I'm french, and I really enjoy to begin reading this blog!!! I'm not crazy about chocolate, but, I think that KitKat is one of my favourite snack-food.
    If I could, I would taste: Matcha kitkat, sweet potatoes, royal milk tea, Wasabi kitkat, Apple vinegar...
    There are so many strange kitkat that I can't choose only one!

    What new flavour in store?! Maybe grilled shrimp!!! or something as mozarella cheese or bitter cream. something REALY CRAZY? -> french CAMEMBERT or VIEUX LILLE (strongest french cheese)!!!! hi,hi!!!

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  51. I've only tried sweet potato, but I'm dying to try the cherry one you just posted about! Hehe I tweeted your blog to some American girls who love the flavored kit kats!

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  52. I haven't gotten to try a Kit Kat other than the normal American ones, but would like to try a Citrus or the Framboise you just talked about :)
    -Stefanie

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  53. ooh or the Raspberry Passion Fruit. I love passion fruit in just about anything :)
    -Stefanie

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  54. My favorite one is the hot Yuzu one from Kyuushuu. Undoubtedly!

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  55. I've never tried any crazy flavored Kit Kat before but I would love to try Kit Kat Cucumber and Kit Kat Edamame. I'm really curious about the taste especially the latter. Edamame + Chocolate? hmmm.

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  56. I've tried Green Tea and Lemon Vinegar (although I would have called it Sour Lemon to entice foreigners rather than scare them), and some other flavor that I no longer remember. Lemon Vinegar was my favorite of those.

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  57. I love reading your blogs! I found out about this site by reading The Impulsive Buy. I think that was about a year ago, so I've been following you almost the whole time! I have never tried a crazy-flavored kit kat here in the states, but I would love to try both the wasabi one and the edamame one. I hope I win your contest! I also love reading your Jen in Japan blog. I really want to visit Japan some day, and your blog gives great travel ideas!

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  58. Oh, that Apple Cider Kit Kat is pretty (oddly) tasty!

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  59. Since I recently moved to a place with a few stores that import Japanese Kit Kats, I just had to start following your blog. I haven't had too many strange ones, but I actually liked the recent banana flavor and the framboise. I did try a matcha one in Kyoto a few years back, pretty darn good.

    Hard to think of something unusual that would work. Have they made any mochi ones yet?

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  60. We don't want to enter the content—we have enough Japanese Kit Kat to eat as it is!—but we just wanted to say how much we love reading your blog! It'd be impossible for us to keep up with reviewing all the Kit Kats that are out while still trying to get to everything else, so it's great to have a resource out there. Keep it up!

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  61. hmmm I would love to join the kitkats but since I don't live in Japan, I don't know how you would send me the prize if I do win :)

    Okie, my favourite flavour so far has to be the raspberry and passionfruit one! I LURVE dark chocolate but don't usually like fruity stuff with my kitkats so I was really surprised at how yummy these were. I would lurve to try the sweet potato one (I vaguely remember it being a white chocolate one? If so, then maybe not, don't like white chocolate haha) and the chestnut one.

    As for something I wish KitKat would try to make - Black Sesame! I like black sesame anything and since it's quite Japanese, wouldn't it be cool?:D

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  62. I think the Cherry Kit Kat will be my favorite. Yum!

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  63. Jen, thanks for the reminder! I've had this on my to-do list for awhile now. I think my favorite so far is also the yuzu kosho -- I have friends who travel to Japan once a month for business, and they know how much I love Kit-Kats, so I'm always getting a few tossed my way upon their return. ;)

    But as to a flavor-to-be-named-later, I gotta go with a mashup of ginger and a dark chocolate. How yummy would that be, ne?

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  64. since I've never tasted any of the crazy-flavored kitkat's, i'd like to try them ALL! but since u have to choose one, i'd say the wasabi kitkat!

    is there a salt and vinegar flavored kitkat? i wonder how that would taste... hmm...

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  65. I have only tried the normal Kit Kat, we don't have any others here. We had a peanut butter version for a while, but I cannot stand peanut butter so I wasn't interested to try that one.

    Out of what I have seen reviewed here, I would love to try some fruit flavoured Kit Kats (the simplest ones, with no vinegar or cheesecake added), such as:
    - Apple Kit Kat - Shinshu Limited Edition
    - Citrus Blend Kit Kat - Shikoku Limited Edition or Sour Orange Kit Kat
    - Raspberry and Passion Fruit Kit Kat or Framboise Kit Kat
    - a simple Strawberry Kit Kat, especially the milk chocolate covered one
    - Mixed Fruit Kit Kat

    And, even if they are not as tempting to me as the ones listed above, I am also curious about the Mango Pudding Kit Kat and the Peach Kit Kats.

    Other than the fruity ones, I would love to try:
    - Mild Bitter Kit Kat
    - Maple Kit Kat
    - Custard Pudding Kit

    Kit Kat flavours I haven't seen so far but I know I would love?

    Well, some liqueur ones. Rum, Cointreau, Grand Marnier, Calvados, Remy Martin, Marc de Champagne, Amaretto, cherry liqueur, Williams pear liqueur.

    More fruity flavours. Cherry flavoured dark chocolate Kit Kat, pear flavoured milk chocolate one. Or a Kit Kat with raisins in the chocolate coating. Or a cinnamon flavored Kit Kat.

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  66. I've never had the privilege of trying any of these, but I'm most interested in the green tea, sweet potato, raspberry passionfruit, or matcha ones.

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  67. My favorite of the crazy Japanese flavors I've tried has got to be the ramune flavor. What I'd love to see in terms of new flavors would be "national" special flavors, like what Japan already has for regions with something like apple pie for the USA or something. If I had to pick a single thing though... I guess I'd want to try lingonberry :)

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