Around the World - Dubai, UAE: Barbican Strawberry Malt Beverage

Barbican is a well known brand of non-alcoholic drinks produced in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that is available in a wide range of flavours. I bought the Barbican Strawberry Malt Beverage from a local Asian grocery store and decided to review it as part of my Around the World challenge. 

The Barbican Strawberry Malt Beverage has a great appearance with a frothy top and golden colour. There is immediately a strong strawberry scent and it's matched by the sweet fruity flavour here. The base drink has a subtle flavour of malt and hops but it's the strawberry that really comes through as the main flavour. That's not to say that the strawberry flavour is overpowering or too strong, it actually has a light flavour that is refreshing and not too sweet. Overall, I did enjoy this drink, and although I probably wouldn't buy it again, it's still worth a try if you like strawberry flavoured drinks.

Around the World: Barbican Strawberry Malt Beverage

Country of Origin: Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Purchased: Local grocery store.
Price: £0.59p (330ml bottle).

Meiji Apollo Strawberry Chocolate Cones (Hello Kitty Edition)

I'm having a few technical problems at the moment so here are a few photos only. I'll update it later today (hopefully) with a review!

Options Hot Chocolate: Limited Edition Strawberry & More

Thank you to Charlotte who spotted this new Strawberry Options a few weeks back. It's taken me a while to find it but they are finally in stock in my local Sainsbury's. I like the fact that Options are constantly bringing out new flavours in their range, they always seem to have something new, My favourite was their coconut version which was released last year (see my review HERE). This new Strawberry flavour is a worthy new addition to the range and creates a very enjoyable hot chocolate - it smells like a strawberry fondant chocolate from a selection box and tastes just as sweet too. I would buy this Strawberry flavour again, but I won't be stocking up as much as I did with the Caribbean Coconut (I hoarded so many of those I still have some left!).

I also picked up a few other Options hot chocolates which are new to me; Choca Latte, Salted Caramel and Choc Praline. If you've tried any of these then I'd love to hear from you in the comments below! I will update this review with my thoughts once I've had a chance to try them all. I'm looking forward to the Salted Caramel next.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Options Strawberry Hot Chocolate

RATING: 7 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition: 39 calories.
Purchased: Sainsbury's.
Price: £0.32p each.

New Danio Minis

I love the Danio range of Super Thick yogurts, their thick and creamy strained Greek style yogurts are absolutely delicious. However, in my review or the original pots I did mention that I found them a bit too large for me. I had already switched to other brands of strained yogurts that offered smaller pots in multipacks, but I've always preferred the fruity layers in the Danio range. It's great news that Danio have now released their own smaller versions. 

Even though they are called Danio Minis, they are still a decent size at 100g each, and come in multipacks of four pots. 

There are three flavours in the range so far; Strawberry, Blueberry and Mango.

Once again the consistency of the strained yogurt really is Super Thick. It's even thicker than a Greek Style yogurt but still has the same type of rich and creamy flavour. The density of the yogurt makes it even more suitable to this smaller size as I find this type of yogurt very filling. The fruity layers on the bottom are all extremely tasty too, not too runny or too sweet like some other brands of strained yogurts. The Mango has a lovely tropical sweetness with lots of flavourful chunks of mango to give texture. The Blueberry is my husband's favourite, it's not as sweet but has a perfect fruity flavour. I was quite surprised by just how much I liked the Strawberry variety. I don't tend to buy strawberry flavoured yogurts, but these are absolutely gorgeous, so fruity and fresh. I'll definitely be buying all the varieties again and I'd even like to see multipack that has a few different varieties included in the range.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Danio Minis

RATING: 9 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition: 80 calories per pot.
Vegetarian: Suitable for vegetarians.
Purchased: Available at most supermarkets.
Price: £2.49p per multipack of four pots.

PR Samples

The Fabulous Bakin' Boys World Cup-Cakes!

I think I've mentioned a few times of this blog that I love flags (not football just the flags!). Well you can imagine then just how much this box of World Cup-Cakes appealed to me! The Fabulous Bakin' Boys have come up with some great limited edition themes in their time but this multi flag themed box for the World Cup one surpasses them all. The St. George's Cross features prominently in the middle, whilst the cakes are also themed in red and white, with a red velvet sponge and a strawberry flavour topping.

At the moment I've got a box of these permanently on display on my kitchen table, I just love looking at it. It might be the first time in my life that I actually keep a product packaging - I don't think I can bear to throw this one away.

There are six cupcakes in each box, all individually sealed, perfect for packed lunches. 

The insides of the cakes are very disappointing when it comes to the "red velvet" sponge description on the box. A "pale pink" velvet would be a better description. They really should have just stuck to calling them "strawberries & cream flavoured" because these are not even remotely similar to red velvet cakes. The flavour here is all from the strawberry topping, with a fairly standard cupcake sponge underneath. It's a little dry, but I quite like the fact that these are not too greasy. As strawberry & cream flavoured cakes they are actually quite nice and we've been enjoying them with a tea or coffee (in fact I've since gone back and bought a few more boxes). I can't be too negative about them because I still love that flag box too much!

Funnily enough I haven't seen these in any supermarkets, only in discount stores. Has anyone else seen these in major stores? UPDATE: I spotted them today in Tesco, also for £1.00.

Grocery Gems Verdict: The Fabulous Bakin' Boys World Cup-Cakes

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Purchased: 99p Stores.
Nutrition 146 calories per cupcake.

Cadbury Roses Pots of Joy Strawberry Dream & my 2nd Blogaversary!

Grocery Gems is now two years old! I can't quite believe that's it's been a whole two years since I first decided to start writing a blog about snacks. Cadbury Roses are often used for celebrations so I thought it was apt to save this review of the new Pots of Joy Strawberry Dream for today. This is the latest in a fairly rapidly expanding variety of flavours for the Cadbury Pots of Joy range. 

The Strawberry Dream is described as a smooth and creamy dessert made with melted Cadbury milk chocolate and a layer of strawberry flavour fondant.

The texture of the dessert is the same as the rest of the Pots of Joy range, silky smooth and velvety. The chocolate flavour is unmistakeably Cadbury with a super sweet smoothness. Underneath is a delicious strawberry fondant layer that tastes like a creamier, and thankfully less sugary sweet, version of the strawberry Cadbury Roses chocolate. Even though these Pots of Joy desserts are ridiculously calorific (especially considering how small they are) I still find myself buying the new editions - they're always so tasty!

Thank you to everyone who reads this blog, and to all my blogging friends too - your support and comments really do keep me going. I hope I haven't tempted you too much with all these chocolate reviews over the past two years! :)

Grocery Gems Verdict: Cadbury Roses Strawberry Dream Pots of Joy

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Probably.
Nutrition (per 70g): 160 calories.

Vegetarian: No - contain pork gelatin!
Purchased: Asda.
Price: £2.00p for 4 pack (buy 2 for £3.00).

Review: Heart Shaped Strawberry Pocky!

I couldn't resist posting this review for these heart shaped Strawberry Pocky today. The packaging I have was actually from the Snoopy themed range which is not available anymore, but the heart shaped Strawberry Pocky itself is still sold in the regular packaging.

This product is just altogether adorable. Inside the box are 3 individually sealed portions of Pocky sticks, I love the heart shaped "window" in each packet. So cute.

The Pocky sticks have been shaped so that they have a heart running through the stick itself. It was quite hard to photograph, as it's much more obvious in real life.

The actual Pocky sticks have a natural strawberries and cream flavour, with little bits of dried strawberry imbedded in the cream too, adding extra fruitiness. The whole thing is very tasty and cute too, we all enjoyed the flavour and unique shape. 

I bought these from Oyatsu Cafe. Don't forget you can use the discount coupon GROCERYGEMS for 15% off any Oyatsu Cafe order. 

Grocery Gems Verdict: Strawbery Pocky

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Purchased: Available from Oyatsu Cafe.
Price:  $2.99 (approx. £1.83)

Japanese Sweets Round Up: Puccho, Hi-Chew & More

I've been trying out some gorgeous Japanese sweets courtesy of Oyatsu Cafe. If you've never tried any sweets from the Hi-Chew or Puccho brands then I highly recommend giving them a go. The flavours and textures are always of a high standard and very tasty. It also helps that the packaging is super cute too!

The first candy I tried was this watermelon flavoured gummy stick. I'm not usually a fan of melon or watermelon flavoured sweets so I didn't expect to enjoy this one, but I was pleasantly surprised by just how yummy it is!

The watermelon flavour is surprisingly sweet and fresh tasting, there is no artificial edge or aftertaste with these. I couldn't resist eating the whole thing in one go, it's incredibly moreish. Rating: 9 out of 10.

Next are the individually wrapped gummy sweets; Hi-Chew Apple, Hi-Chew Strawberry and the Puccho Peach Plum.

The Puccho Peach Plum is a gorgeously peach scented sweet that hides a little sour surprise in the middle - it's infused with extra sweets! It's so sweetly peachy but has a really tangy flavour from the plum candies nestled in the centre. Again, I absolutely loved these sweets, they're so unique and completely delicious too. Rating: 10 out of 10.

The Hi-Chew varities offer a much sweeter candy with plenty of chewiness and full fruity flavour. It's worth trying Hi-Chew just for the extreme chewy nature of the sweets, which lasts for much longer than regular sweets. I enjoyed both the Strawberry and the Apple flavour, they're both spot on with an authentic flavour and very satisfying. Rating 8 out of 10. I've also previously reviewed the Hi Chew Golden Kiwi HERE. 

Take a look at Oyatsu Cafe for all their newest and limited edition Japanese snacks! 

Don't forget you can use the discount coupon GROCERYGEMS for 15% discount off any Oyatsu Cafe order. 

Review: Brain Blasterz - Super Sour Sweets!

Recently I received an awesome parcel of super sour goodies from the lovely people at Brain Blasterz. The whole range features fantastic packaging with it's bold warning colours and gnarly skull. It's all superb fun but don't worry if you're not a fan of sour sweets, many of these are actually very sweet. Since there are so many different products I'm going to start with the sweetest and end with the devilishly sour!

Apple Sour Straps & Strawberry Sour Straws

The Sour Straps and Sour Straws are definitely the sweetest of the bunch. The Sour Straps have a lovely apple flavour with a zingy aftertaste. The Sour Straws have a sweet strawberry flavour and even though I was expecting the coating to be a sour sherbert, it turned out to be quite sugary. I loved these!

Candy Brain Bitz

The Candy Brain Bitz (great name!) are very similar to Nerds candy, except with fruitier flavours and without the garish artificial colours. Each box feature two flavours which are partitioned down the middle. Either Apple and Strawberry, or Lemon and Raspberry.

The sweets are small, chewy and very addictive. The Apple is very fruity, with a predominantly sweet flavour. The Strawberry was surprisingly the most sour of all, with a really tart fruitiness. I loved the Raspberry ones, they're very sweet with a zingy sherbet type flavour to finish. The Lemon sweets have a zesty sour flavour whilst still retaining plenty of sweetness.

Oozing Brain Gum

Now we're getting on the the really sour stuff. The ones that you'll want to buy just to watch the expression on your unsuspecting victims face.

The little tub of Oozing Brain Gum (another brilliant name) opens up to reveal lots of individually sealed chewing gums. They're quite sticky because each gum is oozing liquid from the moment it's opened. The flavour is instantly very sour from the liquid within, but the sweeter outer gum helps to counterbalance the sourness somewhat.

Candy Spray

The Candy Sprays are really fun. They squirt a super sour shot. The apple has an instant sourness gives way slightly to a fruity apple flavour. The Raspberry is even more sour if that is possible.

This is definitely a product for the kids. For some reason they are able to keep keep a straight face while they spray this - whilst I look like a baby who's just been given a lemon. I don't know how they do it! Suffice to say they enjoyed these immensely.

Brain Blasterz Mega Sour

The sourest of all, these remind me of Toxic Waste sweets. They're more of a novelty candy that only really exists in order to watch the reaction of those that are brave enough to try one. These are perfect for trying out the Brain Blasterz Straight Face Challenge - try to keep a calm reaction on your face whilst eating one. It's impossible!

Inside the funky packaging there are lots of individually wrapped sweets in four flavours; watermelon, blueberry, lemon and apple.

The sweets are coated with an aggressively sour coating that is so sour it almost hurts (not literally but then I'm obviously a wimp). Hold out for long enough and you are quickly rewarded with the sugary fruity flavour of the sweet within. But just to make sure you haven't forgotten that first sour experience they hold an extra surprise too - a powdery sour centre!

I love the tagline on all the products - Warning! Not for Babies Wimps Adults. Suffice to say these are for firmly for kids - and and they will absolutely love them. My two certainly did and to be honest I'm quite happy to take the Sour Straws and leave them to the rest!

I received these products in order to write an honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

New Müller Kids Corner Fashion Yogurts Review

These New Müller Fashion yogurts are following on from the previous range of Kids Corner that came in a choice of either Lots of Love pink hearts or Footballs. This time the Kids Corner yogurts are either Fashion or Blast Off! (spaced themed yogurts, see my review of those HERE) . The range has been causing quite a stir on websites such as NetMums, due to the apparent branding of these kids yogurts along gender lines. Even though Müller don't market these as being for girls or boys, they're simply called "Kids Corner Fashion", some have argued that they are clearly resorting to gender stereotyping. As always, leave a comment below with your views on this!

As I've said many times on this blog I'm a mum of two boys. As a family, we love trying out new products, and the previous Müller Kids Corner yogurts were no exception - my boys enjoyed the Lots of Love pink yogurts just as much as the Football ones. I know plenty of small-minded people who would actually think that was strange, but clearly that kind of attitude comes from the adults themselves. I've never told my boys "that's for girls" when it comes to toys, books or food. If they've picked the pink yogurts it's because they wanted the strawberry flavour rather than vanilla, and of course, they quite liked the heart shapes too.

The size of these Müller Kids Corner yogurts means these are not being marketed at very young children or toddlers, they're the same size as the standard Corner yogurts - 135g. The Müller Kids Corner Fashion packaging is nowhere near as cute as their Lots of Love yogurts. The colours are quite bright and garish, and I'm not really sure who those pink shoes would actually appeal to. They're slightly too Barbie circa 1985.

The yogurt is a simple vanilla with a side serving of white chocolate covered cereal shoe shapes in yellow and pink. The shape of the shoes is quite well done, although they do look a bit like fish rather than shoes from some angles.

The yogurts are delicious and very sweet, the combination of vanilla and white chocolate is simple but effective. Any fan of the Müller Crunch Corner yogurts would enjoy these - I found them even tastier. Did my boys eat them? Yep, they both ate them without any real comment. When I told them there is also a Blast Off spaced themed version available they did express more interest, they're both very science orientated and love anything to do with space - just as many girls do too.

I've said before that I dislike brands such as Yorkie, with it's whole For Men Only attitude, and I certainly wouldn't want to see the same thing happening in children's food. I've always viewed products being "pink for girls and blue for boys", as extremely lazy marketing. Like the new blue and pink Kinder Eggs with either dolls or cars - it's boring and unoriginal.

Although many kids will find these very appealing, many others will not fall into such basic categories. One of the main reasons why I enjoy finding new products is I love having more choices and variety - who doesn't? So in general, I think it's good news that Müller is bringing out more themed products, such as a space inspired yogurt - and I'm sure they don't need me to tell them that astronauts and scientists can be male OR female. And it's up to parents to make sure their children know that too.

What do you think of these new Kids Corner Fashion Yogurts? Is gender stereotyping of products always unacceptable or is it just a fuss about nothing?

Grocery Gems Verdict: Müller Corner Fashion Yogurts

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Probably.
Nutrition (per 100g): 142 calories. 
Purchased: Tesco. 
Price: £2.00 for multipack of 4.

Marks & Spencer Neopolitan Cookies Review

I've been wanting to try these Neopolitan Cookies ever since I saw them in M&S a few weeks ago. I love the fun and summery packaging, with a biscuit made to look like an ice cream! I'm sure I don't need to tell anyone that a Neopolitan ice cream consists of three basic flavours, strawberry, vanilla and chocolate. It's a popular one for M&S this year as there is also a new Neopolitan themed dessert in the range too.

The actual cookies look fairly standard. I'm not sure what I expected but they are quite plain, although they do have a lovely sweet strawberry smell. The cookie gets it's Neopolitan flavour from the three main additions - strawberry pieces, white chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips. This is basically the same as the Strawberries & Cream cookies that M&S released last year but with added milk chocolate chips. There's nothing really that special that would make these an ice cream flavoured biscuit. The flavours are all quite good, if a little boring, but the worst part was the texture. These cookies are so rock hard that they are actually difficult to bite into! They were impossible to eat without a hot drink to hand. Definitely one for the tea dunkers!

There is also a new Strawberry & Rhubarb variety available as part of the same range.

Grocery Gems Verdict: M&S Neopolitan Cookies

RATING: 5 out of 10.
Buy them again?: No.
Nutrition: 110 calories, 1.4g protein, 14.2g Carb, 8.3g sugars, 5.4g fat.
Vegetarian: Yes.
Purchased: M&S.
Price: £1.99p.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Strawberries & Creme

This is a new and Limited Edition summer release for the Cadbury Dairy Milk range which comes in a large 120g sized bar. At first I read the name "Strawberries & Creme" as the quintessentially British flavour choice for a summer theme, that of strawberries and cream. However, this is not actually a strawberries & cream flavour in the traditional sense, as the "creme" seems to refer merely to the nature of the filling rather than the flavour. The actual description on the back of the wrapper is "A YOGURT and Strawberry Flavour Filling". Quite a different thing altogether.

It's certainly a great looking bar, from the summery packaging, to the sleekness of the chocolate itself. There is no mistaking that this is a strawberry offering once the chocolate is out of the wrapper - the fruity scent is immediate, even though it's not the sweet strawberry milkshake type of scent that I expected.

The inner filling has a slightly speckled pink colouring but is completely smooth in texture.  It's surrounded by a classic creamy Dairy Milk chocolate.

The strawberry filling has a wonderfully fruity flavour that is well suited to it's tangy yogurt backdrop. This yogurt has just the right amount of tangyness, it's not too tart or sour. Some strawberry chocolate can be VERY sweet but the inclusion of yogurt seems to help curb the sweetness. It's surprisingly easy to polish off a decent amount of this bar without hitting a sugar wall! Compare that to the strawberry filled chocolate from a Cadbury Roses selection, which is pure sugary sweetness through and through.

The Cadbury Dairy Milk Strawberries & Creme should perhaps have been named "Strawberry Yogurt"; after all, that seems to work perfectly well for companies such as Ritter and Milka. Despite the misnomer however, I found the Strawberries & Creme to be a delicious chocolate and one that far exceeded my expectations.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Cadbury Dairy Milk Strawberries & Creme

RATING: 7.5 out of 10.
Buy them again?: I'd love this to be available in a standard sized bar.
Nutrition (per 3 chunks): 85 cals, 5.3g fat, 7.8g sugars.
Vegetarian: Suitable for Vegetarians.
Purchased: WHSmiths.
Price: £1.88p.