Vault City - Mini Crunch Chocolate Honeycomb Stout (Morrison’s) By @SpectreUK

I have steak and chips tonight. It's a bit of a treat for a Saturday night. I'm used to a quick sandwich or toastie before a comic con or toy fair the next day. I have tomorrow off, so I fished out a couple of steaks from the freezer. Now all I need is a stout to wash my meal down with.

This Mini Crunch Chocolate Honeycomb Stout was brewed by Vault City. At 6% in volume, it pays homage to Cadbury's Crunchie. As well as malted barley and oats, hops and yeast, this stout was brewed with milk, Cholaca, brown sugar, cinder toffee, and vanilla.

On opening the can, Mini Crunch Chocolate Honeycomb Stout, had a heavy chocolate, as well as sweet toffee and malted barley aroma. On pouring this almost jet black stout had an initial taste of chocolate and malted barley.

I had been concerned that this Mini Crunch Chocolate Honeycomb Stout would be a pudding stout. However, the hops tickled some bitterness, only to be cowed by velvety chocolatey goodness mixed with brown sugar and toffee. It was the ingenious touch of roasted coffee into the aftertaste that gave my steak and chips that special send off down into my tummy. Gosh, what a weekend treat.

Galaxy Croissants (Ocado) By @Cinabar

I started Friday by upgrading my breakfast. I was looking for some croissants and spotted these new Galaxy ones on Ocado, so thought I would give them a try. I would normally have croissants with butter, but these come pre filled with Galaxy chocolate. Well, a Galaxy chocolate cream at least.

There are four croissants in the bag and each is individually wrapped. Good for the lunchbox, not so great for the environment. I opened the wrapper and found a fairly chunky Galaxy croissant inside. It was notably missing the classic crescent shape, but it still looked appealing enough.

I bit in and the pastry was softer than expected. This is not one of those crisp, flaky, buttery pastries. It is almost more cake like in texture, probably because these are fairly long life. The best before date was April 2026. The flavour was still nicely buttery though. The filling was impressive, as they were not at all stingy. Almost every bite had Galaxy cream inside and it was thick, creamy and sweet, adding plenty of chocolate flavour. There was a big dollop in the centre too, so it definitely felt like a proper breakfast treat. I would definitely buy these again.

Abra-Ca-Debora Dutch Style pre-made Pancakes [@NLi10]

 I wasn't that well this year for pancake day so didn't have the required energy to do all the mixing, but spotted this option in the supermarket and thought I'd give it a go.

We've had great success with the Asian savoury pancakes (paratha) that come in a frozen stack so I figured these were worth a shot.

So far so good - just pan fry them to heat them up and add toppings!

Look at them cooking away

I mean they look virtually identical in the pack - lots of lovely holes and fluffiness though

And the lemon and sugar worked really well

Also had one with nutella and a marshmallow!

Not quite as 'fresh' as the real thing, and much less satisfying to present to the family, but it took minutes to make all six (one min per side) and so was much quicker. Definitely a great option for tasty pancakes, and probably what the restaurants do...

Traditional Pork Scratchings (Tesco) By @SpectreUK

I haven't had Traditional Pork Scratchings for many years. I broke a tooth on one a few years back, and have stuck with Pork Puffs ever since. I saw these Midland Snacks - Traditional Pork Scratchings in the local store a few days ago. 

I meant to have these Traditional Pork Scratchings with a beer and a good book, like I used to do in the pub, but I'm just about to go out for my last Gumbo of the season at the Smokehouse, and thought I'd have a quick bite.

 

On opening the packet the little pieces of pork certainly looked and smelt like Traditional Pork Scratchings. On first taste I realised I was going to have to be very careful with these, as they were very crunchy for my poor old teeth.

Oh my, they tasted so good. Salty and crunchy pork. Gosh, it's been too long. I'll have to get another packet and carefully eat them whilst drinking a can of my favourite beer, Banks's Mild, and a good book.

Information on the packet:
The 40g bag contained 261 calories, with 21.1g of fat, <0.1g of sugar, and 1.24g of salt.

Angel Delight Bubble Jelly with Boba (Ocado) By @Cinabar

Angel Delight is one of those properly iconic 1980s cupboard staples. It’s the instant whip that comes in a sachet, you add milk, whisk it up, leave it to set and you’ve got a bowl of mousse. You can still buy it now and it definitely sits in that fun retro category.

This time though they’ve gone in a completely different direction, tapping into the boba trend. Instead of tea, we’ve got jelly. Specifically, Angel Delight Lemonade Bubble Jelly with Bursting Strawberry Boba. It might only be February but this feels like a summer dessert. Now we just need the weather to cooperate.

There are four tubs in a pack. When I picked up the first one I could see the strawberry boba suspended in the jelly and it looked really appealing. I will say the lid was firmly stuck down. This was not a gentle yoghurt style peel, it needed a bit of effort.

Taste wise, it’s actually really good. The jelly has a fresh lemonade flavour that’s bright without being overly sharp. The strawberry boba are properly sweet and packed with rich berry flavour. They pop as you bite into them, which makes the whole thing more fun than your standard pot of jelly.

It’s quite a leap from traditional Angel Delight, but the flavours work and it feels like a smart way to modernise a classic brand.

Pepsi Max Tropical (Ocado) By @Cinabar

This is an interesting new flavour from Pepsi called Pepsi Tropical. The can artwork shows pineapple and what looks like melon and possibly peach. It is not the clearest from the tiny icons, but that is my best guess. It has only just launched, yet it already feels very much like an early summer drink. This is also a sugar free Pepsi Max variant.

When I opened the can, the fruity aroma was very distinct. It immediately reminded me of a bag of fruit sweets. Very sugary and very tropical. Poured into a glass, it had a lovely strong fizz.

On the first sip, it is clear this drink is all about the tropical fruit. Pineapple comes through strongly and, honestly, it made me think of a fizzy Um Bongo. I really enjoyed it, although the cola element is definitely more muted in the background.

To test this theory, I passed it to Spectre, who normally dislikes cola of any kind, not just Pepsi. He was very reluctant to try it. After a cautious sniff, he admitted it smelled nice, took a sip, and declared it lovely and fruity and said he would happily drink it. That pretty much confirms it. There is far more fruit than cola going on here.

TGI Fridays @ Iceland UK - Boneless Chicken Wings & Chilli Jam [@Nli10]

 I'm growing to love my trips to Iceland - they have a load of things you can buy, forget about, and then really enjoy when you get to them.

Case in point is these bright red boneless chicken wings - essentially nuggets but made with chopped meat like in a Chinese restaurant not mince like nuggets.

Thew bright redness is the sachet of sticky chilli sauce you get with them - but guess who forgot to take those pictures again - so just imagine a boring bag of red sauce, and some cold looking chicken lumps

It's the good sauce, with the vinegar base like Buffalo sauce should be - I have a couple of versions in the house already

And it's an easy cook - oven for a bit, melt the sauce mix the two in a bowl then add to veg and pasta and pour remaining sauce over the top.

I expected it to be an imitation version of the restaurant ones, but frankly my only complaint was the portion size.  10 chunks is too many for one person, but not enough for two portions.  I know they have to scale to the round Iceland pricing, but this was a sad one.  Two more lumps and it'd be perfect.

The sauce was sticky, tangy and spicy, nut not aggressive. The chicken and crumb were balanced and flavourful even with the sauce.  Definitely one to add to the freezer if your family is into this Korean style spicy chicken.  Another win. Each success jut makes me more likely to go into Iceland first and then finish off in the bigger shops instead of the reverse.

Iceland Caramel Flavoured Squirty Cream (Iceland) By @SpectreUK

You may have noticed me mention how much I like ice cream. I have ice cream for pudding most nights. In fact, I probably have too much ice cream, if there is such a thing. I have what I call a 'child's portion' of ice cream. Not one of those restaurant child portions they do for little kids. A child's portion of ice cream a child would likely serve itself.

Anyway, to top it off, literally, I like squirty cream. This Iceland Caramel Flavoured Squirty Cream does taste of sweet caramel and certainly was creamy. It went very well on top of my raspberry ripple, just as well as it went on top of a hot chocolate. A very nice change from regular squirty cream.

Love Heart Squashies (Service Station) By @Cinabar

We all know and love Love Hearts sweets, so spotting these fab large Squashies versions definitely caught my eye. Each piece still comes stamped with a little word or picture, which keeps that classic charm. Inside the bag you get six different flavours to try.

Is it just me, or does the picture on the bag make the white sweet in the top right look pale blue?

Also, a small gripe. The ingredients are printed in white on a pale background, which is not exactly the easiest to read when you are standing in a service station with dodgy lighting.

Moving on to the sweets themselves. Each one is nicely chewy with a soft texture that slowly dissolves as you keep nibbling. There is a proper little flavour burst from each colour too. Here is how they stack up.

• Green - 
Lime. Quite citrusy and fairly strong. A fresh, zingy taste that wakes your taste buds up.
• White
 - Pineapple. Soft and fruity. Definitely pineapple, but on the delicate side.
• Dark red - 
Blackcurrant. So yummy. Very fruity and nicely strong. We absolutely need more blackcurrant sweets in the world.
• Yellow - Lemon. 
Sweet and fruity lemon. Thankfully more pleasant and mellow rather than sharp.
• Orange
 - Orange. Mellow and sweet with a nice orange flavour that is easy to enjoy.
• Pink - Cherry. 
Not overly cherry, but there is a nice acidic burst of fruity flavour that keeps things interesting.

I definitely preferred the stronger flavours. Honestly, I would happily demolish a whole bag of just the blackcurrant ones.

Gnaw - Sea-salt & Caramel Hot Chocolate on a stick [@Nli10]

 Even though it's been a little warmer this week its still firmly hot chocolate weather, and a good excuse to use the ones we've accumulated up.

This one was a little more interesting with layers and ingredients inside - and it's another vegan one so perfect for my oat milk.

Sea-salt & caramel are not really my ideal choices, but in a drink it sounds nice

Cosy evening please!

Stick & blob

Melted easy enough

Decent colours & aromas!

Makes a nice chocolate - maybe for a bigger mug, and maybe hotter than I'd have it in my lovely stone mug.

Not too salty and not too sweet from the caramel either - a nice surprise and great to sit and watch the curling with.

McVitie's Summer Collection Pineapple & Coconut (Iceland) By @SpectreUK

It's still pretty cold, dark and damp outside. We've seen plenty of snacks for Easter time, but these McVitie's Cake Bars are the first limited edition summer products we've found on the shelves.

There is Strawberries and Cream Flavour available, which we'll blog about soon. First I wanted to try these McVitie's Summer Collection Pineapple & Coconut Flavour Cake Bars. These cake bars are milk chocolate coated with a layer of pineapple and coconut flavoured cream.

On opening the packet there were five individually wrapped cake bars inside. On opening the first cake bar wrapper, there was an aroma of pineapple and coconut to the milk chocolate coated cake bar inside.

This McVitie's Summer Collection Pineapple & Coconut Flavour Cake Bar was soft to bite into and had a creamy flavour of pineapple and coconut, with milk chocolate to finish. It was really gorgeous, and perfect for a lunchbox snack.

Information on the packet; Each cake bar has 95 calories, with 4.5g of fat, 9.3g of sugar and 0.11g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Lindt Gold Bunny with Crispy Biscuit (Tesco) By @Cinabar

Lindt bunnies really are a sure sign that Easter is on its way. We are lucky enough to have a Lindt store not too far away, and the pick and mix is dangerously tempting. However, this bunny was actually spotted in a Tesco Express, sitting alongside the regular milk chocolate Lindt Gold Bunny and the dark chocolate version.

This new Lindt Gold Bunny with Crispy Biscuit is easy to distinguish thanks to its orange ribbon and bow, a handy visual cue that you are getting something a bit different.

Inside the wrapper, the bunny looks very similar to the classic milk chocolate version. The shell is made from thick milk chocolate and takes a bit of effort to break into, which always feels oddly satisfying.

Taste wise, it is that signature super creamy Lindt milk chocolate you would expect, but with crunchy biscuit pieces running through it. The biscuit adds a pleasant texture contrast and a touch of extra sweetness that works well with the smooth chocolate.

All in, this is a lovely twist on the classic Lindt bunny. Realistically I probably should have waited until Easter to open it, but there was no chance I was leaving it sitting there unopened.

Muller Rhubarb Crumble (Iceland) By @Cinabar

Get on your baggy jeans and combat boots, the 90s are back in fashion. Take That are on tour and Muller have re-released their classic 1990s flavour Rhubarb Crumble yoghurt. I remember having this back then and thinking the corner style yoghurts were super cool. Having one of these in a school lunch box was really something to look forward to.

This is one of their classic corner yoghurt flavours, with the crumble on one side and the yoghurt with rhubarb compote on the other. I still often buy corner yoghurts, so I had to pick these up when I saw them.

I tried one during a work from home lunch, so not quite getting the canteen kudos it deserved, but still the perfect time to give it a go. Regular readers will know I do like a mix of textures, so corner yoghurts will always be a favourite.

I opened it up and could see the crumble on one side and the yoghurt on the other. I folded in the crumble and gave it a gentle stir, which is when the rhubarb started to show a pinker tinge.

The taste was lovely. The rhubarb is a soft flavour and is not too sharp. There is plenty of creaminess from the yoghurt and vanilla, making it a bit like a custard. And of course there is the lovely crunch of the biscuit.

What a fab dessert. I cannot wait to take one of the others to work, old school, in my lunch box.

I love a bit of nostalgia.

Vemondo Plant! Schnitzel - vegan cutlets from Lidl [@NLi10]

 I was in Lidl, feeling under-the-weather and needed some effortless meals for the week.  I spotted these in the veggie section and decided they'd be worth a try.

Very simple Euro-style vegan cutlets - water, breadcrumbs and soy - yum

They look decent quality though, and fried up quite well.  Decent aromas and it didn't fall apart too much until the end.

It lost a bit of the coating, but I recovered it. I added spätzle and pasta and rocked and home-made pickled red cabbage.

And my goodness was it good.  The flavours were deep, the coatings crispy and the textures welcoming (even to my veggie partner). There are a lot of carniverous meals that are a pain to make at home as the Quorn cutlets and meat imitating cutlets just don't work.

Here though I've just unlocked so many lemon chicken style Chinese meals to veggify at home.  I can't wait to go back and get more - I hope it's not one of those temporary products for a theme week.

Blodwen Blonde Ale (Sainsbury’s) By @SpectreUK

I have fishy picky bits for dinner tonight, and fancy a blonde ale to wash it down. The name of the Welsh lady on the front of the bottle is Blodwen. She is raising her glass to the sea's bounty and the hard working women of Wales.

Brewed by Drop Bear Beer, and Tomos Watkin, Blodwen is 5% in volume. Malted barley and wheat were used in the brewing, as well as hop varieties of; Bobek, Goldings, Cascade and Olicana. So, I'm expecting citrus, mixed with spice, floral and pine notes, and some tropical fruitiness too.

On opening the bottle there was a floral and pine aroma from the deep golden beer inside, and with a decent hint of spice. On taste, Blodwen had a rich woody spicy bitterness to begin with, and a little citrus and fruitiness mixed with the sweetness of malted barley and wheat into the aftertaste. This is a gorgeous flavoursome blonde ale, and it washed my dinner down a treat. 

Milka Oreo MMMMax (B&M) By @Cinabar

That isn’t a typo on the title, they really did combine “mmm” and “max” to call this MMMMax. Not the prettiest name for a chocolate bar, but it does hint at the size, and this bar is huge. I almost didn’t buy it, it was just for me and I knew it would take a while to get through, but I gave in because I can’t resist Milka chocolate.

Peeling back the wrapper, I noticed each piece of chocolate has “MMM” stamped on it. They’re definitely committed to the new word. Breaking off a strip revealed thick milk chocolate, plenty of Oreo biscuit, and a layer of soft white chocolate that tasted just like the filling inside an Oreo.

Taking a bite, the texture of such a chunky bar was perfect. The smooth chocolate, crunchy biscuit, and sweet filling worked so well together. I love Oreos, and that mix of sweet but slightly bitter cocoa with my favourite Milka chocolate was pure heaven.

When I bought the bar, I worried it might be too big for me to finish. Now I’m worried I’ll be judging myself for eating it too quickly.

Higgidy x Guinness Pie - Slow-cooked Steak [@NLi10]

 It's almost valentines, and so the romantic food choices are in the shop.  This is perfect as it's a mash-up of Higgidy Pies and Guinness

It's certainly a luxury proposition, and has all the great pastry you'd expect.

And when cooked it's meaty enough to have the full attention of the cat

Although it's not as filled-to-the brim as a Pieminister special it's very much a luxury dinner

The gravy isn't too strong - although Irish I'm not one to drink pints of the black stuff - but the flavour is there and welcoming and the steak is great quality too.

I'll hopefully have this one again before it vanishes from stores.