Hong Kong Snack Haul!

Mr. Grocery Gems visited Hong Kong a few weeks ago and he somehow managed to bring a huge snack haul home with him. I've obviously trained him well as a snack spotter! Here's a quick round up of some of the products.

These Calbee Potato Grid Crisps have an interesting grid shape and are flavoured with onions, peppers and barbecue chicken.

The Calbee Olive & Garlic Pizza look similar to the Calbee Pizza chips that I reviewed HERE. Unfortunately, this Olive & Garlic variety was very disappointing - inside was a mostly empty packet!

My husband is quite annoyed that he made room in his luggage for a bag that has been pumped full of AIR. What a waste of time!

Potato chips from Nissin with pretty pink blossom packaging and an intriguing flavour too - Sour Plum! I'm not sure if I am brave enough to try them, the last time I tried a Sour Plum flavoured product it did not end well! See my review of the Ume Ninja Meshi HERE (third product down). 

A fab selection of sweets! There are Lemon Hi-Chew, Peach Hi-Chew, some Matcha Milk Candy, Puccho Soda Flavour, and lastly Puccho Miracle (assorted fruit flavour). 

The packaging of the Puccho sweets is so much fun - especially the rainbow bright Puccho Miracle!

Pocky Mango Mousse (I've reviewed these previously HERE), Calbee Jagabee potato snacks and Crunky Crunch Chocolate - the last two have been on my wishlist for some time.

It's quite hard to convey just how adorable this little box of 9 Mix chocolate are. I'll try to take better photos and do a full review soon. Each chocolate is wrapped with a completely different style of packaging, from retro to folksy, and yet the whole thing works together to create a bright appealing look. I can't wait to try these.

Oreo Chocolate Wafers - Strawberry flavour. I've tried a few of these Oreo wafers from China before (see review of the Peanut flavour HERE). I also have a box of Mint flavoured ones I bought from Chinatown recently. Reviews to follow.

I have a slight obsession with maneki-neko (lucky fortune cats) so I was thrilled with this bag of Kikko Lucky Cat Candy mix - hard candies in fruity flavours. The packaging really does make me smile! 

More cuteness in the form of these pastel coloured (and Bunny themed!) Hello Kitty candies. I should have reviewed these for Easter!

These look so cool! These Tada Banana Castella Cakes are bean paste filled banana sponge cakes that are also banana shaped AND even have the word Banana embossed across them. Just in case you didn't get the message. I expect these to be epic!

My husband bought a few products from the Bourbon range of Petit biscuits;  a Matcha Choc Chip and also a savoury Cheese Crackers variety. He said these biscuits were on sale everywhere in Hong Kong, and were available in such an array of different flavours, that curiosity got the better of him. I'm so glad it did as I've always wanted to try these mini biscuits. The Matcha Choc Chip variety are available from Oyatsu Cafe HERE. 

These beautifully packaged Coconut & Pineapple cakes from Aji Ichiban were mainly bought as presents for family and friends. 

Lastly an enormous "Gift of Hong Kong" box of biscuits with a delicious selection of flavours. The little Ginger Cookies and Jasmine Green Tea Cookies in particular, were divine, whilst the mini Panda Cookies are just too cute to eat!

All thanks to Mr. Grocery Gems - I think he may have brought home the equivalent of a small supermarket back with him! There were actually a few other items that I haven't included above (yes, really), like some noodle pots and even Hello Kitty shaped cookies. Bringing home new snacks is always one of the best aspects about going abroad! :)

Review: Fibre 1 Chocolatey Fudge Brownies (Canada)

Just over a month ago I was sent another phenomenal parcel of goodies from David, a well travelled reader, who has previously introduced me to the delights of the Canadian Vachon cake range (review here) and the fabulous Alfajores (review here). He very kindly sent me more from the Vachon range (including the gorgeous May West cakes!) and these slightly healthier treats, the Fibre 1 Brownies. I've taken my time to post these reviews as I really wanted to thoroughly enjoy these products, allowing myself the occasional morning cake or brownie with a cup of Nespresso! I'll be featuring a further review of the Vachon cakes soon.

These Fibre 1 Chocolatey Fudge Brownies are made by General Mills Canada. They're also available in the US as "Fibre One", but I've never seen these to purchase in any import shops here in the UK, so a huge thank you to David for sending these out for me to try. Each 25g brownie is individually wrapped (there are five in a box) and contain 100 calories and 6g of fibre per serving. 

The brownies themselves are quite small but have a very pleasing appearance. They seemed like they might be quite dry in texture but they were actually a lot lighter than they look. They're not squidey and moist like a full fat brownie would be, but the texture was slightly softer on the insides compared to the drier outer layer. I enjoyed the chocolate flavour in these, it has just the right amount of sweetness for a small treat, being not overly sweet or heavy. It's enough to keep my chocolate sweet tooth satisfied at least. There are a few scattered chocolate chips which give an extra burst of chocolate and some added texture too. Each brownie has 25% of your daily recommended fibre serving but these didn't taste like a high fibre health product to me. Whilst there is no doubt that the high fibre content gives these a different texture to regular brownies, they're much tastier than I was expecting and I wish they were available in the UK!

Grocery Gems Verdict: Fibre 1 Chocolatey Fudge Brownies

RATING: 7 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes - the Chocolate Peanut Butter flavour sounds good!
Purchased: Sent from Canada.

Review: Banana Creme Oreo (China)

Last year there were some pretty awesome sounding Banana Split Oreos released in the US, reviewed by Impulsive Buy here and Junk Food Guy here. I never did manage to find those here in the UK but for whatever reason, it's always been easier for me to find unusual Chinese Oreo flavours compared to American ones. Most US import stores don't seem to stock much beyond the Peanut Butter Oreo, I'd love to see more of the Limited Edition US flavours making it to our shores.

I found this box of banana flavoured Oreos in a grocery store in Chinatown, sitting alongside the double fruit Oreo flavours I've reviewed previously (see my review HERE, those were awesome). Unlike the double fruit Oreos I can't find any information about these online, not even on the Mondelez China website. Looking at the picture on the box I'm assuming the flavour is simply banana cream or banana milkshake. There are no English details on the box so if anyone can give me the proper name given on the box please let me know in the comments below.

The artificial banana scent in these Oreos was super strong as soon I opened the packaging. It reminded me of a banana milkshake or those banana ice lollies from an ice cream van. I'm not going to lie, I love that kind of banana flavour. I used to buy more than one of those banana ice cream lollies and keep a couple in the freezer, that's how much I like them. 

And the same strong artificial banana continues in the actual flavour of the cream layer within the Oreo. At first I quite liked it, I even momentarily thought I was going to love these, but very quickly the flavour became too strong, and combined with the outer Oreo biscuits it was just far too sweet. These are really shockingly sweet, like throat-burningly sweet, even for an Oreo. It's more like eating a candy rather than a biscuit. The banana flavouring really lingers in the mouth after each bite. I can imagine that these would taste slightly better if dunked in a glass of milk, as it might take the edge off the sweetness. Seeing as I don't drink milk I might have to try these with an extra strong cup of espresso but I'm not even sure that could compensate for the sugariness here.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Banana Cream Oreos

RATING:  5 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Probably not.
Nutrition: Unable to read the information.

Purchased: Grocery store in London Chinatown.
Price: £1.99p.

Review: Corny Nussvoll - White Chocolate & Almond.

Last year I received an awesome package of German goodies from a reader called Steffi. See my post HERE which featured most of those products. I was also sent these Corny Nussvoll cereal bars at the same time but for some reason it's taken me ages to post a review, despite these being one of my favourite products from the package (and that's saying something because I loved all of it!).  

The first thing I just have to get out of the way is the name. CORNY... lol. Okay let's all get it out of our system, it does sound quite funny to any English speakers. Corny usually meaning something that is trite, unfunny and badly sentimental. No doubt it's meaning for this cereal bar is more along the lines of "filled with corn". :)

The packaging for the Corny Nusswoll is excellent with it's see through windows and muted natural colours. The actual cereal bars look fantastic too, and are loaded with white chocolate chips and almonds.

Sometimes with these kind of nuts cereal bars, they have a tendency to be quite dense and are often held together with a hard sugary binding. Thankfully that wasn't the case here; these bars are chewy and soft, with an added crunchy texture from the abundant almonds. The flavour is very satisfying too, wheaty and golden with a deliciously creamy white chocolate. I really did enjoy these and I'll be scouring my local shops for more from this range. I've seen them turn up from time to time in discount stores.

Thanks again to the lovely Steffi! :)

Grocery Gems Verdict: Corny Nussvoll

RATING: 9 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.

Blood Orange & Mango Chocolate! Wedel Exotic Duet (Polish)

A massive thank you to the wonderful @Banjo_Chocolate who sent me some truly fabulous chocolates a few weeks back. I've so enjoyed trying everything she sent me, including these Oreo Peanut Butter wafers!. This chocolate bar from Polish chocolate makers, E. Wedel, immediately stood out to me in the package because of the interesting combination of flavours promised - blood orange & mango! It's hard enough to find a decent mango chocolate let alone such an intriguing prospect as this Exotic Duet bar. 

What's even better is that this bar was absolutely delicious - seriously you all need to visit a local Polish grocery store to track this one down. The filling is a fruity cream layer topped with a jam/jelly layer. Most of the flavour came from the jam layer, which has a distinctive blood orange taste but with a tropical twist. The orange is definitely the stronger flavour over the mango but the two still work together to create a very unique experience. I love the fact that these are not overly sweet, unlike a lot of fruit centred chocolates these days (Quality Street ones especially!). In fact I didn't get any kind of throat burning sugary overload from this, even though I ate quite a few pieces in one go! The fruit flavours have enough tanginess to keep them from being too sweet, and the milk chocolate is not overly sugary either - I'm sure this is how all soft centred fruit chocolates used to taste! 

Thank you once again to my fellow snack friend, the lovely @Banjo_Chocolate, for sending me this delicious Wedel chocolate bar. Please take a few seconds to like the Bring Back Banjo Chocolate Bar Facebook page and sign the petition here! All support is greatly appreciated :)

Review: Belgian Biscuit Butter

As a fan of the Lotus Speculoos biscuit spread (review HERE) I couldn't resist trying out this Belgian Biscuit Butter. It comes in both smooth and crunchy varieties, but I decided to go for the smooth version.

This Biscuit Butter has the delicious caramelised creaminess and hints of cinnamon flavour that you would expect from a speculoos paste. The flavour is different from the Lotus Speculoos spread, I found it to have a slightly lighter taste and texture overall, making it less dense and a bit creamier. It's an absolutely lovely speculoos taste and I have to admit that this jar did not last very long at all!

Grocery Gems Verdict: Biscuit Butter

RATING: 9 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Purchased: At a food show.
Price: £2.50

Hershey Cherry Blossom (Canada)

This adorably retro looking Cherry Blossom was recently sent to me by the UK based online Canadian grocery store The Canada Shop. I had never heard of the Cherry Blossom before but it immediately appealed to me with it's promised combination of coconut, peanuts and cherries. 

The Cherry Blossom is a single large chocolate (about the size of a Walnut Whip) which not only comes foil wrapped, but also housed in it's own quaint looking box. Originally made by a company called Lowney's, it's now manufactured by Hershey Canada.

At first sight it has quite a homely appearance, it's slightly irregular shape making it look home made, rather than a mass produced product. The thick outer chocolate has a mottled appearance from the peanut and coconut pieces. I was worried about the chocolate flavour here, as like many Brits, I can't get on with Hershey's milk chocolate at all. However, I'm pleased to say this was nothing like the American Hershey's chocolate bars I've had in the past. 

The chocolate here is sweet and has a pleasant cocoa flavour, nothing to worry about at all! The peanut pieces add the initial crunch and flavour, with the coconut adding lots of sweetness towards the end. I couldn't wait to see what this would be like inside and once I cut into the thick chocolate, the abundant cherry syrup inside was instantly oozing into evidence. 

Also revealing a large maraschino cherry at it's centre. The cherry flavour here is just delicious, fruity but not too strong, and a real contrast to the flavour in the outer chocolate. 

The central cherry had retained it's bright colour and juicy plumpness, and provided another textural element to the Cherry Blossom. The whole thing is ultimately very sweet (and quite sticky!) but it's a totally unique chocolate and one that offers a fantastic combination of flavours!

Product sent for an honest review.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Hershey Cherry Blossom

RATING:  9 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition: 210 calories.
Purchased: Available at The Canada Shop. 
Price: £0.95 each.

The Canada Shop: Maple Syrup Products & Cadbury Pep!

The Canada Shop recently sent me a lovely selection of Canadian goodies to review. They have a great online shop with a full range of Canadian groceries, chocolates and candies - along with an array of maple syrup products!

I genuinely had no idea that maple syrup could come in such different guises, so I'm very thankful to The Canada Shop for giving me the opportunity to try some of these out. Firstly this gorgeous trio of mini Brien jars featuring; Maple Jelly, Maple Butter and Maple Sugar. These are so adorable! All three are 100% natural and have an intense maple syrup flavour, giving them a dark, rich taste, with a deliciously burnt caramelised edge.

Maple Sugar - This crunchy granulated sugar is great for baking or general cooking, but can also be used in hot drinks and as an ice cream topping. 

Maple Butter - This "butter" is actually made of pure maple syrup that has been boiled and then whipped for at least 30 minutes to give it a smooth and creamy texture. There are countless uses for Maple Butter but I'm thinking it would be great as a replacement for straight-up maple syrup on pancakes - then I wouldn't even need to add any real butter.

Maple Jelly - Usually I get confused by the whole jelly/jam issue but this one is definitely more of a soft wobbly jelly (in the English sense). It has a lighter flavour than the previous two maple products, meaning it works well simply on toast or scones.

I was also sent these gorgeous Maple candies, again made by Brien and containing 100% natural ingredients. There are two types of Maple candy available, which are both appropriately maple leaf shaped; the rich amber coloured hard candies, and the larger soft candies. 

The hard candies have an intense maple syrup flavour which is obviously sweet, but this is balanced nicely by a dark, slightly bitter edge. The larger pale coloured candies are robust at first but quickly give way to a crumbly melt in the mouth texture. I loved the appearance of both of these candies, and their deliciously different flavour.

I was also sent these two Canadian chocolates, both of which are new to me; The Cadbury Pep, and the Hershey's Cherry Blossom (both £0.95p).

The Cadbury Pep is a large circular chocolate disc with a milk chocolate coating and a peppermint cream filling. The appearance reminded me of a massive After Eight! I cut this one up to share it around and I have to say it disappeared in seconds - everyone enjoyed it immensely. The filling here is more solid than an After Eight, and less sticky, but not as hard as a Fry's Mint Cream. The mint layer is very sweet but has a creaminess to the minty flavour that makes it very moreish. 

I'll be reviewing the Cherry Blossom in a separate post soon - it's an epic combination of cherry, coconut & roasted peanuts so be sure to watch this space!

Check out The Canada Shop full selection here: http://www.thecanadashop.co.uk/

Next on my wishlist is the Cinnamon Spread - I'd love to hear from anyone who's tried it! 

http://www.thecanadashop.co.uk/unilever--imperial-cinnamon-spread-250g-270-p.asp 

Review: Glico Pejoy Red Wine & Chocolate

These curious sounding Pejoy Red Wine & Chocolate sticks were sent to me last month by the lovely @Banjo_Chocolate, alongside a selection of Polish chocolates (see review here). @Banjo_Chocolate is running a campaign to get Mars to re-release the much missed Banjo chocolate bar - please take a look at the Bring Back Banjo Chocolate Bar Facebook page and sign the petition here!

Even though I'm not usually one for liquor or alcohol themed chocolates, I am still a big fan of these types of biscuit sticks, so I was keen to give this Red Wine & Chocolate flavour a try. I hadn't realised until I got these, that they're the first Glico Pejoy sticks I've had (although I've tried plenty of Glico Pocky ones!). The main difference between Pejoy and Pocky is that Pocky sticks have their flavoured cream or chocolate on the outside, whilst Pejoy contain this flavouring within the tube of the stick itself.

The Pejoy sticks look quite different to the Pocky ones, and not quite as appetising - they look a bit like dry twigs! The scent is immediately of a very strong red wine, with not much coming from the chocolate. The flavour is also of a full on red wine but with a really sweet edge from the fruity grape flavour, and an added creaminess in there too. The outer biscuits gives these a lovely crunch, and even though it's a strange sensation at first to have the flavour of red wine in a crunchy stick, the flavours do compliment each other. I couldn't eat too many of these in one go but if you're a wine lover then these are definitely an interesting snack to keep an eye out for!

Thank you again to @Banjo_Chocolate, for sending me my first Glico Pejoy! Please don't forget to like the Bring Back Banjo Chocolate Bar Facebook page and sign the petition here!

Grocery Gems Verdict: Glico Pejoy Red Wine & Chocolate

RATING: 7 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Maybe.
Purchased: Asiana Limited.

Review! Mini Ritter Sport

Cuteness alert! These adorable mini Ritter Sport were very kindly sent to me for review by Monster Sweets. Each mini Ritter Sport is a diminutive 16.6g in size, which equates to a four chunks squared bar - ideal for a snack sized serving.

Ritter Sport Hazelnuss

The Ritter Sport Hazelnuss is a milk chocolate with crunchy pieces of chopped roasted hazelnuts.

As always the Ritter Sport milk chocolate here is deliciously smooth, creamy and sweet. There is no hazelnut flavour in the chocolate itself, unlike the Noisette bar I reviewed previously, but the hazelnut pieces do provide a lovely nutty flavour and crunchy texture. It's a simple enough chocolate but one that is very well executed. (8 out of 10)

Ritter Sport Nugat

I found the Ritter Sport Nougat slightly strange, only because my hitherto experience of nougat has been quite different to what I found here. I was expecting a white honey flavoured filling with chopped nuts, but instead found a smooth praline. That's not to say the bar itself isn't tasty. It provides more of the delicious Ritter Sport milk chocolate, this time coupled with a smooth "hazelnut and cocoa praline". It's another satisfying combination of nutty flavour and milk chocolate. (7 out of 10).

Ritter Sport Joghurt

There are plenty of chocolate bars with fruity yogurt centres, usually strawberry flavoured, but I've never tried one with a plain yogurt filling. It might sound unusual, but this combination of creamy milk chocolate and tangy yogurt really works perfectly together. It's sweet but tart at the same time. (8.5 out of 10).

Ritter Sport Knusperkeks

A more traditional combination is presented with this Ritter Sport Knusperkeks (shortbread biscuit). It's basically a whole biscuit wrapped in the deliciously sweet and creamy Ritter Sport milk chocolate. Ultimately this is more of a glorified chocolate biscuit rather than an actual chocolate bar, but it's still a very tasty one! (7.5 out of 10).

Ritter Sport Edel-Vollmilch

Lastly, a mini bar of Ritter Sport Edel Vollmilch, which translates as Fine Milk Chocolate. It's a 35% minimum cocoa solids milk chocolate, a higher content than the previous bars above (they were mostly 30% minimum). The chocolate melt here is extremely silky and smooth, with a richer cocoa flavour, and slightly less sweetness overall. The stronger chocolate flavour is particularly suited to this smaller size of bar, and it's an ideal introduction to the Ritter Sport range. (8.5 out of 10).

Monster Sweets kindly sent me these products for an honest review but all views expressed are my own. Check out the newly revamped (and looking fab!) Monster Sweets online shop to view their full range of US and European chocolates and groceries.  

Grocery Gems Verdict: Mini Ritter Sport

Buy them again?: Yes.
Purchased: Available at Monster Sweets
Price: A bargainous £0.30p each!