Rhubarb and Custard Hot Chocolate (Whittard) By @cinabar

This Whittard Rhubarb and Custard is one of the brand’s new summer flavours of hot chocolate. As a fan of rhubarb and custard, count me in. The tub is very pretty and looks perfect for the season. I opened it up to find pale pink granules. I heated some milk and mixed them in, and the drink turned a lovely shade of pale pink.

I gave it a sip and found the rhubarb taste to be weirdly sharp, with a slightly artificial edge to it. It wasn’t quite zingy, but there was something about the flavour that didn’t quite work for me. The creamy custard taste was the saving grace, adding a much-needed boost of vanilla.

I usually love Whittard hot chocolates, and I currently have two other tubs on the go that I’m really enjoying. With my hot chocolate addiction, I’m certainly no stranger to their flavours! Sadly, this one is the first that has been just okay. I’ll get through the tub, but I was honestly thinking about adding sugar to it.

FIVE Guys Revisited - is it better value than KFC now? [@NLi10]

 There's a section of the fast-food-eating community that are still admamant that it's worth paying extra for FIVE GUYS over things like McDonalds and KFC and that it's comparable to Nando's and similar.  It usually costs £20 for a 'meal' (they don't do meals - no discounts for you!), and now FKC and McDonalds have snuck in luxury menus they can cost close to £20 too - so - which is the best value in 2026? 

First up we have a cup of chips.  This is not a sane choice, but it's what they go with.  I think it's because of the peanut oil or something - but it's a small portion.  Why is that...?

They tip the rest into your bag.  Now - this seems silly because these are the ones you'll want to eat first before they go cold.  They are protecting the burger for safety.

And what about the drink - they have a giant machine for that.

As ever - these seem to be malfunctioning.  One was off, and the working one put the flat tasting water everywhere.  I used the variations and options to try a Fanta Grape, non Sparkling.

This is me realising I just paid £4 for a cup of squash.  Luckily it's bottomless so I could have a 2nd drink and take it with me into the cinema - I chose a Coke, but it tasted very odd.  Not sure if it was grape residue or just that the machines proportions were thrown off by it being a sprinkler system.

Next up - the main event - a burger cooked your way with a choice of toppings.

They wrap them forcefully in foil to keep them hot, which means that they all look a bit like this.  Decently fresh ingredients, nice enough meat - but is this a £10 burger?

Overall this leaves me wondering why UK fast food places can't get the drinks right post sugar-tax.

Why pub burgers are so much better value and quality than burger place burgers.

And why chips always have to have a gimmick.

Overall I had a decent meal, I was full, and everything food based was decent enough.  I enjoyed the chips and the ability to have a decent amount of salad on the burger was nice.  The £16 KFC Naan Meal from last week was better value, but not really by much. That said - in KFC I can be full for £12 pretty easily.

Maybe I'm just not the teenage/student audience that these things are designed for (when I was 21 this place was still Birmingham's Hard Rock Cafe!) and I should be valuing the fact that I can eat it fast and get back to whatever the young people enjoy these days.  As it stands £20 would get you a slower, better meal at one of towns many many independent pubs, even if the ingredients aren't quite as flashy and the kitchen is probably more basic.

Hellman’s Ranch Blue Cheese (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

I had steak and chips the other night. Not only did I enjoy Two Scoops Honeycomb Ice Cream Stout, but I also enjoyed dipping my dinner into this new Hellman’s Ranch Blue Cheese.

Made with Buttermilk and Blue Cheese, this Hellman’s Ranch Blue Cheese went perfectly well with my steak dipped in it, as well as my chips and broccoli. I also had it with Colman’s English Mustard on a beef sandwich earlier today.

Hellman’s Ranch Blue Cheese tastes of creamy Blue Cheese without the earthy bite it often has. It seems to go well with anything, just like its other new counterpart, Hellman’s Buffalo Ranch, which I even tried on a tuna sandwich the other day. Yum.

St Michael Sparks Bar (Marks and Spencer) By @Cinabar

This St Michael Sparks Bar came from a multipack bag of mini bars labelled as a treat selection. Reading between the lines, there’s a chance this is an early release for the Halloween season, when mini bars become much more readily available. As we’re still in a heatwave, I really can’t think about autumn yet. I’m still keeping my chocolate in the fridge!

The bar is called Sparks, and I just love the retro 1980s-style packaging. It’s super cute. I did try to investigate whether they were bringing back an old bar, but I think they’re simply going for the retro look.

I bit into the bar and found milk chocolate, soft nougat and a thick layer of caramel. It was surprisingly similar to a Mars, which seems rather curious given Marks and Spencer’s previous complaints about Aldi producing a cake similar to their Colin the Caterpillar. Aldi’s response on social media was hilarious, but it does seem slightly ironic for M&S to launch a new chocolate bar that bears such a resemblance to a Mars. Curious times!

Putting the similarity aside, this bar was lovely. The chocolate was sweet, the caramel soft and thick, and the nougat had a lovely soft texture. It was a delight and a proper treat.

For me, this is the perfect afternoon chocolate to have with my coffee. And, thankfully, without a trick-or-treater in sight.

Mochi - Tiramisu & Creme from Royal Family [@NLi10]

 My nan loves a Tiramisu - I love weird snacks - this seemed like a decent combo.  But would it freak out a 99 year old to eat rice-balls?

They certainly look quite fluffy and fun

And while they are very exotic, they definitely only contain things she already likes.

They are individually sealed which I heartily approve of, less messy.

I wonder if the V means veggie - they do kind of look veggie from the ingredients.

And it was very easy to convince her that they are essentially 'Japanese marshmallows' but a bit heavier and with an odd texture 

They are pretty sticky inside - it took a chewing but she liked it - and kept one to eat later.

I was also a big fan of these - 12 in a pack (for £2.50) is a lot of one flavour - but they certainly will get finished.  I've promised a trip to the big store that has these to someone, so maybe I'll get to try more of them.

Two Scoops Honeycomb Ice Cream Stout (Morrisons) By @SpectreUK

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream, and especially in this weather. It’s baking hot outside and I’m cooking a big steak and chips for dinner. I like a stout with my steak. I found two stouts in my cavernous beer fridge. I decided to pick this one.

This Brewdog collaboration with Mackie’s of Scotland has come up with Two Scoops Honeycomb Ice Cream Stout. I love honeycomb ice cream. At 7% in volume, this milk stout has natural flavourings added in the brewing to produce its honeycomb flavour.

On opening the can there was a creamy sweet toffee aroma from the almost jet black liquid. Two Scoops Honeycomb Ice Cream Stout pours thick and dark. It had a creamy velvet texture with sweet honeycomb from the initial flavour right through to the aftertaste. There was a little bitterness in the middle from the hops, and sumptuous body from the oats and chocolate malts. Simply gorgeous.

Cherry and Pomegranate Refresha (Starbucks) by @cinabar

We are back to the hot weather again in England, and so, in an effort to stay cool and hydrated, I’m exploring the Starbucks summer menu. Here we have the Starbucks Cherry and Pomegranate Refresha.

This is an ice-shaken drink, for those of us who suffer with ice cream headaches if given a crushed-ice drink. The pain from those is real. I had an ice cream headache from a slushie at Warwick Castle and would still have another one, so clearly I have learned nothing. Plus I still want a Ninja Slush Maker. I really make no sense.

Anyway this Starbucks Cherry and Pomegranate Refresha drink also has actual cherries in it, which made it look very pretty when served. I gave it a try and loved the sharp, juicy cherry taste. The sour edge made it super refreshing, and the pomegranate added a little sweetness in the aftertaste, but it was all about the cherries. Sharp, zingy, fruity goodness.

That just leaves me with one last problem: the actual cherries. As pretty as they looked, all I had was a chunky straw and they didn’t fit through it. They were also pretty soggy by the end, so I left them. Perhaps they were just decoration?

McVitie’s Penguin Bites - Salt and Vinegar (Ocado) By @Cinabar

What is going on here with these McVitie’s Penguin Salt and Vinegar Bites? I mean, when you think McVitie’s Penguin, you think thick chocolate biscuit bars. We’ve written about quite a few McVitie’s Penguin products over the years, but one thing has always been consistent: they’ve been chocolatey and biscuit flavoured. This is about as far away from that as I can work out. Salt and vinegar? And I think they’re crisps?

Well, we decided to open them and have them as a snack while watching The Devil Wears Prada (the first one, as a reminder before the new one). I opened up the bag and was surprised that they’re tiny too. From the image on the packet, I assumed these would be crisp-sized. In fact, the Penguin pictured on the front are a few centimetres tall, while the actual ones are finger nail sized! They’re teeny tiny and, consequently, not that easy to share. They are at least Penguin-shaped, just baby Penguins. Maybe premature.

I gave a few a try. One on its own doesn’t feel like it’s worth it. Now, here are the positives: they have a nice crunch and a taste of a cream cracker, but with lashings of salt and vinegar. And that’s where they win me over. They’re full of flavour and really nice. We ended up pouring them out into our own bowls, though, just because scooping them out of the bag when they’re so small was kind of awkward.

So, I’m not sure the connection to the Penguin brand is that strong, but as a cute salt and vinegar snack, they’re all good.

CREAMY ORIGINAL CRISPY NAAN MEAL - KFC [@NLi10]

 We went to KFC again last week and BEHOLD a new menu item has appeared!  It's the same as normal but it's a naan instead of a bun.

For a very Asian area this is an interesting twist - will people be more likely to choose a familiar naan or just to go to an actual Asian shop and buy the real thing for half the price.

Because of the magic of the KFC app we won a burger and popcorn chicken and then swapped them.  I had the meal for the full experience, but I didn't need it with the bonus.  The fillet was later left out for the fox.

I decided to give the drinks another go - and had the strawberry cheesecake base which is red stuff (good), white stuff (not noticeable) and some crumb - which I thought went on the top - right at the bottom.  This meant that the last bit of the drink was almost undrinkable sludge.

At least it was only 50% ice instead of 75% ice this week.  Honestly - these drinks are a sham.  They take the meal up to £16 or so too which is insane.

Here is the naan.  Smart people will immediately notice that it is two naan - which is mad.  Why not just wrap it in one like everywhere else?  Maybe the heater is bun sized so mini-naan it is.

Inside has a not too spicy sauce, the usual boneless chicken, and lots of exciting veggies.  I immediately binned the cheese.  And honestly - if real masala chicken naan from Chaiiwalla scares you (or you just want to tempt a beginner to the dark side) then honestly it's fine.

I'll likely try the tandoori version in two weeks but with the loaded fries and the tea as the drink.  

Later on we went to Rosa's Cafe in Wolverhampton and I got a Karrak Coffee with actual blended Ice (like I'm convinced KFC is supposed to do) which was so much better and a pound cheaper than the KFC mess.  You can just about see the dosa wrap in the background which I had a bit of (fantastic) but I was still full from all the stodge at lunch.

Spellbound Butterscotch Beer (Warwick Castle) By @SpectreUK

We’ve been to Warwick Castle a couple of times recently. We watched the Viking Raiders show there last month, and wandered around the stately rooms and steam house. There is an antiques place nearby that was closed due to refurbishment. I saw a Dinky truck in the window and vowed to go back when it was open.

Unfortunately the antiques place was still shut today. After climbing the towers of Warwick Castle and The Mound, and a hot dog for lunch, we saw the Jousting. Asides on TV, I’ve never seen jousting before, and the stunt actors did an exceptional job. I can’t recommend it enough.

As well as some bottles of Mead, I picked up this bottle of Spellbound Butterscotch Beer on the way out. Butterscotch is one of my favourite flavours, so I was intrigued to find out what it would taste like in beer. Sadly I was mistaken, at 0% in volume this is a butterscotch flavoured soft drink.

Apparently it’s 100% magic, so that makes it okay. Made in the Shambles in York, this Spellbound Butterscotch Beer has liquid shimmer in it to make it look more magical when you shake it. It’s really quite pretty. It is quite fizzy too. It smelt like butterscotch on opening the bottle.

After turning the bottle clockwise three times to release the magic. At 66 calories this Spellbound Butterscotch Beer has the flavour of very sweet butterscotch. It tastes like caramel pop, and was very moreish indeed. Cheers.

Marks and Spencer S'mores Ice Cream Sauce (Ocado) By @Cinabar

S'mores are a very American invention. The classic treat consists of a toasted marshmallow and a piece of chocolate sandwiched between two biscuits, traditionally cooked over a campfire. British people tend to keep things a bit simpler, and are generally quite happy just to toast a marshmallow and eat it! This Marks and Spencer S'mores Ice Cream Sauce is inspired by those classic S'mores flavours.

I grabbed a scoop of vanilla ice cream and cracked open the bottle. One slightly random observation: the opening is surprisingly wide, so I assumed the sauce would be quite thick. It isn't. It's actually fairly runny, and I nearly ended up wearing it. Thankfully it all landed in the bowl, but if you're planning on pouring this over an ice cream cone, proceed with caution!

The flavour, though, is absolutely lovely. It's rich, intensely chocolatey and exactly the sort of thing I enjoy. There's a lovely sweetness that I assume is meant to represent the marshmallow, but the real highlight is the crunchy biscuit pieces scattered throughout. I love a bit of texture, so those little crunchy bits really made it for me.

I know it's supposed to capture the flavour of S'mores, but to me it mainly tastes like chocolate biscuits, and that's no bad thing. It may be marketed as an ice cream sauce, but I'm planning to pour it over strawberries next. Just because that's the kind of rebel I am.

M&S Marks And Spencer Rhubarb Gooey Middle Teacakes [@NLi10]

I love teacakes, and while Tunnocks are the default the ones I actually grew up on were the M&S versions because that's what my Grandma Evelyn bought.  We'd have all the varieties, especially those with jam in them, and because they are reviving these and have a whole range of luxury bag/boxes (with only 6 in) they deserved a pick up - even at service station prices. Behold the roof of our lovely blue car. 

And these are huge!  While it's hard to get scale I'd say these are 50% larger than a standard Tunnocks and much more similar to how I remembered them.  In terms of bites they are a par three.

That said - a Tunnocks is 24g so this is only 6g heavier even with the size difference - and I think that's because of the biscuit which here is quite light.

Consequently eating these in the back of a car was a messy affair and I didn't get a picture - and a box of 6 doesn't last long with 4 of us.

The jam didn't hit as much as I'd expected, but I could taste the rhubarb, and the mallow was very floaty and sticky.  The pack mentioned no meaty ingredients but didn't flag them as veggie which is a worrying trend.  Surely grown-ups don't get upset if something is veggie/halal ?

Eitherway these are ace.  And if I am near an M&S I'll be trying the whole range (I'll snap better pictures then - the service station was busy). 

Pago Pineapple (Caffe Corretto) By @SpectreUK

Okay, so Pago is not new and possibly not that interesting. However, I’ve never tried it before. We worked on my toy stall at Gloucester Quays all weekend. The toilet was half a mile away in a shopping centre. I had to keep popping into the nearest coffee shop, Caffe Corretto, to do my business, which was much closer.

Each time I went in the coffee shop to go, I bought a drink as I left, which in retrospect probably made the issue worse. Unfortunately they didn’t have the strawberry flavour Cinabar recommended. So, I tried this Pago Pineapple, as i love pineapple juice. It seems to be pretty much 100% pineapple juice and tasted superb. A proper thirst quencher over a hot weekend.

Green & Black's Organic Hazelnut and Currant 50% Dark Chocolate Bar (Ocado) By @Cinabar

Sometimes you just fancy a really good fruit and nut chocolate bar, and I decided to go all out with this posh Green & Black's Organic Hazelnut and Currant 50% Dark Chocolate Bar. It's essentially fruit and nut, right?

I opened the bar and immediately liked the packaging. It comes in a paper wrapper with foil underneath, which felt properly old school in the best possible way.

The aroma was rich and chocolatey, and I could already see plenty of hazelnuts packed throughout the bar.

The first taste was excellent. Although it's a 50% dark chocolate, it is still smooth, creamy and sweet enough to be approachable. There's a rich cocoa flavour with an almost floral edge that makes it taste a little more sophisticated than your average chocolate bar.

The hazelnuts are fairly finely chopped, so you get their lovely nutty flavour in every bite rather than huge crunchy chunks. The currants add little bursts of fruity sweetness that balance the richness of the chocolate really well.

Sometimes you just need a classic flavour done properly, and Green & Black's have absolutely delivered here.

Strawberry Candyfloss Frappé (McDonald’s) By @Cinabar

Oh my word, how cute is this McDonald’s Strawberry Candyfloss Frappé? I spotted it advertised in a service station and realised this was exactly the drink I needed as a little pick-me-up. When it arrived, it had an almost glitter-like topping, which sadly doesn’t show too well in the photo, so you’ll just have to take my word for it. Full marks for cuteness!

I took a sip and was surprised to find it tasted like I was drinking a strawberry thick shake. Weird. It was lovely and sweet and fruity, but there was no obvious candy floss flavour, and it tasted suspiciously similar to their normal strawberry shake.

I decided to try the topping, and that’s where the candy floss flavour was hiding. The topping is thick and sugary, with that classic candy floss taste, but in a texture that reminded me a little of Angel Delight. It was delicious and definitely added the fun element I was expecting from the drink. 

Overall, it was exactly the pick-me-up I needed. Spectre had a black coffee. Each to their own!

Chaiiwala on the Road - Indian Streetfood Now In Service Stations?! [@NLi10]

 We have a Chaiiwala, it's at the top of the big hill by my house which prevents me from being a regular, but I have the app and I'm willing to make trips.  On the way back from Saltaire (pretty, near Bradford) we stopped at a fairly ordinary Roadchef services that's apparently at Sandbach.

It's always a disappointment to stop somewhere that doesn't have our favourite foods, or a farm shop.  So - imagine my glee when I see this little shed tacked on the outside.  So new that it's not on the google map, or the Chaiiwala app (no points!!) because it literally opened yesterday.  It's the second one in the country, apparently there is one at Watford Gap?

Being short on time and just wanting something small we had a samosa each - which is actually a first for me.  The wraps & bowls usually get all my attention.  At £1.75 a samosa it feels expensive if you are up Cape Hill, but at the motorway thats a steal.

Very crispy, kept warm in the heater thing.  No dip offered, but I'm very white so it wouldn't be expected that I'd know the wonders of the brown dip.

And it's fairly standard generous samosa inside.  Couldn't see the whole spices like the ones I like from the highstreet, but I could taste all the right things.  A few whole peas hiding at the bottom, good crust and big enough that you'd not want two unless it was a meal.

We had a car full of drinks and the father-in-law was paying so I didn't get us a round of karak chaii but maybe I should have just got a large one to share.

Overall - I'm not going to stop having the paratha wraps and the chaat bowls, but it's amazing to be able to get actual Indian streetfood at a dodgy services.  The plan is to roll these out UK wide, so I'm overjoyed.  Lots of similarly fanatical people to me were taking pictures to send to people who wouldn't believe that their choices are no longer Greggs or McD. 

McVitie’s Digestives Jaffa Cakes (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

This may mess with your minds. In the debate of whether Jaffa Cakes are biscuits or cakes, McVitie’s have bought out these Jaffa Cake Digestive Biscuits. I have been assured that no Jaffa Cakes were hurt during the making of these Digestive Biscuits.

These McVitie’s Digestives Jaffa Cakes actually smell like Jaffa Cakes. There is a layer of Jaffa orange like sticky caramel in between the Digestive Biscuit and chocolate topping. They taste like Chocolate Digestive Biscuits, and then that familiar moreish Jaffa orange goodness sets in at the back of the flavour. Definitely yum.

Information on the packet; Per biscuit is 80 calories, with 3.6g of fat, 5.2g of sugar, and 0.14g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Jimmy’s Ice Coffee Cookie Butter (Asda) By @Cinabar

So, let’s start with the fact that it says butter, not batter. I completely assumed batter when I bought it and expected something more like cookie dough (cookie batter). It is actually cookie butter, which I think refers to those biscuit-flavoured spreads you put on toast, often inspired by flavours like cookies.

Okay, before I confuse myself any further, probably time to open the can and give it a try.

The first sip gave a really creamy coffee impression with plenty of sweetness. It tasted lush. As I drank a little more, I could pick up on the biscuity notes, almost like a buttery flavour (even though those spreads don’t always actually contain butter). I don’t think I would ever have been able to drink this and guess it was specifically cookie butter (or batter, for that matter), but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it.

It was a sweet, creamy coffee and a perfect afternoon pick-me-up. The flavour wasn’t the most defined, especially given such a specific flavour description, but it was still a tasty iced coffee that I would happily have again.

Pips X Attic Brew Co Fermented Hot Sauce [@NLi10]

 I love supporting local businesses, especially when it's food and drink.  We went to the 'Night Market' in Edgbaston (which is only about 20 stalls at this time of year) and it was mostly art - but thankfully Pips Hot Sauces had a stall and I was running low.

We also love Attic Brewery and frequently get their cans for home.  I had not seen this combo, but it seemed perfect - if not a little on the red side.

I'm a brave boy so I turned down the trial cracker and just got a bottle.  I'm more of a Nandos medium, and I'd say this is just a shade above a 'hot'.

I'm not sure where the X comes into it, but I suspect that she's using one of their vats to brew up some wickedness.  I wonder if the beer they put in there after has a kick to it.  Be fun to find out.

We had it initially with an all veggie meal - which really doesn't disperse the spiciness well.  That said - it gives you a good idea of the heat and the flavours and I like it!

I reckon I could blend it into some cream or butter and make a wicked Buffalo style dipping sauce, and I already have tried it as a spicy mayo and that's perfect.

Once I've got through this I'm sure there will be plenty more to replace it with even if this may only be a limited run.

pips website is here but if yr local then Red Brick Market and other similar places have them

Attic brew  is here, but again - if yr local just go over and drink in front of the tanks. Its more fun.