Chip Shop Curry Mayonnaise (Asda) by @Spectreuk

Whenever I have a fish and chip takeaway I always have chip shop curry dipping sauce with my chips. Unfortunately it's been quite a while since I've found a decent Chippy that hasn't changed to a cheaper brand of cooking oil. My stomach doesn't agree at all with the cheaper oil, so I end up ill for a few days afterwards.

So, finding something reminiscent of the chip shop curry sauce I miss so much is a boon to dip my chips in. This new Asda Chip Shop Curry Mayonnaise should fit the bill. I've recently been converted to dipping my chips in mayonnaise. Usually it's BBQ sauce for me, but more often than not nowadays I pick mayonnaise.

I dolloped quite a bit of this Asda Chip Shop Curry Mayonnaise on my plate next to my home cooked fish and chips. On my first dip, this curry mayonnaise tasted exactly like chip shop curry sauce, but with added creaminess from the mayonnaise. It went perfectly with my chips, and I also dipped in some of my fish to try too. Oh, I wish I could try a battered sausage with it as well. Gorgeous, I'd recommend you give it a try.

Christmas Flavour Doughnuts (Asda) By @Cinabar

Let’s take a moment to think about what the phrase ‘Christmas flavour’ means. What are your top three Christmas flavours? For me, it’s easy: cinnamon, peppermint, and orange. If I had to go further, I’d include warming spice blends (nutmeg, for example) and even black forest gateau—I adore that flavour in hot chocolate during this season.

So, when I saw Christmas Flavour Ring Doughnuts from Asda, I was curious to see which festive flavour they’d chosen.

First impressions: these doughnuts look gorgeous. They’re decorated with iced holly, sparkles, and chocolate icing, very festive. I couldn’t wait to try one. The verdict? Lovely, but sadly, no ‘Christmas flavour’ to be found.

A glance at the back of the packet revealed they’re simply described as decorated chocolate doughnuts. Oh. That’s a little disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, I like chocolate doughnuts, but I was hoping for something different, some spice, perhaps?

To be fair, they’re tasty. The chocolate icing is nice, and the iced decorations add a delightful crunch and texture. But for something branded as Christmas Flavour Doughnuts, I was expecting a more adventurous, festive twist.

Tiny Toblerone (Asda) By @Cinabar

I absolutely love the look of this huge bag filled with mini chocolate bars. When I was a child, I used to get so excited about miniature chocolate bars, like the ones in a box called Neapolitans. They were tiny, not like fun-sized bars, but closer to 2cm across and came in a mix of flavours. There’s just something so fun about miniature things, and I used to pretend to be a giant while eating them. Naturally, I was eager to see what these Tiny Toblerone were like.

I opened the bag (which unfortunately didn’t have a resealable top) and found three types of mini bars inside. All of them featured the classic nut nougat of regular Toblerone, but in miniature form and made with three different types of chocolate. When I unwrapped them, the bars were smaller than I’d expected, but each still had the iconic three triangles. I didn’t bother breaking them apart, I just ate them whole!

The white Tiny Toblerone was lovely; sweet, creamy, and indulgent. The dark chocolate one was rich, with lots of cocoa and a deeply satisfying flavour. Of course, the milk chocolate version is the original and, in my opinion, still the best.

Every Christmas, Toblerone brings out massive bars that make fun gifts, but they’re so awkward to eat. After the novelty wears off, you’re left hacking pieces off with a knife and trying to gnaw through enormous chunks of chocolate. I can’t tell you how much I’d prefer receiving a bag like this instead of a giant bar. And yes, I still felt a bit like a giant eating these cute little bars!

Medicating Grandma - Grass & Co Liquid Relax Drink [@NLi10]

 I go to visit my partner's grandmother most weekends, and she's taken an active interest in the unusual things I review for this site.  At 97 most of the things I bring along are declared 'interesting' but never really referenced again.

As she's been suffering for anxiety as the nights draw in I thought I'd offer her some of this Grass & Co relaxing drink.  It may sound a little 'magic potion' but essentially it's a tea-style herbal infusion, but jazzed up to look and taste more like a sparkling wine.

The chamomile & peach sounded the most grown up so that's the one we tried.

I didn't spot it had some mushrooms in it too - but as it was from the supermarket I'm thinking they are quite normal ones.  I filled her in on all the details and then let her try some.  She didn't have much - but did like it so drank more than I expected.

I think it had the desired effect on both of us and we had a lovely chat and almost forgot to order our lovely big lunch.

We had the delivery Toby carvery again - not as spectacular as the first time (the tip is order early to get the freshest bits) but still perked us both up.

While herbal drinks can help your negative mindset in a gloomy December afternoon, I think having a decent meal and someone to talk to is the real calming solution.  That said - the flavours were sophisticated and I could have happily carried on drinking them (but I had to drive back and didn't want to be too relaxed) so I'll save the other can for another day.

Maybe it's a good way to cope with a chaotic family Christmas!  At the very worst its a few needed vitamins and a break from the alcohol.

Polly’s Floret Extra Pale Ale (Morrisons) by @Spectreuk

I haven't had a sausage stew since I left home many years ago. I used to love my mom's sausage stew. I wasn't a beer blogger back then, and I didn't drink much booze with my meals. How times have changed. Although that does make me feel a bit like an old boozer now, but hey, we have to indulge ourselves sometimes. Besides, it's almost Christmas.

This Polly's Floret Extra Pale Ale should wash down my sausage casserole a treat, and warm me up from the coming storm this weekend. At 4.2% in volume, there wasn't much information on the hoppy flowery smart looking can. I'm expecting floral or perhaps herbal hops, and of course, pale malted barley, and a little wheaty taste.

On opening Polly's Floret Extra Pale Ale there was a heavy floral hop smell with a sweet pale malt behind it. This was a very frothy beer, even for an ex-barman to pour out. A misty murky blonde coloured pale ale, on taste the floral hops all but assaulted my palate with their intense bitterness, followed closely by the added wheat. It's fortunate I adore bitter beers, and this one was no exception. The sweet pale malted barley smoothed out the sheer floral hops into the aftertaste, washing down my scrumptious sausage casserole a treat.