Konapun!

So a recent obsession of mine (and Sindy's xD) are these miniature food making toys from Japan called Konapun. You use the little tools and equipment they provide in the "kitchen" sets to make small mini dishes of Japanese foods using their magic powder and adding water. Think Easy-bake, except smaller, non-edible, and no heat required.

They first came out in 1983, and then they made a come back in 2006 (with periodic releases up until 2009) introducing some new sets that created even more realistic miniature replicas of tasty foods. Mmm... Apparently the Konapun powder mainly consists of powdered sodium alginate (alginic acid?) which is contained in seaweed and dissolves easily in water. Each food powder also contains different ingredients to make the color and consistency needed for the different types of foods (I want to find these out and make my own powder! xD)

Each kitchen set comes with a mini kitchen counter (or shelf display for the older ones) complete with cooking necessities such as stoves, ovens, etc. depending on the set you get, as well as tools and utensils such as a knife, spatula, strainer, scoops, etc. Some sets come with special equipment that is unique to the foods that it makes (such as the takoyaki pick tool). Supplement sets, Kits, and Tool sets are available for powder refill or replacements for lost tools (or if you want to get some tools without buying the corresponding kitchen set). The extra sets require you to have one of the kitchen sets for the rest of the tools needed to create those dishes, or you can use household items to make the Konapun. 1 cc = 1 ml and there are approximately 5 cc per teaspoon and 15 cc per tablespoon. I will be posting English instructions and household items you can use later on in case your Konapun only comes in Japanese, or you don't have a kitchen. I know Konapun are hard to come by since they are discontinued. ^^;

Enough talk! On with the pics! ლ(╹◡╹ლ)


I'll start off with the kitchen sets. These sets come with a small mini-kitchen, kitchen tools, stickers (to decorate your kitchen or accessories), mixing bowls, pots/pans/appliances/etc, plates for serving the food, and various food powders (depending on the kitchen set you get).


This first set is the Cooking Studio kitchen set, it was my first Konapun which I got last Christmas from my sister, who bought it during her trip to Taiwan! x3 I'll make other posts later with detailed pics and videos when I use them. =3
It comes with everything shown and can fold into a handy little carrying case. It comes with the food powders to make Omurice, Tempura, Chicken Nuggets, and Melon Jelly as shown in the picture.


Next is the Burger Kitchen set, it's my next target for Konapun! Along with the Cooking Studio Kitchen set, these two make the largest kitchen sets for Konapun. This set simulates the kitchen of a burger joint and their deep fryer comes with a basket and a rack to strain the 'oil' from the foods. Their oven is also different in that it is a detachable unit. This set also comes with a butcher knife (xD) and a grill/fryer for burgers instead of a pan. This set makes burgers, fries, and hotdogs as shown.

Next on my hit list is the Rilakkuma Dessert Cart (by the way these are not really the official names, it's what I call them x P) This is like a collab as this set comes with Rilakkuma stickers to put onto your cart/kitchen and tools. This set comes with an oven, storage space inside the cart, serving trays, mixing bowls, tools, and moulds. It makes Rilakkuma desserts: cakes, pudding, cookies, etc. ALL shaped like Rilakuma! Want... this... @___@;;




The next one I'd get after I get all of the above (haha, I know... >___<) the Takoyaki Kitchen set! This set makes Takoyaki, Okonomiyaki, and Taiyaki foods as shown. This set also comes with tools and moulds that are unique to create these foods! They look so good....! Dx Then I'd get all the kitchen sets below in any order: Crepe Kitchen, Cookie Kitchen, and Soft Serve Ice Cream Kitchen!

There was also a special released for the Soft Serve Ice Cream set... Mamegomu Soft Serve! x3

And then there are these other kitchen sets that I think might be slightly older as their formats are completely different. They're more like store fronts or front counter displays than 'kitchens'. These are the Cake Kitchen Special Edition, Cake Kitchen Regular Edition, Pizza Kitchen, Sushi Kitchen, Parfait Kitchen, Ice Cream Kitchen, and Donut Kitchen! I think I only really want the Parfait Kitchen or Ice Cream Kitchen... I like the oven for the Pizza Kitchen, and fryer for the Donut Kitchen but I can live without it. x P And the foods (like the sushi) are really cool, but I can get those from the Supplement sets... hehehe.

Each kitchen set usually only comes with enough food powder to make a few dishes, once you use up the food powders that come with your kitchen, you won't be able to make anymore! But that's where the Supplement sets come in. They are essentially refill packs that require you to already have the corresponding kitchen set, in order to use the equipment and kitchen tools such as the measuring cup, mixing bowls, moulds, etc. to make the foods. As far as I know, these sets do NOT come with any serving dishes or tools, only powder. Once I get my hands on some, I'll verify this. ^^; But for now, here they are: Burger Supplement/Refill, Jelly Cake, Cookie, Donut, Cake, Ice Cream, Crepe, Sushi, Parfait, Pizza, Pudding, Soft Serve Ice Cream, Takoyaki, Rilakkuma Supplement/Refills, and Mamegomu Supplement/Refills.

There are also other sets, which I like to call "Kits". They are similar to Supplement sets as they sort of require a kitchen set to make the food (if you ONLY want to use Konapun hardware =D), but these sets also come with serving plates and dishes, and decorations for the food. You'll notice they have a variety of plastic decorative fruits or veggies, plates, bowls, trays, etc. Some even come with different moulds that aren't available in the kitchen sets! Dx There are: Bento, Cakes, Curry Rice, Hamburg Steak, Omurice, Parfait, Spaghetti, Pudding, Shortcake, Sushi, Tarts, and Tempura Konapun!

And then there's this extra special Kit that's called Kuru Kuru Mixer and Raku Raku Pot set, it has a water dispenser that you can easily fill your measuring cup and an egg-beater that will mix your powder and water! Both utilize good ole button pushing action. xD Also comes with a mixing bowl, moulds, and food powder to make a jelly cake! Super deluxe Kit!

You still here? lol Well there are just a few more things I've found, so bear with me... (as you can tell, I'm only slightly obsessed...) Next up are the Tool Kits. Know how the Supplement sets only had food powder but no tools or decorations? Guess what Tool Kits have? You got it! Only tools and decorations, BUT no powder. (I swear they're just out to get us...) Here they are: Cake Tools, Shortcake Tools, Donut Tools, and Ice Cream Tools!

Found some more! More obssessed searching has yielded two other kits called "Konapun Trial Kits" (that's what it says on the box!) and this type only comes in two different kinds: melon jelly and strawberry jelly. These two came out somewhat early in the Konapun line, in September 2006. One of them has a star shaped cake mould that I don't think is available in any other set. Have a look!

Now just for fun, I also found some of the really old Konapun sets... they were released in 1983 so they are quite old and rare! Take a peek:

And that concludes my research on Konapun. ^^ There may be more things I don't know or haven't covered, so I will edit this post as I get more pictures or information! Thanks for reading! =3


Updated 04/22/11: Added Melon & Strawberry Trial Kits info and images, also added original Konapun boxed kitchen picture.
Updated 04/08/11: Added stock images of Shortcake Kit, Ice Cream Kitchen, Supplement Sushi, Donut, and Cake (2). Added Special Edition Cake Toolset and Special Edition Cake Kitchen Set. Updated images of various kitchen and supplement/kit sets.
Updated 03/27/11: Added Ice Cream Kitchen, edited Raku Raku Pot set image, added Tool Sets section, and Original Konapun section.
Updated 03/20/11: Separated Supplement Sets from Kits. More supplement sets and kits added.