ChokaBlok Banoffee Bonanza Review (Tesco)

I recently tried the some of the new ChokaBlok 80g bars which are exclusive to Tesco, and was extremely impressed by the delicious flavours (see my review of the Excrème Brûlée & Very Berry Eton Mess bars). Those bars had been very kindly sent to me by Hannah from The Review Addict blog, and it wasn't long before I decided to try another bar from the range; the Banoffee Bonanza.

The bar once again looks fantastic and is generously laden with toppings. In this case there are swirls of banana flavoured white chocolate, slices of dried banana and toffee chips on a milk chocolate base.

There are lots of different textures going on in this bar with it's smooth chocolate, crunchy banana and chewy toffee. The banana flavour in the white chocolate is absolutely delicious. It's got that sweet banana taste that I love, although the flavour did get a bit lost within the larger milk chocolate layer. Then there are the plentiful toppings. I enjoyed the banana chips too and and the crunchiness they add, but the toffee chips are super sweet and made the overall bar a bit too sweet for me. However, it's still a great value bar for £1.40 and definitely worth a try for any banana fans!

Grocery Gems Verdict: ChokaBlok Banoffee Bonanza

RATING: 7.5 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition: 110 calories per 20g (1/4 of bar).
Vegetarian: Yes.
Purchased: Tesco.
Price: £1.40p.

Bahlsen Hit Fun Sticks Choco Review

A very quick review for these Balhsen Hit Fun Sticks Choco from Germany (but available in Tesco). They're simple finger shaped chocolate biscuits with a chocolate free holding part on one end. They remind me of a biscuit version of Pocky sticks! They're definitely a great way to keep eating chocolate during a heatwave (not that the hot weather stopped me!).

The biscuits look very different from a standard chocolate biscuit, I can imagine they would be a good shape for dunking in tea, but I haven't put that to the test yet. They're very simple in terms of flavour- wheaty vanilla based biscuits with a smooth milk chocolate filling. It's all very well done, the chocolate is creamy with caramel undertones, and the biscuit provides a lovely crunchy base. Great for kids to eat without getting any sticky fingers!

Grocery Gems Verdict: Bahlsen Hit Fun Sticks Choco

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes - I like the resealable packaging too.
Nutrition (per 3 sticks): 145 calories. 
Purchased: Tesco.
Price: £1.00 (offer price) but it was a few weeks ago.

Limited Edition Hi-Chew Golden Kiwi (Japanese)

I'm so excited today to be visiting Hyper Japan, a celebration of all things Japanese at Earl's Court in London this weekend. To celebrate here's the last of my recent offerings from the fantastic online Japanese store Oyatsu Cafe. This Limited Edition Hi-Chew Golden Kiwi, is a tube of individually wrapped soft chewy sweets, similar to something like Starburst (except much tastier!).

Hi-Chew is a Japanese sweet made by Morinaga that has been around since 1975 in it's current form, and one that is well known for it's unique chewy texture. It's origins stem from the 1930s with the desire to create a gum like candy that could be swallowed. There are now lots of flavours in the Hi-Chew range including Cola, Apple, Double Grape and Lemonade.

This limited release Golden Kiwi variety has the distinction of featuring realistic candy kiwi seeds for an authentic taste. They look fantastic and just like the little picture on the side of the packaging (seen above). The outer candy is yellow and infused with the black kiwi seeds, whilst the insides are a creamy white. The texture is like nothing I've ever had before in a candy, it's soft yet chewy at the same time. It starts out extremely gum-like, and lasts in the mouth for much longer than a regular chewy sweet. It's an unusual sensation at first but the candy eventurally starts to melt away. The kiwi flavour is completely delicious, very fruity and authentic, but still a strong candy flavour at the same time.

A very successful first experience of the Hi-Chew brand for me, and it's definitely one I'm hoping to try again. These Hi-Chew Golden Kiwi are currently on special offer at Oyatsu Cafe for $1.99 (usual price $2.99).

This product was very kindly sent to me by Oyatsu Cafe for review but all views are my own. 

Grocery Gems Review: Hi Chew Golden Kiwi

RATING: 9 out of 10.
Buy them again?: I'd try more from the range.

Price:  $1.99 (approx. £0.96).

Glico Pocky Mango Mousse Review

Here's another review of some fantastic Pocky, although this time they're from China rather than the usual Japanese Pocky I've featured. These were very kindly sent to me by the lovely @Banjo_Chocolate who obviously knows my tastes very well! I'm also really pleased to be able to give the Mousse range of Pocky a try. These Pocky Mousse feature a thick creamy coating that is double the thickness of a standard Pocky.

Immediately I can see just how generous the frosting on these Pocky is. They're perfect for those people that aren't impressed by the thin coatings on the usual Pocky sticks.

The thick mango frosting is absolutely delicious, it's just like a mango ice cream type flavour. Nicely fruity but sweet and creamy at the same time. They're great to eat in this hot weather too, quite light and no messy fingers at all. I highly recommend giving the Pocky Mousse a try if you find them (try your nearest Chinatown or Chinese grocery store). They're available in quite a few other flavours too, such as a Matcha Green Tea Mousse.

Thank you so much to @Banjo_Chocolate, for sending me the Pocky Mango Mousse. Please support the campaign to get Mars to bring back the much missed Banjo Chocolate bar - especially by liking the Bring Back Banjo Chocolate Bar Facebook page. Thank you :)

Grocery Gems Verdict: Pocky Mango Mousse

RATING: 9 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Absolutely!
Nutrition: 130 calories per pack. 
Purchased: Available from many Chinese grocery shops.

FUEL 10K Review & WIN TWO WEEKS Supply of FUEL Breakfast Products!

I was recently contacted by FUEL in order to review their range and also offering my readers the chance to WIN two weeks supply of Fuel products! See below for full details of the prize. The FUEL cereal range currently consists of an Energy Granola which boasts an added Guarana and Vitamin B mix, in either Chocolate Loaded or Nut Loaded varieties.  There is also an innovative Liquid FUEL Breakfast milkshake in Strawberry, Caramel Latte or Chocolate flavours, each with 20g of protein and less than 1% fat. Lastly, there are the quick and easy Porridge Pots which come in three delicious flavours; Golden Syrup, Apple & Cinnamon and Forest Fruits.

The FUEL packaging is certainly different. It's masculine black box and slightly angry looking eye immediately command your attention! The large silver letters proclaiming FUEL YOUR 10K HOURS introduce the basic idea behind this whole range. Inspired by the Malcolm Gladwell book Outliers, the 10k hours theory explains that perfection is achieved after 10,000 hours of practise. As FUEL themselves say "our products are designed to provide the morning sustenance to anyone on the 10k hours journey - whether they're an athlete, artist, businessman, musician - anyone who is in the pursuit of excellence!"

FUEL NUT LOADED GRANOLA. I'm sure most people can relate to that philosophy in one way or another, and it's a great idea for a breakfast range, but the real test is whether the products taste good! I tried out the FUEL Nut Loaded Granola which is a wholesome mix of oats, seeds and roasted nuts, such hazelnuts, almonds, pecans, walnuts and coconut. The granola is extremely tasty with generously large chunks and a delicious caramel flavour providing a background sweetness. The combination of guarana and added b vitamins is supposed to provide a natural energy boost, which is certainly something I need in the morning! I also found this granola great to enjoy by putting it into little pots to nibble on during the day as a filling snack.

LIQUID FUEL  - STRAWBERRY. A quick solution to a breakfast on the go are these Breakfast Milk Drinks. My hubby is one of those people who very rarely makes time for breakfast, so I gave him a Liquid FUEL drink sp that he could try it at work. It's a delicious drink, that tastes very similar to a strawberry milkshake, but with the added satisfaction of knowing that it's packed with protein and low in fat.

FUEL INSTANT PORRIDGE POT - GOLDEN SYRUP. I'm a huge fan of porridge, it's one of my favourite breakfasts, but I have to admit that I've never tried an instant porridge pot of this type before. I probably had quite low expectations about the flavour, but I'm happy to admit I was completely wrong. I left the porridge for longer than the time given on the pot (2 mins), as it hadn't quite thickened up enough in that time, but once it had, I loved the flavour and the sweetness from the golden syrup. The whole thing was very filling and satisfying, and I'll definitely be trying these again!

COMPETITION!

WIN TWO WEEKS SUPPLY OF FUEL BREAKFAST

Full prize consists of 14 days worth of FUEL products: 2 boxes of granola, 6 bottles of Liquid Fuel drink and 4 porridge pots.

To enter please answer the following question:

What is the theory for achieving perfection that inspired FUEL?

a)  1k hours Theory

b)  5k hours Theory

c)  10k hours Theory

Just reply to one of my competition tweets HERE with the answer. Or if you're not on Twitter simply send me an email to grocerygems@gmail.com with the answer and your name and address details. 

Competition CLOSES next week on Thursday 1st August at 5pm. Good luck!