Universal Yums is a snack subscription box that sends out snacks and candies from a different country each month. Choose from the Yum Box for $15 a month, the Yum Yum Box for $25 a month, or the Super Yum Box for $39 a month.
This review is of the Yum Yum box, which is $25 a month.
This month’s box takes us to the Philippines! Let's dive in and discover this month's Yums!
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About Universal Yums
The Subscription Box: Universal Yums
The Cost: $25 a month + free US shipping
The Products: The contents of the boxes change each month as they highlight the best snacks from each featured country. However, you can always expect a mix of flavors: salty, sweet, spicy, fruity, and more. Only authentic snacks from the featured country.
Ships to: The U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, and Israel
Universal Yums “Philippines” May 2020 Review
Universal Yums is always an adventure! This is one of my favorite subscription boxes, and since being quarantined at home for the past 2 months, we really count on receiving this box as it's one of our only sources of excitement these days. This month features snacks from the Philippines, and glancing at some of the descriptions of these treats, I am anxiously awaiting to dig in!
Upon opening the box, you are greeted with a bright, fun, animated sheet that welcomes us to the Philippines! The backside features an updated scoreboard. Instead of "The Official Yum Awards" they now include "The Yum Scoreboard," which has room for team ratings! My kids were really excited about this change because they now have space for their opinions. Also, this chart includes rejects that didn't make it into the box, and the opportunity to vote on where an upcoming box should come from! I am really liking this new layout!
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Next, we have a detailed pamphlet that is packed with information about this month's snacks, trivia, a recipe, and a clue to next month's box! We noticed that a little work was done to the pamphlet this month as well. The layout is a bit different, and the nutritional information is dedicated to a page of its own. The back page also featured the #1 winner of last month's box - which happened to be my #1 pick as well!
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Fudgee Barr Macapuno
I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I opened up this bright green package, but just like in the picture, we were greeted with a lovely lime green cake. This decadent little rectangle was extremely moist with the perfect amount of chewiness. It had a lovely light coconut flavor with small bits of coconut that added a nice complexity to the cake. The cream filling was a pleasant surprise to create a really delicious pre-packaged cake!
Lipps Color Burst Mango
While hard candy isn't my favorite style of candy, I can appreciate a fruit flavored one from time to time. This mango flavored hard candy was deliciously sweet in a not overpowering way. While it didn't stand out as an awesome treat, I really enjoyed the authentic mango flavor!
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Boy Bawang Cornick Adobo Flavor - Buy a 6 pack for $16.98
Our family is corn obsessed, and when my son saw the corn cob on the front he couldn't wait to bust into this bag. While I've had "adobo flavor" items in past boxes, this is the first time we have had adobo flavored corn nuts and both of my sons declared these "THE BEST SNACK EVER!" While I think that is a bit of an exaggeration, I did find these extremely delicious. Adobo is a style of cooking where meat is marinated in vinegary, soy saucy, and garlicky goodness, and these corn nuts are packed with that flavor. They are crunchy, savory, and sooo tasty! I have already ordered more because my kids are that obsessed.
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Goldilocks Pinipig Polvoron
Isn't this little toasted rice shortbread cookie cute? The scalloped edges and sugary dusting make it look so simple and pretty! They taste as good as they look! While I found this shortbread to be quite dry and crumbly, I really enjoyed the toasted rice flavor saturated with yummy sugar. My kids were also fans!
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Farmer John BBQ Sausage
I'll be honest, "spicy barbecue sausage potato chips" just doesn't sound that appetizing to me, and when I opened the bag of these chips I swear it smelled a bit like my dog's treat bag, but I am an equal opportunity taster and gave them a try anyways. I can say I'm glad I gave them a chance. I loved the ridged texture and could taste a slight sausage flavor, but not a whole lot of barbeque. I found them to have a little zing of spice to them, but not so much that my kids complained - they polished off the small bag in seconds!
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ChocoMucho Cookies & Cream
Chocolate cookie + caramel + crisp rice + white chocolate?! I was a little worried that this combination might be overdoing things, but holy cow I am in love! This. Is. Amazing! Somehow, this all works together to create a crunchy, sweet, gooey bar that is ridiculously addicting. I almost found it to be a cross between a cookies and cream Hershey's bar with a Twix bar. Both of my kids decided this is so far second best.
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Cupp Keyk Coco Ube
While my husband hates brightly colored pastry products, I happen to appreciate them, and I couldn't wait to give this perfectly purple cupcake a try. While I found the cupcake quite dry, I did enjoy the "yam" flavor, which surprised me! I found the coconut flakes to be the perfect addition, and my kids thought it was really tasty.
Lipps Strawberry Hard Candy
Ooooo another flavor of hard candy in one of my favorite flavors: strawberry!! This strawberry hard candy was really great. I found the flavoring to be just sweet enough, without being fake tasting. Because I am such a big strawberry fan, I enjoyed these more than the mango candies.
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Fudgee Barr Salted Caramel
Oh. My. Goodness. Now this is a chocolate cake I could live off of. This chocolate cake is absolutely moist and is filled with the perfect ratio of salted caramel filling. It is ooey and gooey in the best way. I have to say that this is the best pre-packaged cake I have ever eaten. Throw a dollop of whipped cream and a crushed Heath bar on top and you have an individual piece of "Better Than Anything Cake!" I let the kids have a quick taste of this guy but I will shamelessly say I hoarded the rest for myself!
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Egg Bites
Aren't these little cookies so cute? Upon first inspection, they reminded me of the mini Nilla wafers my grandma used to always have. Made from fresh eggs, these sweet, crunchy morsels tasted like a cross between graham crackers and shortbread. While they are simple in flavor, we enhanced them with a mini marshmallow and chocolate chip for a mini s'more! Two thumbs up!
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Baked Cheezy Puffs Sweet Butter & Cheese
These butter and cheese flavored corn puffs are sweet, crunchy, savory, and packed with flavor! Charlie is a huge fan, saying "these are the best cheese puffs I have ever tasted!" I can honestly say they are unlike any cheese puffs I have ever had - the butter was very sweet, while the cheese was quite sharp which was an interesting mix, but I found myself reaching in for seconds!
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Soft Cookies with Mango Bits
I love a big box of goodies! And cookies are usually always a hit. These soft cookies are sprinkled with mango bits. I found the chewy sugar cookie to have a simple and tasty flavor which was enhanced with the real mango pieces! I like mango and found myself liking the unique taste of these cookies, but my kids wrinkled up their noses at these. More for me!!
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ChocoMucho
Hooray! Another ChocoMucho bar! This bar is a chocolate wafer roll with caramel, crisped rice, and dark chocolate. Because I enjoyed the cookies and cream bar so much, I was very excited to give this one a whirl. Like the previous bar, this one was very packed with flavor. I loved biting into it and instantly hearing the crunch of the crispies, following by a string of ooey gooey caramel, and the rich taste of dark chocolate. Everything about this bar was on par for me, and I'm not sure which flavor I like more!
The Verdict: We love Universal Yums, and instantly dropped everything we were doing to dig into this box. I am loving that this box gives us a geography lesson as well as introduces my family to new treats we otherwise would never have heard of. This month I can honestly say that we liked everything in the box. I found it to be a perfect balance of sweet and savory treats, and was extremely happy with the curation. We can't wait to find out where our June box is coming from! Our clue is this:
Our next stop is home to tales we've adored, about wizards, detectives, and a knight and his sword. But when it comes to the Yums, we have a prediction you'll love the toffees and crisps just as much as the fiction!
Any guesses?
Scorecard Picks:
- Best Yum: Fudgee Barr Salted Caramel
- Runner-up: ChocoMucho Cookies & Cream tied with ChocoMucho Dark Chocolate
- Worst Yum: None
- Most Unusual: Cupp Keyk Coco Ube
To Wrap Up:
Can I still get this box if I sign up today? No. Each month they ship your box no later than the 15th day of the month. The first month you will receive a box varies based on availability and may depend on the size that you order.
Value Breakdown: This box is $25.00 a month (including shipping). I received 19 individually wrapped snacks which averages out to $1.31 per item.
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