Yan Yan Creamy Strawberry (Meiji) [By @NLi10]

Way back in Feb, Spectre reviewed the vanilla variety of this and liked it. I've had both now and thought I'd write about the strawberry one.

Similar to the vanilla (or the UK's own KP dip) you get sticks & goo. The goo in this case tastes like a melted Meiji Lucky Stick, which is nice. All my sticks had an animal theme.

Here is the complete set ( I had 4 swaps that were not shown)

Some are just descriptive, others seem a little misinformed. Beetles seem to get the best deal, with two sticks and both the popular love & luck themes represented. I'm not sure whether these are fortunes or just information, but they are fun either way.

The flavour of the sticks wasn't' amazing, but with the goo it was a highly edible pot of goodness. Probably more interesting to look at than eat, but a perfect little snack.

By NLi10

Reggae Reggae Peanuts and Cashews (@Reggae_Reggae_S @Sainsburys) [By @SpectreUK]

“Put some music into your food” was the phrase on the front of the rather colourful bag of Reggae Reggae Peanuts and Cashews that caught my eye in the local supermarket. Unfortunately I was in an open plan office at the time of eating these nuts and couldn’t blast out a few UB40 or Bob Marley songs.

These were oven baked nuts, covered with Reggae Reggae Seasoning and Reggae Reggae Sauce, by Levi Roots, who famously put some fiery interest back into the Dragons in their Den on TV. Produced by Humdinger, in Hull, these Reggae Reggae Peanuts and Cashews’ ingredients included; 54% peanuts, 32% cashew nuts, 6% Reggae Reggae Seasoning, 5% Reggae Reggae Sauce, Red Scotch Bonnet chilli (eek! Help!), black pepper, paprika, ginger, nutmeg, all spice (wait… isn’t that some sort of aftershave? Oh! Old Spice…), cinnamon, malt vinegar, molasses, tomato, onion, garlic, coriander, basil, thyme, caramel, citric acid amongst other things. Packaged in a 90g bag with 572 calories per 100g, 7.9g of fat, and a whopping 16.8g of sugar, these nuts really aren’t all that good for you and it was pretty obvious they were made as a sharing treat rather than a regular in my lunchbox. I figured I’d have to run around the block a few times after eating them. Allergy advice on the back of the packet stated that these Reggae Reggae Peanuts and Cashews contained nuts (I’d want my money back if they didn’t), gluten, and barley, and that they were produced in a factory that handled sesame seeds. With so many varied ingredients and the added scarily hot Red Scotch Bonnet, I was slightly apprehensive on what these Reggae Reggae Peanuts and Cashews would taste like.

On opening the bag there was a decent spicy smell from the heavily dusted nuts. There was also a decent spicy taste to these nuts, I tried to identify flavours, but at first no single flavour stood out as the ingredients were mixed well together. After eating a few nuts I noticed the subtle heat building on my tongue. After quite a few more nuts the subtle heat turned into a pleasurable burn that made my nose run a little through its intensity. I began to worry a little about stopping eating the nuts, and then I remembered the yoghurt I had waiting in my lunchbox for dessert. One flavour that did begin to stand out amongst the tasty chilli heat was the black pepper. After half the bag I began to revel in a peppery chilli fuelled haze, not wanting the nuts to finish and forgetting momentarily about my waist size and their calorie content! It amused me, in a sardonic way, that if she were here, Cinabar would have hated the thick peppery flavour of these nuts, but she wasn’t, in fact no one was in my little alcove apart from me. I had the 90g bag of chilli peppery nuttiness to myself… Mwah hah hah… (Oh my, may have got a bit carried away there!). The only disappointment I found was when I ran out of nuts and came back down to Earth (and thankfully… the yoghurt!). These Reggae Reggae Peanuts and Cashews have all too quietly nudged their way into the chilli nuts market with the added differentiation of their unusual spicy peppery Caribbean style. I would definitely have these again…. And you just know that I won’t share a single one! ;-)

By Spectre

Pom-Bear: Prawn Cocktail (@Waitrose) [By @Cinabar]

I am still quite new to Pom-Bear crisps. I know they are aimed at a younger audience, but I only really first tried them as an adult. They have even only appeared once before on the blog, as I haven’t really been aware of any new flavours from them before. Early this year we had Pizza, and now we have Prawn Cocktail, so I think they are having a bit of a push (or I have been out of the loop).
Prawn Cocktail isn’t that wild in terms of new flavours, with quite a few brands already doing some fab crisps with it, but this is a first for Pom-Bear. As usual the crisps are incredibly cute looking, each one taking the appearance of a bear, with smiley face and even a belly button. The texture of these crisps is really crisp but light and fluffy. In fact the texture isn’t that different from Prawn cocktail skips, but the flavour is very different. The seasoning on these Pom-Bear ones is rather mild, and lacks the expected zing. Most prawn cocktails have the flavour of seafood sauce, with a sharp then sweet taste, but these only very slightly do that. They are unmistakably prawn cocktail, but I would have preferred a stronger hit of the flavour. The seasoning seems to be a bit hit and miss on its distribution, with some of the bears looking a lot more speckled pink that others. The ones that appeared caped in spices were, as you would expect, a lot stronger in taste, but sadly these crisps were few and far between.
All in all these are a nice variety from Pom-Bear, and they tasted quite pleasant. I think the lack of kick to the flavour is due to two reasons. Firstly they are aimed at children, the group of customers who invariably dislikes stronger tastes, and as such mild is probably the safest route. Secondly the flavour distribution seems rather uneven, and this emphasises just how mild some of the crisps are.
I will try a second bag, and update if it is any stronger. I did pick up a multipack, so I have plenty to tuck in to.

By Cinabar

Willies Cacao: El Blanco [White Chocolate] [By @Cinabar]

I have a sweet tooth, but you could probably guess that from this blog. When I heard that Willies Cacao were releasing a white chocolate I was more than a bit excited to give it a try. Willies are purveyors of seriously fine chocolates, so my expectations were high. I opened up the box, and unwrapped the silver sealed bar. As the name suggests it’s quite a pale white chocolate, and is embossed with the Willies logo.
I broke a corner of the chocolate off and it gave way easily, but was clearly firmer than most white chocolates. I popped a corner in my mouth, and couldn’t quite decipher what my taste buds were telling me. I was expecting the usual sickly sweet creamy rush, but it didn’t come and my first thoughts towards the chocolate were a bit negative. I was starting to think I that I wasn’t keen on the chocolate, when my taste buds finally adjusted to the taste and I realised how cleverly the delicate flavours were working.
First thing to note is that this bar isn’t made with cream, and it is certainly more milky than anything else. This is why the bar doesn’t deliver a creamy hit, but the wholesome milk flavour is genius if you give it time to develop. The chocolate taste isn’t overly sweet, so there is no huge sugar rush either, but the white chocolate does give the bar a gentle caramel tone and it really shows off the cocoa butter like no other bar. It’s subtle, but distinct and so very good. I went on a full journey with this bar from being unsure on the first bite to being totally in love with the stuff on the last chunk.
It’s a very different white chocolate to any I’ve tried before, the taste is distinctively grown up and well put together. It doesn’t have the sugary sweet creamy hit of other white chocolates, but it does actually taste properly of cocoa butter and it tastes like nothing I’ve tried before. It’s definitely aimed at grown-ups, and I can’t recommend it enough. Just take a bite, forget any preconceptions about white chocolate and just give the flavours a chance to build up and do there thing. White chocolate heaven.

By Cinabar

Neuro Sun & Lucozade Revive Orange (Spar) [By @NLi10]

Today I thought I'd just briefly round up some extra flavours of previous review drinks. A few summery versions are hitting the shelves and as it's good to stay hydrated in this unusually hot May weather I've been buying more than usual.

This first bottle is practically packed with sunshine. It is full of Vitamin D and hydrates you if you stay out in the sun. In reality it's a slightly more expensive than normal fruit juice drink. It does have that hint of vitamin flavour that the other neuro drinks had, and they are nice enough that I've plodded through all the significant flavours of the range (not sure I reviewed all of them in the end). This is incredibly refreshing and with the fun bottle would be great to be seen drinking on the beach.

I tried and liked the other revive (lemongrass) a month or so ago, and while out in town picked one of these up for the following day of the hot weekend. I'd originally not realised there were multiple flavours (similar packaging fail) but never one to pass up a special offer I figured that it was worth a look and it's certainly interesting. Its less sweet than expected and has a similar effervescence to the fizzy table (carbonated) water that my mom likes. The orange flavour is nice, and certainly lingers, but isn't anywhere near as fruity as the first drink. Again I think that this is a kind of water + style of drink that is aimed to refresh without being boring.

Given the choice of two Revive or one Neuro (both being on special offer at those prices too) it'd all depend on the thirst factor. Drinking two Lucozade would certainly rehydrate you and set you up for a day of active play, but if I was sitting still all day in the shade the fruity cocktail of the neuro would be perfect.

By NLi10