Meiji Bon Macadamia Chocolat - Fran Collections

The last of my reviews for Candysan, an online Japanese store, are the Meiji Bon Macadamia Chocolat. They are part of the Fran Collection which seems to be Meiji's version of Pocky sticks - but just much BIGGER. These are available in lots of different flavours and varieties, such as a "Fromage" flavour reviewed by Hannah at The Review Addict!

Inside the box there are three individual packets with a distinctive harlequin pattern, each containing three sticks.

The sticks are much bigger than standard Pocky, at least three times the width. The inner stick is more of a biscuit rather than a hard pretzel stick. It has a softer texture but is still nice and crunchy.

There is a generous layer of chocolate on the outside of the biscuit, that has a deliciously sweet and creamy flavour with a decent cocoa hit. The inner stick is lovely and chocolately too. These are basically like eating a delicious chocolate covered biscuit in a stick format! There isn't much flavour from the macadamia pieces, but the lovely chocolate itself more than makes up for that omission.

The Meiji Bon Macadamia Chocolat were very kindly sent to me by Candysan for review but all views are my own.

http://www.candysan.com

Grocery Gems Verdict: Meiji Bon Macadamia Chocolat

RATING: 8.5 out of 10.
Buy them again?: I'd love to try more from the range.
Purchased: Available from Candysan
Nutrition (17g): 95 calories.
Price: ¥165 (approx. £1.06).

Limited Edition Magnum Mini First Kiss Crème Brûlée

There are five different flavours (and types of kiss!) in this Limited Edition numerically themed range from Magnum - full descriptions below. They are all inspired by classic desserts. I picked up a pack of the No. 1 First Kiss which only seems to be available in the Magnum Mini format.

It's described as "a custard flavour ice cream with caramel sauce and caramelised sugar pieces, all coated with a layer of chocolate".

The ice cream and chocolate are delicious in their familiar Magnum flavours. If you've had a classic Magnum before you'll know what these taste like. The milk chocolate is thick and packed full of rich and sweet cocoa flavour. The ice cream has a slightly richer vanilla flavour to it. There are lots of caramelised sugar pieces within the ice cream and occasional swirls of caramel too. The caramelised pieces have a nice crunchy texture that becomes quite chewy and sticky on the teeth. They have a slight burnt flavour to them that is reminiscent of a Crème Brûlée dessert, however they were slightly too bitter for me to enjoy the taste.

Image: Magnum

The other flavours in this range are:

No. 2 Loving Kiss - Meringue Et Fruits Rouges - Cream flavour ice cream, red fruit sauce, cranberry & meringue pieces, covered in milk chocolate.

No. 3 Passionate Kiss - Tiramisu - Mascarpone ice cream, coffee sauce, chocolate chunks & sponge pieces, covered in milk chocolate.

No. 4 Flirty Kiss - Gateau Aux Chocolate - Chocolate ice cream, chocolate sauce, chocolate brownie pieces, covered in milk chocolate.

No. 5 Stolen Kiss - Tarte Aux Pommes - Vanilla ice cream, apple sauce and pastry pieces, covered in a cinnamon dusted white chocolate.

Personally I can't wait to try No.5!

Grocery Gems Verdict: Magnum Mini First Kiss Crème Brûlée

RATING: 6.5 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Not this flavour but I hope to try the other flavours.
Nutrition: 140 calories, 1.5g protein, 16g Carb, 15g sugars, 8g fat.
Purchased: Sainsburys.
Price: £3.99p for a box of 6 mini ice creams.

New Celebration Cakes at Asda - including a Rainbow Cake!

I spotted some fabulous new cakes in Asda at the weekend, and their lovely PR people sent me some photos so that I could share these finds with you. I was especially excited about their new Rainbow Cake! These have been popular for quite a while now on various baking blogs so it's great to see them finally available in the supermarkets for those of us too lazy to attempt one ourselves! The Asda Rainbow Cake has five colourful layers and is available for £15.00.

Also available is this new Jaffa Cakes The Big One celebration cake. There has always been a hotly argued debate over whether a Jaffa Cake is a cake or a biscuit, no such dilemma here - this one is definitely a cake!

Who wouldn't want a giant Jaffa Cake as their birthday cake? It's awesome! Available at Asda for £7.00.

Macho brand Yorkie are muscling in on some of the cake action too. The Yorkie cake actually has the words "Man Fuel for Man Stuff" written on the box. Good luck with that slogan Yorkie!

But seriously, it's a good looking cake, very much like a giant Yorkie chocolate bar. The Yorkie cake is available at Asda for £10.00.

These delicious looking Chosen By You cupcakes come in three varieties; Cola Bottle, Gingerbread or Triple Chocolate - £2.00 each pack. Cola Bottle Cupcakes? I'm in!

It's more of an ice cream than a cake but this new Asda Battenburg Ice Cream Roll looks fun and it's a bargain at only £1.50! I don't have a photo but I must also mention the new Chosen By You teddy bear shaped ice cream cones and wafers - they're so cute!

I spotted the Asda Rainbow Cake myself instore and it looked good! I'll definitely be picking this up at some point - I just need the right occasion! :)

Meiji Uji Matcha Wafers Review

I was sent this intriguing looking box from online Japanese store Candysan. It's described on their website as simply "Uji Matcha", which refers to the green tea powder used. The actual snack is a green tea flavoured wafer with a creamy filling.

Inside the elegantly designed black and green box, there are eight pieces which are usefully wrapped in individual portions.

I loved this diagram on the back of the box so I just had to share it here!

The outer layer is made of a light wafer that is brightly coloured by the match green tea. Underneath that is a darker green layer which is where most of the green tea flavour resides. Unfortunately it's got quite a bitter edge to it that i didn't enjoy. Inside the wafer is a creamy filling that is quite solid and almost like a white chocolate. There are milky vanilla undertones that thankfully help to curb the bitter edge of the green tea. The whole combination is quite unusual, although still pleasant, but I would say it's one for fans of green tea only.

The Meiji Uji Matcha were very kindly sent to me by Candysan for review but all views are my own.

http://www.candysan.com/

Grocery Gems Verdict: Meiji Uji Matcha

RATING: 6 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Only a maybe.
Purchased: Available from Candysan
Nutrition (64g): 371 calories.
Price: ¥270 (approx. £1.73).

Polish Chocolate Bars: Jezyki Kokos & More!

A whole selection of Polish goodies for you today courtesy of @Banjo_Chocolate. There are two chocolate bars made by Goplana, the Jezyki Kokos and Grzeski, and also some miniature chocolates by E. Wedel.

Starting off with the Jezyki Kokos, which is a fabulous biscuit, caramel and coconut combination - exactly the type of bar that would catch my eye!

This is such a fantastic chocolate bar. It has a layer of biscuit in the centre that is surrounding by a soft caramel, crunchy rice pieces and lots of coconut flavour. The best way I can describe it is as a cross between a Twix and a Boost. The biscuit layer in the Jezyki is softer and crumblier than a Twix but the caramel is very similar. There's a nice added crunch from the rice crispy pieces in the chocolate and caramel and a decent amount of coconut flavour. This is the closest to a Coconut Boost that I'll ever try and it's one that I would definitely recommend!

The Grzeski is a wafer bar which comes in a variety of flavours. Usually they are completely covered in chocolate but this "Skrajnie Fajne" version features plain wafer on the largest sides.

The wafer layers are quite simply flavoured and not too sweet. The whole thing tastes quite light, with the dark chocolate adding a little hint of sweetness. As a plain wafer it's a pleasant enough snack. Grocery Gems Verdict: 6 out of 10.

Also a very quick review of the Pierrot and Batamutka chocolates made by E. Wedel in Poland.

The Pierrot was recommended to me as being similar to the Bajeczny, also made by E.Wedel, which I enjoyed when I reviewed it last month. It's very similar, with a praline filling and chopped peanuts. The praline filling is very smooth and has a lovely nutty flavour. Grocery Gems Verdict: 7.5 out of 10.

The Batamutka has a coconut cream flavoured centre. The texture is slightly dry and crumbly owing to small pieces of dessicated coconut. The flavour is very creamy with a nice sweet coconut edge to it. Grocery Gems Verdict: 7 out of 10.

Thank you so much to @Banjo_Chocolate, for sending me all these delicious Polish chocolates. Please support the campaign to get the much missed Banjo Chocolate bar back in production - especially by signing the quick petition here. All the support is greatly appreciated! Further details about the campaign are on the Bring Back Banjo Chocolate Bar Facebook page.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Jezyki Kokos

RATING: 8.5 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes - if you see it buy it!
Purchased: Check out your local Polish shops.
Nutrition: (30g) 140 calories.

New Nestle Nobbly Bobbly Minis Review

Nobbly Bobbly ice lollies have always been firm favourite in our house. The classic Nobbly Bobbly is a Strawberry & Chocolate ice lolly covered in pink, white and brown sprinkles. It's a colourful fun treat for kids (and occasionally for me too!), so I was pleased to see that there is a new Vanilla & Chocolate flavour. It seems to only be available in this mini pack at the moment.

The box is a very generous size as there are five of each flavour in the box. This should mean that a box will last you quite a long time but I have to admit that these were so popular in my house that they all disappeared quite quickly!

The classic Nobbly Bobbly is a quite a girly affair with lots of pink sprinkles and a strawberry layer inside. If you've never had one before it's a bit like a Fab ice lolly, but whereas the Fab becomes boring and loses its fabness once the top white layer is gone, the Nobbly Bobbly retains it's sprinkly goodness right til the end.

My kids were so excited when they saw this new Chocolate & Vanilla flavour. It's funny how just changing the colour of the sprinkles can make such a big impression on them! 

The ice cream is not all that different inside, it's the same icy chocolate flavour as the classic Nobbly Bobbly but with a vanilla centre. It's quite a basic flavour combination but it's one that most kids will enjoy. There seems to be a real trend at the moment for miniature versions of classic ice lollies and chocolates. It's definitely a great option for anyone trying to cut down on calories. The normal size Nobbly Bobbly has 219 calories, whilst the mini version has 123 calories.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Nobbly Bobbly Minis

RATING: 7.5 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition (Strawberry): 123 calories, 1g protein, 14g Carb, 9g sugars, 6g fat.
Nutrition (Chocolate): 121 calories, 1.5g protein, 13g Carb, 10g sugars, 6g fat.
Purchased: Sainsburys.
Price: £2.75 for ten 40ml lollies.

Around The World: Denmark - Tom's Guld Barre & Skildpadde

I've wanted to try the Hazelnut version of the Tom's Guld Barre ever since I saw in on the Choc It Out 10 Foreign Chocolate Bars 002 video. Unfortunately, even though I ordered the hazelnut version of this bar from an online Danish shop, they sent me the milk chococlate version by mistake. No matter, I'm just glad to finally be able to include Denmark in my around the World Challenge as it's a country that I love - an admiration that is mainly based on it's talent for producing gruesome crime dramas!

Tom's is the largest producer of candy and chocolate in Denmark. Their Guld Barre has a very distinctive shape to the chocolate. It reminds me of something but I can't quite put my finger on what it is! The milk chocolate is very smooth, with a slightly soft texture. It's not as sugary or milky as something like Dairy Milk, and it has more of a nutty undertone to the flavour. It's not the most interesting chocolate bar, but it's still very tasty, and I hope to give the hazelnut version a try too.

I also bought a Tom's Skildpadde, which is a turtle shaped chocolate filled with a rum flavoured caramel cream. This is also available in a full chocolate bar format - it's a super cute bar with three turtle shaped pieces joined together. I bought the bar version last year but I somehow managed to lose all the photos so I couldn't post a review on it!

Let me tell you something - cutting this in half was an extremely sticky business! The centre is VERY runny. I can imagine this would be very messy to bite into. I'm not a fan of alcoholic chocolates but thankfully the Skildpadde is not too strong on that front. It's just an extremely sweet caramel that has a rum and raisin type flavour to it, surrounded by an equally sweet outer chocolate.

And to Marcus from Choc It Out, for introducing me to these Danish delights, I'd like to say: Tak!

Grocery Gems Verdict: Tom's Guld Barre & Skildpadde

RATING: 7 out of 10.
Buy them again?: I'd try the hazelnut Guld Barre.
Purchased: I bought it from www.danishfooddirect.co.uk 
Price: £1.40 (Tom's Guld Barre), £0.95p (Skildpadde).