Dunkin’ Mint Hot Chocolate Bomb (Import Shop) By @Cinabar

I love hot chocolate season. I drink it all year, so for me, hot chocolate season isn’t about increasing how much I drink; it is about being able to find lots of new and interesting products. Here we have something I found in an import shop, from a chain in the USA called Dunkin’ Donuts. I’m fine with the missing ‘g’ in the brand name; these things don’t bother me at all.

So this is a Dunkin’ Mint Hot Chocolate Bomb, the idea being that you add it to a mug and add hot milk to activate it. I opened up the box and found the foil-coated ball inside. The foil was very sparkly, and I’m not sure the photo does it justice. I unwrapped it, added it to the mug, and added my hot milk (from the microwave).

The ball spins when the milk is poured; eventually, it melts enough to get a hole and then splits and is flipped open to show the marshmallows hidden inside.

I did then give the drink a bit of a stir to make sure the chocolate was all dissolved and mixed in before I gave it a try. The chocolate used in this is Belgian chocolate, and it mixed in nicely. The flavour was quite rich and fuller than I expected. Being American, I assumed it would be sweeter than it was. My sweet tooth loves American Swiss Miss Cocoa, and I think I thought that was their default for this sort of drink. My Dunkin’ Mint Hot Chocolate Bomb was well balanced, with the mint not too strong and the chocolate shining through. I very much enjoyed it. The marshmallows on top were a pretty addition and looked lovely on top. I wish I had picked up a few more when I was in the shop, as it was a delight to drink.

Mr Beast Crunch vs a classic Time Out bar [@NLi10]

 I had a hunt for exciting advent calendars this year - but I just didn’t see any! I know I have a few as presents that will appear this week - but instead I just bought some chocolate.

I hadn’t seen this Mr Beast bar - it’s the rice crispy one, and this is a classic Kwik Save chocolate treat - the Time Out bar.

Grass fed milk - like that’s unusual. Americans are odd.

The backs tell a familiar story.

One is focused on being the cool treat of choice - the other is a familiar friend,

And both being a chocolate with stuff mix they are fairly similar calories 

While Jimmy’s bar is a huge step up from most American chocolate, it still looks a little artificial next to the glory of the Time Out.

The wafer bar is actually pretty similar to how I remember it.  I used to get a pack of five from Kwik Save for a pound (maybe even 89p) while I was at uni and they’d last me all week. Here it’s 50p for one and it it’s a nice two bite snack. Just chocolaty enough to balance the wafers, it’s a delight.

The Mr beast offering has far more choc by percentage but has a similar taste and mouthfeel which isn’t surprising, but this kind of works in its favour.  For the price though you’d kind of expect more - think these are £2.50 still.

I’ll,only get more feastables if they do more interesting chocolate flavours like white and dark, otherwise I’ll stick to the Twix I’d have had if I’d not been in the interesting import shop.

Mikkeller New England Pale Ale (Co-Op) By @SpectreUK

There's no arguing about it, this Mikkeller New England Pale Ale needs to be drunk today. Spending an age languishing at the back of our cavernous beer fridge the previous owners of the house couldn't be bothered to take with with them, this Mikkeller New England Pale Ale goes out of date today. There seems to be a certain amount of argument on the can of this 4.7% in volume pale ale though. It states "Do stuff together", however the passenger of the side car looks absolutely terrified and they are arguing on the back of the can too.

After piling in the oat flakes in the brewing of this Swedish Mikkeller New England Pale Ale, it's described as hazy and having a creamy feel to it. On opening the can there was a light herbal hop aroma, with a wheatiness behind it. On taste this murky golden pale ale had a bitter herbal bite to begin with, then a filling oatiness followed by wheat and a touch of sweetness from the malted barley. I found this New England Pale rather flavoursome, and there's no arguing about that.

Milk Chocolate Poppin’ Choc (Aldi) By @Cinabar

Popcorn is a healthier snack, right? So that makes this Milk Chocolate Poppin’ Choc healthier? Ok, I know they have covered it in milk chocolate and fudge pieces and brownie pieces and thrown in some white chocolate curls, and that may counterbalance the healthier claim, but I’m still in. Even if I have to throw in the obligatory comment about replacing perfectly good letters with apostrophes in the title, I’m still looking forward to this Milk Chocolate Poppin’ Choc bar.

The bar is very appealing to look at; it is nicely decorated and looks like the perfect stocking filler if you want to gift it. I’m eating this myself as a Friday treat.

I broke off a piece, and it was a little bit difficult to make sure I didn’t lose any bits as it was a bit crumbly. The texture is out of this world. There is the lovely soft but crispy popcorn, the chocolate, the crunchy bits, and the brownie. It was lovely. I love a mix of textures, and this delivered. From the crunch to the melt in the mouth bits, it was divine.

The taste was gorgeous too, full of popcorn and sweet, creamy milk chocolate. The added decorations are sweet and add a bit of variety. This Milk Chocolate Poppin’ Choc bar is a delight; it is definitely something I’ll be buying again as a treat.

Random Festive Food - Pizza and Blueberry Crunch [@NLi10]

Dominos have been advertising heavily on the streaming at the moment, and in the cinema too.  I haven't seen them mention The Festive One yet - but it's only a matter of time. It's the last day of November and I've already had one!

I mean I'm fairly sure I've had these in other years too - but this is the first for 2023.

So what is it?  Cranberry Sauce pizza!  

Well - more than that - it's like a leftovers sandwich on a pizza.  

Officially that's "classic Christmas flavours including succulent, perfectly cooked turkey breast marinated in aromatic sage and onion, sausage and smoked bacon" so you don't get the actual dry stuffing (good) just the herbs that would give it the flavour.  And it really works.

It's a sweet pizza due to the cranberry and it lacks a punch - but it's very lovely and was instantly chosen by me when I spotted it.  I'd probably not have another one til next year mind.

Something I would have again however is this Blueberry Crunch - it's basically a doughnut with the filling on top.

My local (ish) park had a mini Christmas market with jams and spreads, crafts and a stall selling baked goods.  We got a lovely fresh-that-day focaccia and these doughnuts.

I totally should have got more but at £2.50 each I figured one should be enough.  I also should have taken a pic of the stall to find out where they would be next!

Freshly baked cakes are definitely a weakness of mine, and the Christmas Market seasons should see more appearing.