Burgers Biscuits: Chocolate and Hazelnut (Petrol Station) By @Cinabar

This cute little packet of Burgers Biscuits was hanging up by the team in our local petrol station. We have a thing that when we buy petrol, we always buy some snacks. This is for two reasons: one, the petrol station is surprisingly well stocked, and two, petrol is expensive, and we cheer ourselves up with something sweet.

These Burgers Biscuits were budget friendly too, as they were only 59p. I wasn’t expecting much when I got home (mostly as the price was so cheap) but was happy to find 10 cute-looking mini-burger biscuits. They were very sweet-looking, a double layer of biscuits with a chocolate spread filling and a vanilla cream too. I gave one a try, and the flavours are simple but good; there is crunchy biscuit, quite a lot of vanilla, and a chocolate nut taste. These Burgers Biscuits: Chocolate and Hazelnut were, I think, exceptionally good value for money and something I would definitely pick up again. Here is hoping the full tank of petrol lasts a while before we need to go back. 

Dairy Milk Christmas Varieties - Snowballs Bar For Christmas [@NLi10]

 The pound shops have had an influx of Cadbury bars recently - and I'm still not massively convinced they are worth the novelty tax.

For Christmas we have the Winter Wonderland variation on the bar we reviewed a week or so ago and said wasn't that exciting (and this has even less white!).  Also - the Snow Ball bar has come out - which sees little shelled bits appear in the bar.

They also do a big version but we got the small one for £1.35 from B&M

And it looks luxurious

And the balls add 10g of weight which is odd, but I guess makes sense

They aren't all that plentiful on top (the bar is clearly made upside down for the moulding) but inside it really changes the texture of the bar so actually feels a little different than a standard bar.  Is it Christmassy? Nope - but it's possibly exciting enough for a present or a festive family snack.

That said - there will probably be big bags of the Snowballs to be had closer to the day and you might find those easier to share!

Lady of the Lake Real Ale (Glastonbury Brewing Co) By @SpectreUK

I have always loved Sword and Sorcerer books and movies. I especially love the Arthurian Legend of Excalibur, Merlin, King Arthur, and his Knights of the Round Table. The magic of the Lady of the Lake both mends Excalibur and is destined to present the sword of legend to a new king. So, this enchanting beer from Glastonbury Ales should be quite a treat with my steak and chips tonight.

At 4.2% in volume, caramel malts have been promised on the bottle with vanilla creaminess and fruitiness from the hops. A smooth creamy beer to represent the beauty of the Lady of the Lake. On opening the bottle there was autumnal fruitiness and a sweet caramel malt smell, with a touch of vanilla at the back of the aroma.

On pouring this deep brown beer there was indeed fruitiness from the mild hops, joined with creaminess from vanilla, followed closely by the sweetness of caramel malt into the aftertaste. This was a gorgeous ale, which washed my steak and chips down perfectly. I fancy digging out some of my old Sword and Sorcerer movies now.

Werther’s Originals Blueberry Blissful Bites (Ocado) By @Cinabar

This is something a bit different. Here we have Werther’s Originals Blueberry Blissful Bites, which is a new direction from them, incorporating a fruity twist. I buy blueberries quite regularly, as I do like them, but they are sadly not incorporated into confectionary very much. I think that is because here in Britain we favour blackcurrant, in the same way America favours grape.

Inside the bag are the smallish balls of toffee with a decent portion of a blueberry inside. I’m pleased to say that the toffee isn’t overly chewy; it gives nice and easily and has a good texture. The blueberry inside is sweet like a jam in flavour, although it is firmer like a jelly. The combination works well, and these are a nice moreish fruity sweet treat. I’d happily pick up another bag. 

The conclusion is definitely that we need more blueberry sweets; the flavours really work, and a little variety is nice. 

What if Pocky was ALL The Chocolate? [@NLi10]

 Gone are the days when Pocky was a niche import snack when I first reviewed it here 15 or so years ago (gulp!).  Now they show up all over the place - and I found a version in a Korean grocer I'd not seen before - 60% chocolate - on a chocolate flavour stick!

Super luxury presentation and a double helping inside.  I do miss the days when the little boxes were 30p, this was £2.50

All the info is here as you'd expect.

And they have a lovely thin pack to keep them super fresh

Although these must have got a bit heated at some point as the moisture is escaping.  They do taste great however - very chocoaltey and the sticks are like a bourbon biscuit - yum!

I think these absorb moisture even faster than the normal version though as the sticks were soft on day 3 :(  have to eat them all in one sitting instead!

More of a treat than a routine snack though.  Unless you can get them for cheap Thai prices.

Yummy Yummy Raspberry & Pineapple Pale Ale (Wee Beer Shop) By @SpectreUK

I loved Fruit Salad sweets when I was younger, though I haven't seen them in the shops for quite some time. I usually go for gummy sour sweets nowadays, but if I saw Fruit Salads, I'd be on them like a shot. This Yummy Yummy Pale Ale should taste reminiscent of Fruit Salad with it's Raspberry & Pineapple flavour, and it's not a sour beer, so I'm rather looking forward to it.

Neonraptor Brewing Company created this 4.2% in volume Yummy Yummy Raspberry & Pineapple Pale Ale. Vic Secret hops were used in the brewing for pineapple and passion fruit flavours, with a little pine and herbs. Also fruit was added in the brewing, I'm suspecting that was the raspberry part.

On opening the can the excitable pinkish ale inside bubbled up slightly to cheerfully greet me. Pouring with a frothy head, there was a strong bitter raspberry aroma from Yummy Yummy, with tropical hops behind. Although Yummy Yummy smelt pretty sour, and there was a sour bite of raspberries to begin with, on taste I kept having to tell myself that this Raspberry & Pineapple Pale Ale was not a sour beer.

Tropical hops followed including pineapple and a little passion fruit, with notes of pine and herbs mixing quickly with some sweetness of pale malts almost taking away some of the sour fruity bite. Although I couldn't pick up on Fruit Salad in any way, I quite enjoyed Yummy Yummy, it didn't live up to its name though. Although it did wash down my Kamikaze hot sauce tuna sandwich and Pickled Onion Monster Munch well enough.

Apple Strudel Flavour Hot Chocolate (Whittards) By @Cinabar

This was my second purchase from Whittards of hot chocolate, trying other new flavours. This one is Apple Strudel Flavour Hot Chocolate, and this extra tub will barely fit in the cupboard; I’ve had to push tubs in tightly to make it close. I need to finish some hot chocolate off before I buy any more; it is getting out of hand.

This is one of the drinks made with hot milk, and it is based on a white chocolate base instead of a milk chocolate. I heated up some milk and added four teaspoons. The drink looked creamy, and the aroma was lovely and fruity. I gave it a sip, and the flavour didn’t disappoint. The taste was complex; there was plenty of apple, lots of warming spices, and a really nice buttery pastry flavour. They really did capture the essence of an apple strudel surprisingly well, and this is such a nice soothing dink for the autumn. 

The problem is that Whittards hot chocolates are just some of the nicest ones available, and the variety keeps me going back for me. And that explains the problem I have not being able to shut the overfull cupboard with all my wonderful drinks in it. 

Limited Edition Oreo Coca-Cola (Ocado) By @Cinabar

There have been quite a few different flavours of Cola over the years; many of them are fruity. I think lemon or lime with cola works like a dream, and I always favour those varieties, as the zesty tastes really work. This new Oreo Coca-Cola is quite a leap away from that; I’m genuinely not sure that I would have paired chocolate biscuits and cola, but I'm always happy to find out how it works.

I poured the can into a glass, and there was a lot of fizz. It is one of those smaller cans; it filled a smaller glass and was still an okay portion. The aroma was sweet like cola, but there was also a vanilla tone. I forgot about vanilla cola; that is a combination that works, so there is hope for this new one. I gave it a sip and have to say it works. The main taste is mostly sweet cola; there is the vanilla tone, and then rich chocolate comes through, which shouldn’t work, but it does. It actually made me smile. I didn’t think cocoa and cola went, but I was wrong. I’d happily pick up another can while this limited edition Oreo Coca-Cola is still around. 

Eating M&S Bursting Blisters So You Don't Have To [@NLi10] @marksandspencer

 Marks & Spencer's (M&S) in the UK and Europe always has a good food hall full of decent food, and they always make a special effort at Christmas & Halloween.  I remember almost 40 years ago wondering what my Grandma would pick out to let us have on the weekend nearest spooky Christmas and whether I'd be able to go and pick up more in the first week of Nov sale.

So it's no surprise that 2024 is a bumper crop year - with Bursting Blisters looking like the most out there exciting idea.

I mean there is a decent array of choices...

Seriously - they've pushed the spooky boat out this year!  They even do ghost train tins which I'd struggle to justify getting.  We have had some younger children chaotically run up and down the street recently so I suspect that putting a spooky tree in the front window will result in a few knocks.

The blisters themselves are the right amount of disgusting, in that the package is a little too creepy and the insides might as well be an easter egg.

Well - half egg anyway - how sweet

Except it's filled with alien goo! 

Thankfully these blisters taste a lot like sour Granny Smiths apples and are quite scrumptious.

M&S Chocolate is decent too so you don't feel like this is a gimmick - buyers - pop these in a spooky chocolate box with some red ones and orange pumpkins (using the pink pig & orange pumpkin choc mix) and sell them to the grown-ups too.  A good box of soft centred spooky chocs would go down a treat!

I have a few other little bits from the range from visit 1 - but if I see decorations going up in the street and I feel like my box of out-of-date sweets won't quite do for a whole trick-or-treat session then I might have to go back and investigate the extras.

Butterkist Caramelised Biscuit Flavour Toffee Popcorn (Ocado) By @Cinabar

Yesterday we had film night and watched Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and so we decided to open a nice big bag of popcorn to share while watching. I was looking forward to trying the new Butterkist Caramelised Biscuit Flavour Toffee Popcorn and it sounds perfect for a wet autumn evening in.

We poured a big bowl full of popcorn and tucked in. The first very positive note is that this popcorn has some serious toffee coating. They have a nice shell of crunchy toffee around each piece, and it is wonderfully sweet. I bought this bag for the Caramelised Biscuit Flavour and this part was the negative part; there wasn’t very much at all. Those biscuits are wonderfully warming and full of my favourite spice; this popcorn was toffee with a whisper of that flavour, which was such a disappointment. Don’t get me wrong, we happily munched and enjoyed the bag of popcorn because popcorn covered in toffee is a brilliant thing, but judging it on trying to be a biscuit flavour, for me, I just don’t think it was there. Cinnamon is my favourite spice, and I wanted more, not a hint, but a rich warmth from the spice; this is after all supposed to be Butterkist Caramelised Biscuit Flavour Toffee Popcorn.

Horlicks Banoffee Pie (Horlicks Site) By @Cinabar

Does this count as a hot chocolate? It is a hot milky malty drink, so I think it doesn’t count? There is no chocolate flavour in it, but there is Banoffee. So in terms of me not buying any more hot chocolate, I think I’ve succeeded, if only on a technicality. 

A while back I purchased Cherry Bakewell Horlicks in Home Bargains, and I was taken aback about the curious flavour. The back of the tub mentioned that there was also Banoffee available, and I then had a hunt for that variety with no luck. I checked a lot of places and did a search online where the only stockist was Horlicks themselves, so I did an order, just to give it a try. 

This Horlicks Banoffee Pie edition is made with hot water and mixed up easily, with no lumps. I gave it a try, and the malty taste works so nice with the sweet banana. It gives the drink a wholesome banana milkshake taste but is hot. I absolutely loved it; it was sweet and comforting and fun too. I may have felt a bit desperate on my search, but I’m so glad the drink is as nice as it is, especially as I bought two tubs when I did the order. Heaven help me. I do have a hot drink problem; I need to stop ordering, but it is the season. 

Taiwanese Peanut & Sesame Candy [@NLi10]

My partner does some voluntary work working in local woodlands, and a lady whose house looks out over it came out and gave this bag of sweets to reward the workers - so nice! 

Very mysterious, so tasty.

Ingredients - peanuts, sesame - stuff to stick them together

And it's whole nuts too! If you like sweet nutty seedy treats then these are great.  In English they'd be coated in chocolate too, but as it stands this was a really nice surprise and a great treat to be given.

Monster Munch BBQ Sauce flavour (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

I've loved Walkers Monster Munch crisps since I was very young. "So, that's a very long time!" I hear you say. I also usually love everything BBQ sauce related. Most nights I can be seen dipping chips or fried chicken into BBQ sauce. Ever since I had my first burger at McDonald's (other burger houses are available), I have always dipped whatever burger I eat into BBQ sauce. So, these new Monster Munch BBQ Sauce flavoured maize crisps seemed the obvious choice for me to write about them.

On opening the packet there was a spicy paprika smoky barbecue aroma from the orange coloured crunchy maize paws inside. There was definitely plenty of paprika covering the smoky sweet barbecue flavoured crunchy paws. There was also plenty of sweet red onion flavour to go with all the spices. I couldn't help but keep popping them into my mouth. Very tasty indeed they accompanied my spicy tuna sandwich for lunch a treat.

Information on the packet;
The 16g bag contained 76 calories, with 3.3g of fat, 0.7g of sugar, and 0.13g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Mr. Kipling Moreish Sticky Toffee Loaf Cake (Tesco) By @Cinabar

Recently I wrote about Mr. Kipling Delicious Chocolate and Fudge Loaf Cake, which was nice but not exciting. At the same time I bought that, I also purchased this Mr. Kipling Moreish Sticky Toffee Loaf Cake. I love sticky toffee; it is always one of my favourite desserts and flavours, so I was keen to give this a try.

I opened up the wrapper and found a card packet with sponge cake, topped a bit more easily with toffee pieces. We shared it out and gave it a taste. The cake was nice, but, like the chocolate version, was just that pleasant and nice. It was a decent cake; it was moist, and there were toffee tones. It didn’t sadly make anyone say wow. It didn’t make me want to rush out and get another. I think these new loaf cakes aren’t quite to my taste. I preferred this Mr. Kipling Moreish Sticky Toffee Loaf Cake to the chocolate version, but even so, it wasn't quite hitting the exciting mark. 

Limited Edition Gingerbread Hot Chocolate (Whittards) By @Cinabar

I think my hot chocolate problem may be getting out of hand. I am running out of space in the Foodstuff finds cupboard. I can’t stop myself from buying a new tub if I see a new flavour, and I went into Whittards and I found two new flavours. Now I’m rethinking where to put the jar of coffee in the cupboard.

The only solution is to increase the amount of hot chocolate I drink to bring back balance, and I’m up for that challenge. The first new flavour I’m going to try is this Limited Edition Gingerbread Hot Chocolate. I heated up some milk and stirred in 3 teaspoons per mug. The powder dissolved easily, and the hot chocolate was a nice dark colour. I gave it a sip, and the flavour was rich chocolate and soft ginger. It was sweet, and the spice was present but not hot; instead, it was also a treacle-like flavour with the spice. This did recreate gingerbread, and it was a lovely warming drink for the autumn. I love Whittards hot drinks and can’t wait to try my other new tub too. I do have to finish a tub before I buy a new one, but that sounds like it shouldn’t be a problem now that the evenings are drawing in. 

Tortilla - Burrito meets Burger - Beef Smash Burrito [@NLi10]

 We had time before a show in Birmingham (the band Texas) so decided to take the family for Burritos.  Most went with a standard set of things, but I decided to try the new Beef Smash Burrito

Smash is essentially just taking a burger and cooking it on the grill as if it was mince and then putting it back together a bit - it just means that its all a bit more charred.  This is essentially how you cook Quorn mince so it's not exactly revolutionary but it is nice.

And there are loads of options!

It also seems to basically be a beef burrito but where the contents were grilled first

I got the meal deal with the nice lemonade and the salty salty tortilla chips.  These have a fun texture too like they are freshly made each day.

The large is a chunky beast and certainly filling enough

And sure enough is essentially just a beef Burrito with crispy mince.  You can customise whatever you like, but the default smash was pretty good.

Al La Mexicana needn't be worried about their business, but as an updated and healthier version of the Subway custom sandwich (and nicer hot) then this is great and I'm happy that I joined the loyalty scheme for the free guac and burrito next time I visit!

Bornem Double Belgian Abbey Beer (Van Steenberge) By @SpectreUK

I have a takeaway from our local curry house tonight. I haven't had a curry takeaway since I don't know when. I've been at toy fairs and comic cons for some weeks, and don't have a takeaway beforehand after a couple of unfortunate incidents.

I fancy a brown ale to wash down my Lamb Rogan Josh with chips. I was told by a waiter in an curry house once that they call chips 'English rice', as we often order it instead. This Bornem Double (Dubbel) is a Belgian Abbey beer, which has been produced since 1789. At 7.2% in volume it should have a strong kick to it to go with all those spices. I love my starters of Lamb Sheekh Kebab and Onion Bhajis before I get to my huge main course.

It was stated on the bottle that this beer was brewed with re-fermentation. This dark brown in colour Bornem Dubbel should have a warming flavour, with a soft fruitiness reminiscent of grain. On opening the bottle there was a deep fruitiness mixed with strong brown malts. On taste Bornem Dubbel had a crisp bite of herbal hops that merged immediately with autumn fruits followed closely by further sweetness from the brown malts. Oh, this was a gorgeous flavoursome beer and a lovely curry takeaway. Those Belgians really know what they're doing.

Swiss Nutty Clouds (M&S) By @Cinabar

They had me when they said nuts and chocolate. I spotted this in our M&S Foodhall, and I haven’t seen it before. It doesn’t say ‘new’ on it, but I love nuts and chocolate, so I would have bought them before if they had been in our local branch. I’m loving the name Swiss Nutty Clouds too; it makes them sound fun.

Inside the bag are plaques of chocolate filled with nuts and looking bobbly. They are all different, a little like clouds, I guess, but still keeping up that fun but rustic feel. 

I gave one a try, and they are good. I know I’m biassed with nuts and chocolate, but these are yum. The first thing you notice is the thick chocolate is fab. It is rich and creamy and not too sweet; the cocoa flavour is spot on; the nuts are crunchy and full-flavoured and add to the mix of textures I really like. This is simple chocolate with nuts, but it is done very well and in a lovely sharing bag. These Swiss Nutty Clouds are a perfect treat and definitely something I’ll be purchasing again. 

Planted - not chicken - Lemon & Herb vegan fry-up [@NLi10]

 I like having a back-up veggie protein option to chuck into meals when they look a little sparse.  I added these to the basket and kept them for a rainy day.

The Planted range appears to have a few options, but Lemon & Herb felt the most versatile

Decently nutritious, and seems to have all the eco credentials you'd expect

Comes all sealed up

And it looked far too realistic for my partner to want to eat so I get the whole tasty box!

Essentially its got a lovely light smell and taste which is perfect for Italian food so I mixed it up with some pasta and sun-dried tomatoes from the Lidl Spanish range and it was great.

No one is going to confuse this with cooked chicken - but it crisped up really well when lightly fried and still kept the texture and taste.  I think that it'd work really well in a sauce too so I'll be trying that another time too.

Great to have more quality options!

Swizzels Squashies Drumstick: Despicable Me 4: Banana & Blueberry Flavour (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

I'm looking forward to watching Despicable Me 4. I've enjoyed all the movies and love the Minions. Swizzels have brought out these Swizzels Squashies Drumstick: Despicable Me 4: Banana & Blueberry Flavour. Of course, they had to be banana flavour. I'm not usually keen on banana flavoured snacks, although I do usually like foam banana flavoured gummies. I'm not sure about the added blueberries though, but I'll give these gummies a try.

 

On opening the bag there was a strong banana flavoured smell mixed with slightly acidic blueberries. On taste these squidgy gummies tasted mainly of banana with sweet blueberries following into the aftertaste. I really liked the texture and combined flavour of these Swizzels Squashies Drumstick: Despicable Me 4: Banana & Blueberry Flavour. I'd certainly recommend them, perhaps whilst watching Despicable Me 4, or another movie, or for snacking during a gaming night.

Information on the bag; The 120g bag contained 353 calories per 100g, with 0.2g of fat, 62g of sugar, and 0.07g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.