Sunday, 31 December 2017

Today's Review: Tiptree Chocolate Cherry Spread


It's almost midnight, and apparently something significant is happening then, so here's a quick little review of another of my Tiptree chocolate spread pots. This one is cherry chocolate, which sounded delicious, and well, actually it's pretty good. A lovely, rich chocolate base, with a bit less of that buttery after taste. It's sickly, but good if you use it sparingly. The cherry element is pretty good, a natural taste that ramps up the sweetness quite a bit, making it a bit more sickly than if this were regular chocolate spread. Still, it's a decadent spread, with some good natural flavours, I'm sure this would be great on anything you'd like to spread it on.

My rating: 4/5


Saturday, 30 December 2017

Today's Review: Jack Daniel's Honey Chocolate


Yup, I'm still working my way through the edible Christmas presents. There's an end in sight, but I fear I may fall into a chocolate coma. So why not go out with a bit of a bang in my bar? This is a chocolate bar filled with Jack Daniel's honey syrup. I've tried out the regular Jack Daniel's chocolate before, and found the syrup overwhelmed the chocolate quite a bit. But since the actual whiskey is more palatable than the classic, I figured it would go better with chocolate.

The chocolate isn't the best quality, it's creamy, but not particularly tasty. It's still overwhelmed by the syrup, so it's not too bad, although the syrup does have quite a kick to it. It tastes like Jack Daniel's, which is good, but there's a fair bit in comparison to the relatively thin chocolate. The honey swirled in gives it a nice kick, so it's got a certain sweetness to it, and once the kick of the whiskey has gone it leaves a fairly pleasant after taste. But still, I wouldn't choose this over a regular chocolate bar. I think I'm of the firm opinion that whiskey is for drinking, not eating.

My rating: 3/5

Friday, 29 December 2017

Today's Review: Müller Rice Chocolate Orange


Here's a quick little review of this limited edition Müller Rice I picked up the other day. It's a festive chocolate orange flavour, basically in the form of the sauce swirled through the rice. It takes a bit of mixing to get it fully incorporated, and even then it was a little uneven, so it was bland in places. As for the flavour of the sauce, I got the chocolate, but not so much the orange. It presented a few times as quite a sickly orange flavour, but was fleeting, and this is mostly just a mildly chocolatey pot of rice. Not great. Don't worry about grabbing this before it goes.

My rating: 2/5

Thursday, 28 December 2017

Today's Review: Tiptree Chocolate Spread


It's that odd time between Christmas and New Year's, where I endeavour to finish off all the unhealthy snacks before attempting that diet we all start on the 1st. Unfortunately, it being Christmas, and me loving food, I received a fair amount of edible gifts. Most I've tried before, but some I will post here over the next week or so. I got a nice little selection of Tiptree chocolate spreads this year, six varieties to be exact. Tiptree is famous for its jams, but they do a lot of other great stuff as well. I figured I'd start out with this regular chocolate spread before moving onto something more exotic.

I was under the assumption that one of the most important components of chocolate spread is the ability to spread it, and I can't say this was particularly easy. It's fairly firm, but with a bit of elbow grease I managed to get a fair amount across a slice of bread, spread on thick, but that's all good. So while the "spread" half of the name isn't all that accurate, the "chocolate" part somewhat makes up for it. This is a very rich, very chocolatey spread, a slightly dark, but pleasantly sweet flavour. It is a little on the sickly side, and there's a buttery flavour throughout that's stronger than I'd have liked, but overall it's a very pleasant spread. Much better than your usual supermarket fare. I'm looking forward to trying out the other flavours.

My rating: 4/5

Wednesday, 27 December 2017

Today's Review: Golden Wonder Chippies Chip Shop Curry


There are a few different varieties of chip shop curry crisps out there, and here's another one from Golden Wonder. These are actually curry sauce flavoured sticks, much like those budget ready salted ones you can pick up from the party food aisle. Not the best form of crisp if you ask me, but at least these have a bit of flavour. It's a pretty nice curry flavour, quite reminiscent of the sauce, but the tiny stick form lets them down a bit, the flavouring isn't as piled on as it should be due to the lack of surface area, and after a short while it gives way to just regular potato sticks. So less Chippies, more crispies, these could have been a lot better.

My rating: 3/5



Tuesday, 26 December 2017

Today's Review: The Massive Piles Of Presents In My Living Room

Christmas is over. It's the end of Boxing Day, and while various visits to both sides of the in drips and drabs, we can safely say the gift giving is over, as evidenced by the massive mounds of presents that are piled on my living room floor.

I have three kids, and while two are old enough to be heavily invested in the cheap yet compact world of electronics and video games, they're still in possession of a sizeable amount of stuff that has no designated place to be tidied away to. So what am I to do? I could have a good sort out, obviously, but the kids still have a week off school, and it's best to just let them make their steady way through the presents, unwrap them, and given them homes of their own. But until then it's like a minefield of pencils, sweet and game pieces, a semi-permanent mountain range of oversized boxes and gift bags. It's never ideal. No matter how much we seem to clear out before Christmas, there's always going to be more stuff to put away than we have room for. These piles are symbolic of the generosity of family (and us), but they're a pain to be sure. Still, there are a few science kits over there, I look forward to "helping" with those.

My rating: 3/5

Monday, 25 December 2017

Today's Review: Thornton's Chocolate Liqueur


Merry Christmas y'all. I've been pretty busy all day, obviously, so here's a quick little review of a Christmas pressie I acquired and have had a little taste of today. It's a chocolate liqueur from Thorntons, a mix of chocolate cream and vodka. Getting drunk off chocolate doesn't sound like a bad idea at all, and this is a pretty decent concoction. The vodka is a little on the strong side, drowning out the chocolate at first and providing something of a sour taste, but it all mellows out pretty quickly and leaves a very pleasant after taste. So yeah, it could be a little more balanced, but it's a pretty unique bottle of booze to sip on in the Winter months.

My rating: 4/5

Sunday, 24 December 2017

Today's Review: Jacob's Pigs In Blankets Festive Snack Bites


It's Christmas Eve, but it's not too late to hunt out some last minute festive snack offerings. Actually, it probably is now, it's almost 11pm. What are you still doing awake? Santa won't come if you're not asleep! Anyway, I managed to find this tub of pigs in blankets flavoured crackers yesterday, having never heard of them before. These are from Jacob's, the creators of the ever fantastic Cracker Crisps, so I had high hopes for these. Unfortunately, those hopes were soon dashed. These are not the same as Cracker Crisps. They're somewhat flaky and hollower, a crumbly cracker whose flavour isn't particularly great. It starts out okay, a certain meatiness with a hint of smokiness and salt. I wouldn't necessarily call it pigs in blankets, but it's not bad. Unfortunately that soon disappears, the flavouring just turns into a generically fake meaty taste, and mixed with the texture of the crackers, it's not a good finish. A disappointing tub. Don't buy some for Christmas Day, even though it's already too late.

My rating: 1/5

Saturday, 23 December 2017

Today's Review: Tuc Sweet Chilli Sandwich


I reviewed the new sweet chilli Tuc last month, but apparently I missed this packet when I picked up the first. It's a sweet chilli Tuc Sandwich, which are like Tuc but better, because there's some nice cheesy stuff sandwiched between them. 

This pack is a little different from the sweet chilli biscuits, as the chilli flavour lies in the filling, with the Tuc either side being the regular kind. As such, it wasn't quite what I was expecting, I was hoping for a bit more spice than is present here. There's a certain heat in the filling, which is somewhat mitigated by the creaminess of the stuff, but it's pretty good, and you can't go wrong with the Tuc biscuits it's wrapped in. After eating a few, the heat built up to a satisfying level, so it's not a massive disappointment. Perhaps making it all sweet chilli would have been a bit much, but these are some very tasty Tuc sandwiches.

My rating: 4/5

Friday, 22 December 2017

Today's Review: Burger King Long Pepperoni


With no Burger King in my home town, it's a rare treat to visit the flame grilled paradise. But today was one of those days, and instead of capitalising on the festive treats on offer, I instead went for this recent addition to the menu. This is the Long Pepperoni, a long burger with two beef patties, cheese and pepperoni, topped with BBQ sauce. Pepperoni in a burger is not a new thing, but it's intriguing enough, I was excited to see what this burger would hold.

Despite containing pepperoni, I can't say I noticed it all that much. A little added meatiness, with a small boost of flavour, but seeing as it was the selling point it was pretty disappointing. I wasn't too sure about the BBQ sauce in conjunction with the pepperoni either, and while it wasn't great, it wasn't too bad either. The rest of the burger is classic Burger King, lovely juicy flame grilled patties, and a decent helping of cheese. So it's not all bad, but as a pepperoni burger it's not a great effort.

My rating: 2/5

Thursday, 21 December 2017

Today's Review: Sleeping In A Different Bed

I like my bed, it's where I do my sleeping. I spend a fairly large chunk of my life curled up in bed, and as such I have it just to my liking. A nice comfy mattress, a memory foam pillow, perfect for getting into the position I need to get my beauty sleep. But there are those odd nights where I'm not sleeping in my own bed, and while it doesn't take much for me to fall asleep, it is more difficult in a different bed.

The mattresses are different. Some are too springy, some are too hard. Don't even get me started on the pillows. One might not be enough, but two might be too much. My pillow at home is just thick enough to cover the width of my shoulder so I can lay on my side. Other beds require me to change pillow heights or body position, and that's just not right. The bed I'm in right now is too soft, and it's a single, I feel like I'll fall out if I even make a small movement in my sleep. I know I'll be alright in the end, but I'm sure I'll wake up several times in the night, and require several shuffles before I get comfortable again. Even though other beds might be comfortable in their own way, my bed is the best. There's no place like home.

My rating: 1/5

Wednesday, 20 December 2017

Today's Review: Boots Shapers Honey Butter Crisps


Don't worry, I won't review the entirety of my Boots meal deal from yesterday, but these were just too unique to skim over. Here we have honey butter crisps, three words that I believed should not be seen together, but here they are in one bag. Sweet crisps aren't a new thing by any means, but pairing honey and butter and slathering it on a potato chip is a bit odd, especially in a diet style bag.

These are an acquired taste, to be sure. The honey and butter are out in full force, so I admire the strength of the flavouring. Unfortunately it's such an acquired taste that the tiny bag didn't give me enough to acquire it. They're not inedible, but there's something about the sweet hit paired with salty butter that doesn't quite sit right. An interesting idea for a bag of crisps, but I don't think I'll be getting them again.

My rating: 2/5

Tuesday, 19 December 2017

Today's Review: Boots Christmas Triple Sandwich


I'm really getting into the festive sandwich spirit lately, which is a good thing, because in a week I won't be able to find them anywhere. I popped into Boots for a cheeky meal deal, and chose this one out of their Christmas selection. It's a triple offering, containing turkey & stuffing, ham hock & plum chutney, and cheddar & red onion chutney. I was especially interested in that middle sandwich, but they all sounded pretty good to me.

Sandwich? More like blandwich. Yeah, these aren't fantastic. Don't get me wrong, they're not bad, but there's not much that particularly stands out. The turkey and stuffing are your regular fare, a classic combination, but one that I've had many times before. The cheddar and chutney is fairly mediocre, not quite a substantial amount of either to justify an entire sandwich, definitely the worst of the three. I was really looking forward to the ham hock, and while it's got a decent amount of meat, and a pretty nice fruity chutney, it still seems a little sparse. So what looked like a hearty Christmas feast wasn't quite up to scratch in my eyes. A decent enough festive change up from the regular Boots sandwiches, but nothing to write home about.

My rating: 3/5

Monday, 18 December 2017

Today's Review: The Amount Of Food Pictures I Have On My Phone

Being a reviewer of predominantly food items, and not being in constant possession of a right proper camera, I take all my pictures for reviews on my phone. Nothing wrong with that, the iPhone camera is perfectly adequate to capture all the nuances of a chocolate bar wrapper. But as such, I often find my phone is full to the brim with pictures of random food items sitting atop my speckly counter top. If someone ever took my phone and scrolled through my photo library, they'd most likely be baffled, more so than the people who see me holding out my sandwich for a quick snap before I eat it. 

Seeing as I make a post every day, I suppose all those pictures aren't too out of place on my phone. But seeing as I'm a father of three, it's often worrying how many more pictures I have of snacks than I do of my own kids. Yeah, we have a proper camera for taking family snaps, but it seems I'm more capable of photographing bags of sweets than I am my own offspring. So it's not so much the amount of pictures of food on my phone, it's the disproportionate amount in relation to anything else that's quite worrying. Don't even ask me how many I've transferred to my laptop over the years. So much food, so many pictures. It's not the most awful situation, but it's definitely not great.

My rating: 2/5

Sunday, 17 December 2017

Today's Review: Poundland Twin Peaks


Not content with ripping off most chocolate products, Poundland have gone after that famous (and lately infamous) triangular bar. Yes, now you can pick up a sizeable Toblerone knock off for a mere pound. This is Twin Peaks, which isn't based on the David Lynch show, but apparently "inspired by the Wrekin & Ercall hills", though I'm sure they're more inspired by copying the Toblerone in a way that won't get them sued. In the process, they've managed to skimp out on the chocolate in a way that Modelez can only dream of.


Yes, as well as borrowing the ever-growin gap between triangles, this bar also has a chunk taken out of the hills, to create that definitive "Twin Peaks" form. Thing is, they're sort of justified in this because the thing only costs a pound. In actual fact, this thing isn't too bad. The chocolate is a little gritty and not of the best quality, but it's perfectly edible, nice even. The nougat pieces add a bit of a crunch and a nice nutty, honey flavour. They help to distract from the shortcomings of the chocolate, and overall it's a perfectly decent chocolate bar, considering the size and price. So for those who don't want to splash out on an ever-shrinking Toblerone, this is an apt replacement.

My rating: 4/5



Saturday, 16 December 2017

Today's Review: Haribo Juicy Goldbears


Alright, technically I've reviewed these before, but that was in a foreign, fun size form. Now it looks like you can pick up a big bag of Juicy Goldbears in the UK, which are a lot more sizeable than the ones I rifled through a multipack to find. These aren't just your regular Goldbears, they're made with 25% fruit juice, which is a pretty high number. One benefit of having this big bag is I got to try out all the flavours, as well as having a nice key of what they are. There's pear, apple, peach, banana, cherry and raspberry. 

These are all pretty good actually. Each one tastes like their respective fruit, helped along enormously by the juice. The banana and cherry are a little bit off, but the peach and raspberry are particularly good. So yes, these are juicy by name, and juicy by nature. The flavours do wear off after a little while, but they're good while they last. I actually prefer these to the regular Goldbears, good choices of fruit flavours that are pretty well done.

My rating: 4/5

Friday, 15 December 2017

Today's Review: Trying To Write A Review While Very Drunk

I've had a few tipple too many, and I'm on my mobile outside a toilet. I have no idea what to say, nor the capacity to do so. You should count yourself lucky that this is still legible. Merry Christmas everyone. I mean, it's 10 days away, but it's best to be prepared, right? Well, there's only so much I can write while mobile and I toxicated. This isn't th best review I've done, but it might not be the worst. Still, writing reviews while drunk at a Christmas party is not the best method.

My rating: 1/5

Thursday, 14 December 2017

Today's Review: Pic's Smooth Peanut Butter


The peanut butter market seems to be expanding lately, with imports and fancier jars turning up on shelves. A new addition at Tesco is this jar made from Australian Hi-Oleic peanuts, whatever that means. I've always had something of an aversion to crunchy peanut butter, so I went for the smooth jar, which still promised me it was "really good".

I know oil separation is natural for jars of peanut butter, it's no different here, but it's something of a problem. I tried mixing the stuff up, but it's still pretty sloppy, and it makes a bit of a mess. So not the best start, but once it's spread across some bread it's still good to go. It's a pretty nice peanut butter, not particularly sweet, since it's just peanuts and salt, but it tastes natural, and definitely has a bold peanut flavour. It is quite sticky, which I don't find too appealing. So some good points, some bad, I wouldn't rank this among my favourites, but it's not too bad. Not one for those with arachibutyrophobia. There's a word of the day for you.

My rating: 3/5

Wednesday, 13 December 2017

Today's Review: Wilko Maple & Sea Salt Fudge


Excuse that bright flash there, I took this in the cinema, before abruptly opening and devouring the contents. Yes, Wilko are offering some upmarket looking fudge, crafted in Harrogate of all places. Maple seems a pretty good flavour to chuck into some fudge, and it's implemented pretty well here. A lovely sweet taste that's very reminiscent of maple syrup, and the salt is at a very nice level, bringing out the flavours even more. The texture of the fudge itself is a little weird, a bit crumbly, and slightly gritty, but it seemed to get better as I chewed my way through. This stuff tastes good, especially for a box of fudge that's a mere £1.50. Check it out.

My rating: 4/5

Tuesday, 12 December 2017

Today's Review: Magnum Salted Caramel


I have no idea how long these have been out, but I'm sure I've never seen salted caramel Magnums around before. No big bold "NEW" on the packaging though, so I almost skipped over these. Apparently salted caramel Magnums have been around for a while, but with caramel swirls in vanilla ice cream, while this has a salted caramel flavour ice cream. Whatever the differences, the title alone was enough for me to grab a box.

It's not as elaborate as the Double Magnums that have come out recently, but this is a very decent go at a salted caramel flavour. The ice cream is smooth and uniformly flavoured, a sweet caramel with a definite salty hint, more salted than a lot of products I see carrying the name. The chocolate coating is as good as always, and the two elements work nicely together, the saltiness helps to bring out all the flavours. The caramel could have been a little stronger I suppose, an extra caramel swirl wouldn't have gone amiss, but this is a very good addition to the already massive Magnum range.

My rating: 4/5

Monday, 11 December 2017

Today's Review: Hoola Hooch


The snow's been coming down thick and fast, so what better time to review this tropical themed alco-pop? This has probably been out for a while, but it was something I picked up while I was trying to find something new in the corner shop. I remember Hooch causing a lot of controversy when it first hit the shelves, but now everyone's doing it, so I guess they needed to make a new flavour to step up their game. So enter Hoola Hooch, a mango and passion fruit alcoholic drink. I'm all about the mango and passion fruit, and this has the added bonus of getting you drunk (well, ever so slightly sozzled. If you drink the entire bottle.)

Yes, it's not particularly strong stuff, and yes, it's a little on the sickly side, but on the whole, this is a nice sweet beverage with a great fruity flavour. The alcohol is barely noticeable, and it's pretty refreshing, so it's a lot more palatable than swigging vodka from a bottle. If I were still in the alco-pop game, I'd definitely be stocking up on these in time for Christmas. For those who are partial to a bit of WKD, give this a whirl. It's good stuff.

My rating: 4/5

Sunday, 10 December 2017

Today's Review: Asda Turkey & Cranberry Pasty


Even those who grab a quick pasty along with their Asda shop get to choose a little bit of Christmas cheer, just look at this one, featuring turkey and cranberry. Sure, this may not sound as luxurious as a turkey dinner, but you can eat this one with one hand, doing whatever it is you do when you eat a pasty. Now, this isn't just turkey and cranberry, the turkey itself is in a "herby sauce", which sounds nice, and is I suppose, but it dwarfs all the cranberry in there. That's even if there is any in there, I thought I tasted a fruity hint from time to time, but it's mostly just like your average chicken pasty, but with turkey instead of chicken obviously. It's not bad, the turkey is nice enough for a cheap pasty, but I came for the cranberry, and only got a smidge, so I left disappointed. If you're looking for festive fun in the pastry aisle, this probably won't fulfil your needs.

My rating: 2/5

Saturday, 9 December 2017

Today's Review: Virgil's Root Beer


Another day, another root beer. I said in my review of the Virgil's Black Cherry Cream Soda that I'd try out their root beer, and now I have. It's in the pretty pricey range of £1.70 per bottle in the Tesco American section, but I figured it was worth it given how good the cream soda was. Turns out they make a damn good root beer too. It has that bold, fresh, distinctive root beer flavour, and doesn't seem watered down like a few of the others I've tried. It's a nice smooth experience, definitely refreshing, and packed full of flavour, with a clean, natural taste that ranks this pretty highly in my hierarchy of root beers. I hope this sticks around for a while, it's some good stuff.

My rating: 5/5



Friday, 8 December 2017

Today's Review: Go Ahead! Crunchy Dippers Salted Caramel


Continuing on the healthy snack food theme, I picked up these Crunchy Dippers a little while back. They're basically like Dairylea Dunkers, but a sweet version, with mini bread sticks that you can scoop up a sweet dip with. These also come in coconut flavour, but I figured I'd tackle the salted caramel first. 

This is a pretty decent little snack. I say little, because it is little, there's not a whole lot going on, but for a quick hunger fix it's pretty good. The bread sticks, if not more abundant, could have been a little thicker, a few of them snapped as I was trying to scoop. But they're good enough. The dip is a nice sweet little number, definitely tastes of caramel, and I even managed to pick up the salt, which was nice. I would say it's a little thick, maybe I should blame the dip for my broke bread sticks after all, a smoother salted caramel would have made this all the better. As it is though, it's a decent little snack that tastes naughtier than it is. 

My rating: 4/5

Thursday, 7 December 2017

Today's Review: Activia Grains & Nuts Walnut & Oats


I thought all the healthy products came out in the new year, but it looks like some people are getting their stuff on the shelves before Christmas is even here. Just look at these yoghurt pots, look how many healthy buzz words there are. Bio live! Cultures! Grains! Oats! Fibre! These pots promise "a new tasty breakfast experience", and if there's one thing I can't get enough of, it's breakfast experiences. You can probably tell from the name of the thing, but this is basically a yoghurt with walnuts and oats in.

I know I seem cynical from that first paragraph, but this is actually damn good stuff. The yoghurt is thick and creamy, and while it isn't quite as sweet as I normally like my yoghurt, the stuff mixed in helped to keep my interest. There's a fairly substantial amount of oats and nut pieces in there, not so much that it dwarfs the yoghurt, but the flavours are definitely there, and all mixed together gives a great texture, and despite how small the pots are, they're pretty filling. I wouldn't say this would satisfy you more than a bowl of Weetos, but it's a pretty delicious, healthy breakfast fix that should fill you up in the morning.

My rating: 4/5

Wednesday, 6 December 2017

Today's Review: KFC Festive Fries


Pretty much every fast food joint changes up their burgers from time to time, but most of them just leave their fries as they are. Not KFC though, they've given their fries the Original Recipe treatment before, and now they've brought out a new seasoning for the Christmas period. It consists of onion, garlic, herbs and "smoky" seasoning sprinkled on top of your good old KFC fries.

I'm all for a bit of a change up with the fries, and these are actually pretty great. The onion and garlic are both noticeable, and there's a certain smokiness to the whole thing, nothing major, and not exactly the main event, but it's nice to taste a few different flavours chucked in here. The blend of garlic, onion and herbs give it that little bit of a festive kick, almost like there's been a ball of stuffing mixed in there. I would say, however, that the flavouring clumps together in a few places, especially at the bottom of the box. That doesn't stop the fries themselves tasting good, but they can be a little bland in some places due to the spread of the seasoning. Still, a very festive offering that will spice up your winter chicken fix. Keep on tinkering with the fries, guys.

My rating: 4/5

Tuesday, 5 December 2017

Today's Review: Ooola Secrets Chocolate And Raspberry Mousse


Ooola la. We all like a fancy mousse, right? I'm not exactly sure how to pronounce this one, am I meant to spend a set amount of seconds saying each "o"? Anyway, this is a set of three fancy little mousses, containing chocolate and raspberry, with a smattering of chocolate chips. I was thinking the chocolate chips were the secret, despite them being clearly advertised. But it turns out the entirety of the mousses themselves are the secret, if you wish them to be. You see, you could share them, or keep them secret. At a price of £2.40 for three small pots, you're damn right I'll keep them all to myself (I got these at half price). 

It wouldn't be hard to keep these secret, they're tiny. But, as is my motto, it's not the size, it's what you do with it that counts. Crammed in each pot is a decent portion of raspberry, 21% in fact. Swirled in with the chocolate mousse, it's fairly good, although I wouldn't say the mousse is the best. It's a little dark, and the tartness of the raspberries takes over a bit. The mousse and puree combination gives it a bit of an odd texture too. Slight problems on their own, but all mixed together it gives a bit of a messy experience overall. The chocolate chips are good, a little bit of crunch in an otherwise smooth mousse, so these are good for a little indulgent treat. Don't think I'll be paying full price for them though.

My rating: 3/5

Monday, 4 December 2017

Today's Review: Tesco Ham Hock & Spiced Orange Chutney Sandwich


Christmas sandwiches don't seem to be as big a deal this year as they have been previously, so I've sort of skimmed over them this time around. But today I found myself picking up a meal deal, so I figured I'd give a festive offering a go. Here we have a ham hock & spiced orange chutney, a far cry from the chocolate and cherry mascarpone Tesco had a couple of years back, but a little different nonetheless.

What a disappointing sandwich. I love a bit of ham hock, but it's not particularly well represented here. There are some sizeable chunks I guess, but there's really not enough to make this a substantial lunchtime offering, it even seems dwarfed by the leaves that only seem to be there to provide a bit of crunch. The chutney is completely overpowering, a not particularly nice orange flavour that dominates everything else, leaving only a bit of meatiness coming through. A complete imbalance, and the chutney isn't even all that spiced, just tastes like a bit of gone off orange. This hardly filled me with Christmas cheer.

My rating: 1/5

Sunday, 3 December 2017

Today's Review: Müller Light Rhubarb Crumble & Custard


Here's a quick review of this crumble flavoured Müller Light I picked up earlier today. I love a bit of rhubarb crumble, so it's nice to know that when I lose all my teeth I'll still be able to enjoy it. As long as I lose all my teeth in the next month or so, since this is limited edition...

Rhubarb crumble and custard, this is supposed to taste like, and I'll give them the rhubarb and custard. There's a nice fruity, tart taste, with a smooth custard-like undertone. But I didn't detect any crumble. That always seems to be the way with these crumble or muffin flavoured things, the fruit is there, but the bready element is not. I know it's not the Müller Light way, but a smattering of crumble bits could have made all the difference. As it is, this is a fairly decent attempt at a rhubarb and custard yoghurt, but I was expecting so much more.

My rating: 3/5

Saturday, 2 December 2017

Today's Review: Juicy Drop Taffy


Here's an interesting little pack of sweets I picked up from the Co-Op, it seems they're always coming up with new ways to get you to consume sour, unhealthy fluids, at least this one doesn't suggest you spraying it directly into your mouth. This is Juicy Drop Taffy, which comes with a tube of sour strawberry gel, which you can squeeze onto the provided pieces of blue raspberry flavoured taffy. Taffy is basically a chewy sweet, for those not down with the lingo.


Look at that, it's got that appetising appearance of... Blu-Tac. To be fair, the flavour isn't far off either. Not that I've eaten Blu-Tac, but this stuff is rather bland, just a hint of blue raspberry that's lost in the overly chewy chew. The stuff in the tube is better, a more flavourful strawberry offering that isn't particularly sour, but does have a bit of a kick to it. It's thick, somewhat plentiful, and definitely bad for your teeth. You can get quite a bit on each piece of taffy, so there's no danger of running out, but the whole thing of unwrapping individual chews and meticulously squirting on the sour gel is just too much faff for not much reward. A bland chew with some slightly sour stuff on top, there are far better things out there.

My rating: 2/5

Friday, 1 December 2017

Today's Review: Müller Corner Christmas Bakery Edition


Yes, the Christmas yoghurts have hit the shelves, and here we have a "Christmas Bakery Edition" from Müller. This corner contains not one, but two different things to dump in your yoghurt. The Christmas bakery is quite apt with the tiny gingerbread men, but I'm not exactly sure what the chocolate balls are meant to represent. But hey, it's chocolate, it can't be bad.

The vanilla flavour yoghurt is a bit of a bland choice, even though it's good vanilla yoghurt. I'm not entirely sure what I'd like to see in place of it, so I guess I can't moan too much. It means the attention is focused on the gingerbread men, and they're really good. Despite their tiny size, they pack a lot of flavour, a nice authentic gingerbread that adds a nice bit of heat. The chocolate is there to add a bit of sweetness, but I think I would have preferred pure gingerbread, the balls don't really add much to the overall flavour. This is a pretty good festive yoghurt, although there could have been more of a focus on adding in some proper festive bits.

My rating: 4/5