Pick N Marks Blond Chocolate Malt Balls (Marks and Spencer) By @Cinabar

These new Blond Chocolate Malt Balls are part of the Pick N Marks range, which sounds like Pick N Mix, but isn’t mixed, just grab bags. Totally confusing, but there’s lots of chocolate in the range, so I’m still in.

Blond chocolate has been very popular, following on from the salted caramel trend, and as I have a sweet tooth, it definitely works for me. I opened the bag and the malt balls are a decent size. I bit into one and found a lovely layer of thick blond chocolate, followed by a really nice crispy crunch. The flavour was pure caramel, white chocolate and malty goodness. There was plenty of sweetness, with a bit of contrast from the malt and even a touch of salt. They’ve really maximised that sweet and salty balance, and it just works.

These are very moreish and tasty, and I can see this bag disappearing rather quickly.

There was a time a few years back when every ‘grab bag’ like this would have a resealable sticker, so you could have a few and seal them up for another day. That stopped being a thing for quite a few brands, and these don’t have one either. So, yeah, we’re just going to have to finish the bag tonight while watching a movie. What a shame!

San Pellegrino Zero Peach & Clementine (Ocado) By @Cinabar

These San Pellegrino Zero Peach & Clementine drinks caught my eye as they were reduced in price. I do like the San Pellegrino range very much, but they aren’t cheap, so when I spot them on offer, I do like to pick some up. In this case, it was also a flavour I hadn’t tried before.

The drink comes in a tall, narrow can, which initially made me think there would be less in it than a normal-sized can. However, it still holds the full 330ml, and when I poured it into my glass, it filled it just as much as a standard can would. It just looks a bit posher! I opened the can and it had a nice fizz, before pouring it into my glass. The drink was bubbly and peach in colour.

I gave it a sip and very much enjoyed the flavour. It is a zero-sugar drink, so it does contain sweeteners, but it isn’t overly sweet like some szero oft drinks can be. The flavours taste very natural, with the peach shining through first, followed by a lovely citrus note in the finish.

It was very refreshing and had a well-balanced mix of flavours. Definitely one to keep an eye out for, especially if you spot it on offer.

G Mochi Ice Cream - Pistachio version [@NLi10]

 I’d seen luxury versions of these in the Asian shops, and then Aldi had a suspiciously similar version for much cheaper - win!

These are pre-packaged little rice balls with ice-cream in the middle and not much else 

And you get 6 in a box, but each portion really is one unless you are having a big pudding.

They look quite mumified when frozen

But soon perk up at room temperature and in the heatwave didn’t melt until required.

And biting causes them to squish!

The outside is standard rice ball, and the inside is luxury pistachio ice cream and it works surprisingly well if you like slimy things.

Green luxury puddings for all, hurray!

Kopparberg Cider with Strawberry & Lime (Tesco Express) By @SpectreUK

The weather is a little cooler and damper. It feels a bit like summer is coming to an end. I feel like I should drink something that reminds me of summer just to keep it going a while longer.

I’m not much of a cider drinker. I do like a sweet cider at times, especially with a roast pork dinner. I have my favourite sandwich for tea tonight, a roast pork sandwich. I like it with some Colman’s English Mustard, and a sprinkle of black pepper.

I have a comic con tomorrow, so I suppose this could be considered as a school night for me. So, this Kopparberg with Strawberry & Lime should be okay to drink due to it being zero in alcohol.

On opening the can there was a strong aroma of strawberries, with a touch of lime and cider to this fizzy pink drink. There was a sweet strawberry flavour to begin with, then an almost face twisting sourness from the lime mixed with slightly dry cider. It was a battling combination. It wasn’t bad, but I’m not sure I’d have another.

You’re Paw Some [Chocolates] (M&S) by @cinabar

These You’re Paw Some chocolates caught my eye in M&S. From the box, I would guess these are meant as a gift, either for thanking someone or as a birthday treat, but you should know I bought these for myself to snack on. In my defence, there are only four in the box. They were just too cute to walk away from.

When I opened the pack, I found the chocolates beautifully moulded into the shape of sausage dogs, with lots of detail and looking fab. They actually look slightly better in real life than they do on the box, which never normally happens.

The chocolates are pure milk chocolate and are solid. The chocolate is decent, sweet with plenty of cocoa, and generally quite nice. I thought they could have used Belgian chocolate to make them a bit more special, or perhaps a caramel filling, as the chocolate doesn’t quite do all the work on its own.

The super-cute design is doing the heavy lifting here. I just wish they had backed it up with a little something extra in the taste.