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.

Galaxy Minstrels Mini Eggs (Tesco) By @SpectreUK

I love Galaxy Minstrels. I usually have them with ice cream, especially vanilla. Boring flavour you may think, but with Galaxy Minstrels or some mini chocolate biscuits or other, a good vanilla ice cream tastes like chocolate and cream. There aren't many better combinations.

I haven't seen these Galaxy Minstrels Mini Eggs before. They are crispy shelled Galaxy chocolate eggs for Easter. I haven't even thought about Easter yet. I'm still reminiscing over mince pie season, and munching my way through Hot Cross Bun season.

On opening the packet I was expecting the unmistakable aroma of Galaxy Minstrels. Instead I received a waft of Minstrels and a lot of coco. Sadly these little hardened shelled chocolate eggs must have had a rough time of it in the packet.

These Galaxy Minstrels Mini Eggs were more bits and bobs than full crispy shelled eggs. On tasting one whole egg, they tasted like a large Galaxy Minstrel, but I thought they were made of tougher shelled stuff, unfortunately they'd definitely been in the wars.

Information on the packet; The 80g bag contained 460 calories per 100g, with 19g of fat, 65g of sugar, and 0.18g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Kit Kat Cookie Dough Flavour (Tesco) By @cinabar

I’m pretty sure Kit Kat have played with cookie dough before in the Chunky range, but this time it’s turned up as a flat sharing bar. Cookie dough is everywhere right now, so this feels like Kit Kat leaning into a trend rather than reinventing the wheel, just in a different format.

Inside the wrapper are nine Kit Kat rows. Each one looks surprisingly fancy, made with marbled chocolate and finished with the Kit Kat logo on top. It’s a small thing, but it does make the bar feel a bit more special than your standard Kit Kat. The smell is sweet and chocolatey as soon as you open it.

Biting in, you get the familiar Kit Kat wafers, but with a layer of cookie dough running through the bar. The overall flavour is still very chocolatey, but there’s a buttery richness that sets it apart from a regular Kit Kat. If I’m honest, I’m not sure I would instantly clock it as cookie dough in a blind taste test, but it is definitely sweeter and richer than the classic version.

That works perfectly for me. I’ve got a proper sweet tooth and I am fully on board with this cookie dough phase we seem to be living in. It might not scream cookie dough, but it’s tasty, indulgent and very easy to keep reaching back for another piece.

Snickers Wafer Rolls (B&M) By @Cinabar

I picked these up in B&M and they look to be an import, although all the packaging is in English. Inside the pack you get two wafer rolls, which immediately makes them feel more like a lighter snack than a full on chocolate bar.

The wafer itself is lovely and crisp, and I really enjoyed the mix of textures. The chocolate coating is smooth and does its job well, with little caramel crystals on top adding extra sweetness and a bit of stickiness. The filling is a chocolate peanut flavour, but it leans much more towards sweet than nutty.

The peanut flavour is very mild, with no crunch from nuts and none of that bold peanut hit you normally expect from a Snickers. Because of that, it does not quite live up to the name, but taken on its own terms it is still an enjoyable chocolatey wafer snack.

These are good if you want something sweet that feels a bit lighter and less filling than a standard Snickers. Not one for peanut lovers, but still nice enough for a quick chocolate fix when you do not want anything too heavy.

Marshall & Co Peruvian Coffee Blonde Cho Bar [@NLi10]

 I spotted this in Birmingham Museum in the presents section and decided it would be a nice present for me.  I like having a little coffee chocolate on my desk to help with alertness - and as we were visiting Nanna the next day I figured a cube might perk her up too.

It's a very luxurious carboard box so I assume it's local

but no - the website suggests its Yorkshire - must just be well respected

And it's gloriously shiny inside too.

The food inside is a lovely light brown colour and has a great aroma.

I snapped it into squares but they ended up slightly smaller than the lines.  Nanna appreciated it and said it wasn't too strong, and while she was possibly more awake than usual i don't think she was overstimulated.

I similarly enjoyed the balance of cocoa and coffee and the slight texture variations within.  Very much like a nice late style chocolate bar and well worth the premium price.

Mars Cookie Dough Flavour (B&M) By @SpectreUK

As well as Hot Honey, Cookie Dough seems to be another flavour of the year for snack foods. We spotted this Mars Cookie Dough Flavour bar in a local store. The bar is soft cookie dough flavoured nougat, with creamy caramel on top covered in milk chocolate.

 

On opening the wrapper there was a milk chocolate and cookie dough aroma from the regular looking Mars Bar inside. On cutting into the bar to see the insides, it didn't look much different from the original Mars Bar.

On taste this Mars Cookie Dough Flavour did taste different than original Mars Bar. There was a cookie dough taste instead of the regular nougat, mixed with the regular sweet caramel, and milk chocolate flavours.

Overall this Mars Cookie Dough Flavour bar was a lot sweeter than the original. So, it depends if you have a sweet tooth and a desire to mix it up a little.

Spooners Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (Tesco) By @Cinabar

I went into Tesco Express with the intention of picking up some yoghurts, as we had run out. I did buy a packet of strawberry low fat yoghurts, but next to them in the fridge was this twin pack of cookie dough pots, and I just couldn’t resist. I know these are more dessert than lunchtime snack, but they still made their way into my basket.

As it was Friday, and very much a treat for getting through a truly difficult week, I thought I’d give one a try. The pack says you can eat them straight from the tub or microwave them to warm them up. When I peeled back the card, I was greeted by a dollop of cookie dough. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it did look a little sad.

I decided to try it warm. After a very brief zap in the microwave, it looked slightly melted and far more inviting. The first thing I noticed when I tried it was how lovely and soft it was, with the warmth making it super comforting. The cookie dough itself is very sweet and definitely a proper treat, with a rich, buttery flavour. There was plenty of chocolate too, which melted nicely into the dough.

I loved every mouthful. The portion size felt just right, as any more might have tipped into sickly territory, but this hit my sweet tooth perfectly and absolutely delivered.

Iceland's Luxury Miniature Tarts (Raspberry & White Choc) [@NLi10]

 We like indulgent puddings, it's good to hide a few in the freezer.  These are great as they defrost in 30 mins which is about the time it takes to eat dinner.

What they are is Barbie sized Raspberry & White Chocolate tarts - which is great as you can eat 4 without feeling too greedy, but we had two each.

And they are pretty similar to the back too - a little less 'jam' maybe

They do crunch and ooze just enough to feel like a luxury pudding, and they go great with a little coffee.  I want to get more but I fear this was the end of teh Festive range - ah well.  Next year!

New McVitie’s Club Layers Orange (Tesco) By @SpectreUK

Any child of the eighties knows the high pitched theme tune for McVitie's Club. "If you like a lot of chocolate on Your biscuit join our Club." McVitie's have recently got into trouble for decreasing coco in their chocolate and may have to add "chocolate flavoured coating" to some of their bars. However, not with this New McVitie's Club Layers Orange. This is a "Milk Chocolate covered wafer bar with orange flavoured cream filling."

On opening the wrapper this New McVitie's Club Layers Orange smelt exactly like an original Orange flavoured Club bar. It was unmistakable. I haven't had one in years, but the smell made me want to bite in immediately. And so I did.

On first taste this New McVitie's Club Layers Orange had the same orange flavour cream filling I remember from the original orange flavoured Club bar. There was then the crunchy wafer flavour, which was obviously different, been as though there was no wafer in the original. This orange wafer layered bar was completed perfectly with the familiar milk chocolate coating. I really enjoyed this orange flavoured chocolate wafer bar and would definitely go back for more. I'm in the Club, are you?

Cadbury Lotus Biscoff Egg (Tesco) By @Cinabar

There was a time when snacking chocolate eggs were very basic, with Cadbury’s Creme Egg pretty much dominating the shelves. These days, there seems to be a new variation every year, each one trying to be a little bit different. I spotted this Cadbury Lotus Biscoff Egg in Tesco and decided to give it a go. I am a big fan of those spiced biscuits and I will happily eat the Biscoff spread on toast, so expectations were fairly high.

Once unwrapped, the chocolate shell looks much like a standard Creme Egg. Inside, though, the filling is where things change. I was pleased to see that the egg was well filled, as some limited editions suffer from a disappointing air gap. This one definitely does not skimp. The filling itself is very sweet, with the spiced biscuit flavour coming through clearly. There is some texture from biscuit crumbs mixed in, which I liked, although it is more of a gentle bite than a proper crunch. Combined with the milk chocolate shell, however, it becomes an extremely sweet treat overall.

While I enjoyed it, I did feel that the sweetness of the chocolate and the sweetness of the Biscoff style filling did not balance as well as they could have. The flavour ends up being a bit one note, and some of that distinctive biscuity character gets lost. A nice idea and worth trying, but for me it is just a little too sweet to really shine.

Snickers Butterscotch (B&M) By @Cinabar

We popped into B&M at the weekend and, unsurprisingly, came away with a few interesting bits to try. My haul naturally leaned heavily towards the chocolate aisle. One bar that immediately caught my eye was this Snickers Butterscotch.

It is clearly an import, although I am not entirely sure from where. The front of the packaging is in English, but there is a large sticker covering the ingredients and details, which is not especially helpful. Based on the packet, I would guess either America or Australia, but either way they seem to be fairly easy to find in the UK at the moment.

As soon as I opened the wrapper, I could smell chocolate, peanuts, and the most glorious sweet butterscotch aroma. I took a bite and it did not disappoint. The familiar chocolate and peanut combo was there, but the real star was the rich, sweet butterscotch with its deep brown sugar flavour. It honestly reminded me of peanut brittle, and I mean that in the best possible way.

I have a very sweet tooth, so the extra sweetness did not bother me at all. It might be a bit much for some people, but as a sugary treat it was absolutely right up my street.

If you spot it, I would grab one while you can. B&M is brilliant for unusual imported chocolate bars, but there is never any guarantee they will still be around in a couple of weeks.

Earl Grey Scottish Shortbread [@NLi10]

 Another present to review? And it’s biscuits again! I’d say these are very `English, but it’s Scottish shortbread so I guess it’s ’Borders’

These are part of the luxury but own brand selection of Shortbread, and when I finish these I have a 2nd to try. The theme of this one is Earl Grey - which is tea with bergamot.

Or in Sainsbury’s list - tea and flavouring, which is fine because it does taste like the tea. There is a hint of heather in here too which is odd.

It’s top quality factory shortbread though - fork holes for even cooling, and a lovely big grain size. Superb - even without the tea.

And the new flavour does add a little something. It’s quite delicate even though the smell is quite potent, and doesn’t impact on the desire to eat the package in one sitting. I managed to ration it out over the week and even let the gift giver try some. A hit - and I’m looking forwards to box two.

Walkers Hot Honey Crisps (B&M) By @SpectreUK

I have seen a few different products with the new trending flavour of Hot Honey. I tried Hot Honey Jaffa Cakes the other day, and wasn't that fussed by them. For me, there was a little too much chilli, and not enough honey, So, when I saw these Walkers Hot Honey Crisps, I was a little apprehensive.

However, on opening the packet there was a sweet light chilli aroma from the crisps inside. On taste, these crisps had a sweet honey flavour, with a light hint of chilli. There was no noticeable chilli burn from these crisps. So, if you're looking for a super chilli waker-upper snack, these might not be for you. If you are looking for something unique, with sweet honey and mild chilli, you've come to the right place.

Information on the packet; The 128g bag contained 128 calories, with 7.2g of fat, 0.7g of sugar, and 0.14g of salt. Please see photograph fpor the ingredients.