Today's Review: Burger King Bacon King

There's no Burger King in my home town anymore, so whenever I visit anywhere else with a Burger King, I just have to pay a visit. Normally I'm caught between having my all time favourite Bacon Double XL, or the special burger of the moment. Thankfully this time I didn't have to choose, as the main feature is a variation on that classic. This is the Bacon King, which is essentially a Bacon Double XL but with eight slices of bacon. Didn't take much more than that to persuade me. Also, it's loaded up with ketchup and mayonnaise, which seemed an odd combination, but I was all game.

Seeing as the Bacon Double XL is one of my all time favourite burgers, this would have had to do something very wrong for me to give it anything less than a perfect score. But as you know, bacon makes everything better, and increasing the count to eight slices just increases that meaty goodness. The original Bacon Double doesn't come with sauce, but I always load it up with ketchup, so that wasn't a big surprise. I was wondering how the mayo would fare, but it turns out it's all good, the combination of sauce and meaty goodness, alongside that gooey American cheese, makes for one amazing burger. It might set you back a few quid, but with the Bacon King, you're in for a treat. Even when this is off the menu, I might go in and add on more bacon so I can have it my way.

My rating: 5/5

Today's Review: White Chocolate M&Ms

I found an import sweet shop while I was out and about today, and the selection on offer was pretty staggering, there was a lot of stuff that even I haven't tried. I was like a kid in a candy store. Among my many purchases were these white chocolate M&Ms, which I've never even heard of, let alone seen, so they were pretty much the first thing in my basket. It's a fairly sizeable pack, which is share size, but we all know that's only a suggestion.

So yeah, basically these are like chocolate M&Ms, but with white chocolate instead of the milk stuff. But there's nothing basic about these. They're pretty big, I'd say they're on par with the Crispy M&Ms, falling just short of peanut size. The stuff inside is pretty great, a nice creamy white chocolate, that's almost on the same level as Milkybar. The crispy shell gives it that same satisfying crunch as always, and I'd say the experience is extremely close to those Milkybar mini eggs you get around Easter, and that's only a good thing. These are some sizeable M&Ms with a satisfying crispy shell and a good quality white chocolate. You can't go wrong with these, I suggest you track them down.

My rating: 5/5

Today's Review: Starburst Chewing Gum

I have no idea how long this stuff's been around, but I saw it staring at me by the till in the corner shop, and I had to grab it. After all, impulse purchases are sometimes some of the best. Unfortunately, it's not the case with this. I was expecting something like Juicy Fruit but with that signature Starburst flavour, but what I got was a vaguely fruity, but also slightly minty, stick of gum. Not very juicy, somewhat devoid of flavour, and what is there isn't much good. This is a blemish on the good name of Starburst, avoid this and pick up some chews instead.

My rating: 1/5

Today's Review: Peter Rabbit

It's time for Peter Rabbit to get the cinematic treatment, and to be honest I'm surprised it hasn't been done sooner, the first story came out 106 years ago, after all. But hey, we've finally made it, a Peter Rabbit movie, featuring James Corden as the titular bunny, which I'm sure will sound like a dream to some and a nightmare to others. I'm guessing this was developed hot off the tail (no pun intended) of Paddington to cash in on some of that old school success. Still, Paddington, and its sequel, are absolutely charming, so I held out some hope that this would be decent.

So Peter Rabbit is a rabbit, and Peter and his rabbit family like to break into Mr. McGregor's garden to steal his vegetables. That's the gist of the original story, and it's very much the gist of this film. To be fair, they've padded it out quite a bit with various escapades and a bit of characterisation, but in the end it doesn't amount to much more than a Wile E. Coyote style back-and-forth garden warfare picture.

So yes, Peter Rabbit is quite thin on plot, but it does make up for it some way with its charm. The animals are all beautifully rendered, and there are some decent laugh-worthy moments, with some nicely choreographed action sequences. The characters themselves are a little one-dimensional, but I did find myself chuckling at quite a few of the jokes and visual gags that cropped up throughout. I mean, there's a lot of them, so I was bound to find some of them funny, but some of them do miss the mark. 

Cast-wise, I can't say this is anything special, James Corden is just plain old James Corden, he's not as annoying as you might be expecting, and he does a decent job as the lead. Otherwise, everyone else is passable. Basically, Peter Rabbit is just very middle of the road. Nice to look at, with a few good laughs thrown in, but not particularly fleshed out. A decent enough family film, but it's not a patch on Paddington.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: White Nose Hairs

I've lamented the overgrowth of my nose hairs before, as while I understand the benefit of having nose hairs, they definitely have no business growing so long that they stick out of my nose. But in the years since, they seem to have become even more of a problem. I'll admit, I'm not as young as I used to be, there are a few grey hairs to be found atop my head. But that's nothing compared to the lack of colour displayed by my errant nose hairs.

Why are some of them pure white? It isn't enough that they grow so long that they stick out, now they're so easily noticeable that one glance in my general direction is enough for people to clock them. I was expecting to have to partake in routine hair maintenance as I aged, but not to this extent. Nose hairs have no business being white, at least until the rest of my hair is.

My rating: 0/5

Today's Review: Halo Top Peanut Butter Cup

This Halo Top stuff has caused quite a stir since it landed in shops, mainly because you can eat an entire tub in one go and not feel too guilty about it. I mean, I can polish off a whole pint of Ben & Jerry's, and while it's totally amazing, the regret isn't too far behind. But look at this stuff, 320 calories for the entire tub, and it's peanut butter flavoured! So what's the catch?

Well, there are a few sweeteners shoved in there, but none that are overly controversial (not yet anyway). There's a fair amount of erythritol,but aside from that the main ingredients are what you'd expect to find in ice cream. But I'm not going to ramble on about the composition, not when I can talk about the flavour, and it's pretty great. It's a pretty authentic peanut butter ice cream, a bold peanut flavour with a lovely creamy texture. It's not the greatest straight out of the freezer, it's a little hard and gets much better when it's softened up, but they know that already as it says so on the tub, so I can't be too harsh on them for that. Basically, this is a bit like eating peanut butter out of the jar, but much more healthy and socially acceptable. Sure, it can be a little on the watery side once it's softened up enough, but the peanut butter flavour is pretty top notch, and I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another tub. A great little tub of almost guilt-free ice cream, I'll definitely be trying the other flavours.

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Ham & Cheese Pringles

After trying out the jalapeño Pringles the other day, I had to go back and pick up this other flavour, especially since they're now both half price at Tesco. This may not have piqued my interest as much as a spicy can of Pringles, but with that nice little picture of a toastie on there I couldn't help but be tempted.

I'm glad I went for the jalapeño first, these are alright, but they're not exactly a good balance of ham and cheese. The ham is at the forefront, and is pretty strong, and while it's not exactly authentic it's a pretty nice flavour. I can't say the cheese is overly noticeable, so this is more of a plain old ham, but there is a little something in there that gives it a bit of a different flavour. A very porky can of Pringles though, so if you're into that then pick them up. I don't think I'll take the plunge again, they're pretty average.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Popchips Ridges Buffalo Ranch

Popchips Ridges are pretty great, I'm a big fan of the Crazy Hot flavour, so as soon as I saw these I had to grab them. I love a good buffalo wing flavoured snack, and this one offered ranch to boot. An all American flavour, but how does it translate to chip form?

Thankfully there's less focus on chicken here, and more on the spice. These things are pretty hot, not crazily so, but they pack a decent spice that builds up fairly quickly. The ranch is there to take the edge off, it's a slight cool kick that adds a nice extra bit of flavour. As per usual, the popping method makes for a cleaner tasting chip, with no mess on the fingers. All the spice is attached to the surface, and the ridges make for more nooks and crannies for the flavour to get into. A pretty great bag with a unique flavour as far as crisps go. Well worth picking up.

My rating: 5/5

Today's Review: Mikado Intense Pointe De Sel

I've never really gotten into Mikado, mostly because of some snobbish belief that they're a cheap copy of the Japanese Pocky, but also because they come in quite generic flavours. It looks like they're getting fancy now though, just look at that packaging! It's all French, they didn't even bother localising the text, I assume because it makes it look more high market. So yes, these are some "intense" Mikado, with "pointe de sel" translating to "pinch of salt". So basically, these are pretzel sticks covered with dark chocolate with some salt thrown in for good measure.

I'm all for a bit of salt in chocolate, it helps to kick up the flavour a notch, and it does taste fancier. I think these guys took "pinch of salt" a bit literally though, there's some in here, but it's nothing substantial. That being said, it's hard to get a measure of how good the chocolate is, because it's a relatively thin coating on an otherwise fairly bland pretzel stick. What's there is good, but it's not enough to satisfy my taste buds, especially when they're expecting some sort of finesse. Fancy by name, mediocre by nature. 

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Magnum Chocolate & Hazelnut Praline

Another day, another Magnum. Well, this is one I hadn't tried before, I have no idea how new it is. But I couldn't resist the call of chocolate and hazelnut in Magnum form. Here we have chocolate hazelnut ice cream, coated in more chocolate with more hazelnuts embedded in it. So basically, it's a bit nuts. Also quite chocolatey.

This is a good Magnum. I'm glad when they try something other than the classic vanilla ice cream, because they normally do it very well. I'm looking at you, pink raspberry. This is cream is smooth and creamy, with a rich chocolate tone and a great nutty flavour mixed in. Almost Nutella-like in a way. On top you've got your classic a Magnum chocolate, which has a lot of satisfying crunch packed in, adding to the overall hazelnut flavour. It's a great balance that makes this a pretty perfect Magnum. Another great addition to the range.

My rating: 5/5

Today's Review: Cadbury Flake Cupcakes

Not content with Cadbury bars, bites, eggs, biscuits, doughnuts, yoghurts, ice creams, puddings and spreads? Well, now you can get them in cake form. Wait, you can already get Cadbury cakes and cake bars, we need to be more specific. Cupcakes. You can now get Cadbury cupcakes. They come in three varieties, available in platter form, but I only managed to find this two pack during my last shop. So while the Crunchie and Caramel cupcakes elude my grasp, I can tell you all about the Flake ones.

Sounds like I picked the most boring of the three. While the others include honeycomb and caramel flavours, this is a chocolate cupcake, with chocolate frosting, topped with a mini Flake. So basically a whole load of chocolate, which isn't bad, but it's nothing exciting. The sponge is decent, chocolatey and moist, and the frosting has a nice thick consistency, so they did a decent enough job. I will say though, these things are small. I could probably fit a whole one in my mouth if I tried, and for £1 a cupcake I wouldn't say it's worth it. Nice cakes, but they're not overly exciting, and only really worth it if they're on offer. I hope the other ones win me over.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Jalapeño Pringles

There are a couple of new Pringles flavours hitting the shelves, and while the ham and cheese looked mighty interesting, I couldn't resist my addiction to spice, so I picked up this can of jalapeño flavour. Spicy Pringles aren't a new thing, but I figured these would pack more heat than paprika or sweet chilli. 

These aren't going to blow your head off, but they do have a very decent amount of spice to them. It builds up quite slowly, but reaches a pretty satisfying level, it has a nice little smokiness to it as well. There's not much more to it than that, but hey, they're spicy Pringles, and they're a good addition to the range. I'll be sure to go back and try out that ham and cheese too.

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Monster Pipeline Punch

I wish all new products were as easy to spot as this one. Stepping into my local corner shop, I found this shocking pink can staring right at me. "Pick me," it cried, "pick me and imbibe my energy!" It didn't need to go to all that effort, I had every intention of picking it up anyway. So what is "Pipeline Punch"? Well, it's a combination of passion fruit, orange and guava, with that Monster energy blend mixed in to kick it up a notch. So basically it's a tropical flavoured Monster. I guess the pink makes sense then, but why is it so bright?

One sip was all I needed to find out why. It's a fruity drink, sure, but it's very sweet, and while the individual fruits can be picked out, all mixed together I have to say it tastes pretty much like the colour pink, and a bright one at that. Thankfully it's not bad, it's not sickly in a syrupy way, they've just gone a little overboard with the flavours. This can has a totally tropical taste, and is pretty refreshing, with a good little burst of energy packed in as well. Not perfect, but a pretty good can. I'd say look out for it, but I don't think you'll be able to miss it.

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Jammie Dodgers Lemon Twist

More tenuously linked Easter products are popping up by the day, here we have a new Jammie Dodger variety, with lemon jam! Or is it lemon curd? I don't know, I threw the packet away. Either way, they're lemon flavoured, and I'm not sure there's much more to say about them. So let's just say, they're good. Really good, actually, they have the classic Jammie Dodger biscuit, with a smooth, tart lemon flavoured jam in the centre. It's very flavoursome, and I dare say I might even prefer these to the originals. A great mix of sweet and bitter that makes for an awesome biscuit. Grab a pack, quick!

My rating: 5/5

Today's Review: Sainsbury's Hot Cross Bun Latte

I do love a novelty latte, and we're seeing more pop up depending on the season. Now Easter is coming around, and you can head into the Sainsbury's cafe for a hot cross bun themed coffee. The picture there probably doesn't look too appealing, unless you're aiming to do the cinnamon challenge, there is indeed a lot of seasoning on there to give it that hot cross bun look. But I simply stirred it all together and dove in.

As per the amount of cinnamon there, this latte does have a decent amount of spice to it, which is what you'd expect in a hot cross bun coffee. There is a little too much I think, but it is mitigated by the milk, and there's actually a pretty nice hint of fruitiness in the syrup that is reminiscent of raisins. This is a pretty decent latte that definitely provides a bit of an Easter experience. Worth trying out while it's around.

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Chee Zees

I don't know if these are Chee Zees or Cheezees, but I'll assume they're separate words due to the packaging. I picked up this bag in Tesco, in the American food section, for a very cheap 60p. I was hoping they'd be similar to Cheetos, and thankfully they are. In particular, they taste a lot like Crunchy Cheetos, which are my favourite kind of Cheetos. This bag contains some fairly sizeable, nobbly crunchy sticks that pack a lovely bold, cheesy flavour. 

I tried to differentiate how they were different from the big brand, but without a side by side comparison, I must say that I was pretty blown away by these. I mean, Crunchy Cheetos are available in the UK now, so these will set you back more, but I think the tiny bags of Cheetos you get here have disappointingly thin sticks, while the Chee Zees are satisfyingly thick, much like the massive bags of Cheetos you can pick up in the US. So this is a great way to get that cheesy, crunchy fix without breaking the bank. They even leave that telltale dust all over your fingers, it's an authentic Cheeto experience for a fraction of the price.

My rating: 5/5

Today's Review: Mr. Kipling Unicorn Slices

Yeah, I bought unicorn slices, big whoop, wanna fight about it? I picked these up not only because they looked interesting, but because my daughter is really into unicorns right now. That's only a good thing, because you can get anything in a unicorn theme at the moment, and these slices are just the icing on the cake... on the cake? Anyway, these cake slices aren't so much unicorn-like as rainbow-coloured, but since rainbows and unicorns seem to go hand in hand I guess it all makes sense somehow.

There's really not much to say about these, they're pretty much just a shameless cash in on the unicorn craze. Essentially they're angel slices, but with different colours. They're not even that rainbow-themed, just a mix of pink, purple and yellow. Clearly they know what they're doing with the branding, because my daughter ate these up, quite literally. But I see through your sham, Mr. Kipling. You could have at least have added something in marshmallow or candy floss flavoured. I guess they could have as much to do with unicorns as anything else. But no, just repackaged angel slices, and they're slightly smaller too! What a cheek. Maybe pick up a box for the unicorn enthusiast in your life, but I don't think they're worth it.

My rating: 1/5

Today's Review: Barratt Sour Bon Bons

Here's a quick review of this bag I grabbed in Poundland, and seeing as I like both bon bons and sour sweets, I had some high expectations. These come in four fruity flavours, you've got lemon, apple, cherry and raspberry (which is blue, obviously). To be fair, they are quite sour upon the first taste, but unfortunately it fades once the initial coating has been licked off. What's underneath is fairly decent, quite chewy, and packing a fair amount of fruity flavour. The cherry and raspberry are good, but the others seem to trail off after a few good chews. This is sort of a mixed bag, everything is okay, but I know that they could have done better. Maybe a bit more variety, a bit more flavouring, and definitely some more sour stuff chucked in there, and these could have been great. Worth trying for £1, but don't expect too much.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Snacks 101 Sriracha Popcorn

Spicy popcorn is a fairly new thing, but I've tried out a few over the last few years. Here we have a bag from Snacks 101, which is apparently the first baked popcorn, made with coconut oil, and only 49 calories per cup! How healthy! But blurb aside, how does the stuff taste?

This popcorn is a little weird, the texture isn't all that great, I'll put it down to the baked element, and I guess the coconut oil. It's a little soft, and when I think of great popcorn I imagine that satisfying crunch. It's not overly sweet either, which I guess is what contributes to the low calorie count. Still, what starts out as a bland popcorn does get better when the sriracha kicks in. It's a slow burn that takes some time to build up, but by the end there was a satisfying level of heat, not too intense, but a fairly nice experience. That spice saves what would have been an otherwise disappointing bag. This may be the world's first baked popcorn, but it makes me wonder if baked popcorn is really necessary.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Cadbury Dairy Milk Popping Candy Bunny

Chocolate bunnies are a staple at Easter now, and while you can't beat a good old Lindt bunny, Dairy Milk is always a good thing to have on hand. This year you can pick up not only a bunny made out of Dairy Milk, but one that has popping candy thrown in for good measure. Popping candy in chocolate greatly appeals to me, though I'm not entirely sure why, it's often somewhat muted from being embedded in dairy goodness. Still, I couldn't help but grab one of these bunnies.

Well, it's all a bit underwhelming really. This bunny is made of Dairy Milk, which is nice, but it's so thin it's not really that satisfying. Good chocolate, sure, but we all know it tastes better when it's thicker. The popping candy is somewhat generously smattered throughout, but the pops aren't particularly strong, they're mostly lacklustre, with a few good ones occurring after the first chew. But all in all, this is a good idea with poor execution. There's just not enough chocolate here to make a substantial treat, and the popping candy isn't the best quality. Certainly edible, but nothing special.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Sharing Plates Of Vegetables In Restaurants

I'll openly admit, I am not a fine diner. I visit far more fast food joints and cut price chain pubs than those with more character and class, though it's not through lack of desire. It's more an issue of money, or lack thereof. Sure, occasionally I go out for a nice meal, and the food is normally pretty great. But what I can't abide is going to a fancy place, ordering a roast dinner, and being presented with a plate of vegetables to share between two or more people.

The roast dinner I had today cost £14, but still I was expected to dig into a communal vegetable pot instead of having my own private collection on my plate. It makes me uneasy. I have to ensure I take the correct amount, and the right proportion of each vegetable. If I take too much, I'll seem greedy and selfish. If I take too little, everyone else may be obliged to take too little, and you end up with wasted vegetables. It's just a stressor that I don't expect when I'm just going out for a nice Sunday roast.

I get there may be reasons behind the separate vegetables, but I don't see how any of them are that important. If you must separate the veg, at least give me my own private portion. Even if it's an issue of some people not wanting their vegetables saturated with gravy, at least put the vegetables on the plate and serve the gravy on its own. But still individually, mind, I find sharing a jug of gravy even more stressful than sharing a plate of vegetables.

My rating: 0/5

Today's Review: Cadbury Mini Stars

I picked up this box of Cadbury biscuits in Poundland. I have no idea how long they've been around, I hadn't heard anything about them until I found them tucked away in the corner. But hey, some of the best things come as a surprise. These are Mini Stars, which are small packets of biscuits, with a milk centre and a chocolate topping. Perfect for lunchboxes, some may say, but I just saw them as a good opportunity to eat a tasty treat.

These things are small, but they're pretty good. You get six per pack, which is pretty generous, and they're good quality biscuits, reminiscent of shortbread, although a little on the dry side. Thankfully the filling is there to alleviate that, there's a decent layer of chocolate that gives that Cadbury experience, while the milk centre underneath is light and creamy. It all blends together to make a very decent biscuit. Great for kids' lunches, and very nice for a snack. Worth looking out for.

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Lay's Nori Seaweed

I found this interesting little bag of Lay's in my local Asian supermarket. they're flavoured like the seaweed you get wrapped around pieces of sushi. Oddly specific, only going for the wrap rather than the stuff inside, but it was definitely far enough out there for me to grab the bag straight away. So basically, these aren't particularly flavoursome, they're satisfyingly salty, with a definite hint of something seaweed-like. I wasn't a fan at first, though it grew on me, providing a semblance of a sushi experience, though not enough to make them particularly good. An interesting attempt at a flavour, to be sure, but this is a pretty average bag. I'd be interested to see which other flavours of Lay's hail from Asia.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Honey Monster Oat Puffs

Sugar Puffs underwent a bit of a re-branding last year, and as such dropped the "Sugar" out of the name entirely, which was reflected in the disappointing, flavourless lumps of wheat that sullied the good name of the Honey Monster. Well, I found this box in Poundland that are like those "Honey Monster Puffs", but made with oats instead of wheat, and because I like my disappointment to be complete and all-encompassing, I figured I'd give them a go.

Well, there you have it, odd, brown, shrivelled puffs that look like rejects from a peanut sorting machine, or maybe like some fancy driveway gravel. It's also reflected in the taste, there's a very slight hint of honey, but mostly it's like being promised a nice sugary breakfast treat, before being greeted with a bowl of plain oatmeal. Not that there's anything wrong with oatmeal, but don't dress it up to be some delicious honey-filled treat when it's actually a bland, stripped down variety of a once-beloved breakfast cereal. You can change the grain, but you can't ease the pain. It doesn't matter which box of Honey Monster Puffs you choose, the result is the same.

My rating: 1/5 

Today's Review: Bobby's Chilli & Cherry Popping Candy

Here's a quick review of an interesting little pack of popping candy I picked up at the Co-Op. Cherry popping candy is something I can definitely get on board with, but the thought of a chilli flavoured one was both intriguing and a little scary. Thankfully, my curiosity was met with satisfaction. There's something about this spicy popping candy that works. There aren't too many crystals that pack the heat, resulting in some mouthfuls that are pretty tame, and some unlucky ones that have quite a kick to them, but the spice doesn't get uncomfortably hot. The cherry is a pretty nice, authentic offering that offers a bold fruity base on top of which comes a surprisingly satisfying spice. Check this one out, a very cheap and interesting little pocket money snack.

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Sweet Petites Chocolate Creamy Flurries

I tried out, and was pretty disappointed by, the Creamy Flurries I found in Poundland the other day. They're off brand Twinkies, which are a good price in comparison, worse tasting. But since I'm not really a fan of the original Twinkies anyway, I figured I'd return to Poundland and pick up the chocolate variety of these cream filled cakey treats. Everything's better with chocolate, right?

Actually, yes, that is right. While I was let down by the firmness of the sponge and the texture of the cream in the regular batch, I have to say these chocolate Flurries are pretty good. It's not the most authentic chocolate taste, but the sponge is nice and soft, and the flavour kicks it up a notch to make it significantly less boring than its vanilla counterpart. The cream is pretty good too, soft and smooth, and it blends in well with the sponge. These are a lot closer to the official Twinkies than the regular sponge variety, so if you're looking for off brand Twinkies I recommend these ones.

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Lay's Sweet Chilli Bugles

Bugle have made a triumphant return to the UK recently. Well, I say trumphant, but I'm not a huge fan, they taste too much like corn and not enough like the flavours they're meant to be. So having passed up the UK versions for a while, I couldn't resist when I saw this bag of Lay's in Poundland, an import that boasts a sweet chilli flavour. I'm a bit of a chilli fiend, so I was hoping these wouldn't disappoint me. Unfortunately they did. The heat is almost non-existent, they're pretty much just crunchy corn husks with a drab drizzle of flavouring. So I guess Bugles are universally disappointing. Give me some chips that burn through my tongue any day, these are just bad.

My rating: 1/5

Today's Review: Kit Kat Senses

Kit Kats are getting rather posh, now you can get a selection of small Kit Kat pieces, individually wrapped, in a fancy box. These Senses come in three flavours, and you can either grab a box containing one, or this convenient one which combines all three. These new Senses consist of hazelnut, double chocolate and salted caramel, which all sounded pretty good to me.

Unlike the differently flavoured chocolate that you'll find in other varieties of Kit Kat, these ones contain an extra layer on top of the wafer. As such they're pretty decadent little pieces, with rich sauces and ganache with crunchy bits thrown in. The hazelnut is very nutty indeed, very creamy with hazelnut chunks. The double chocolate is especially chocolatey, a thick creamy layer with cocoa nib pieces that kick it up yet another level. My absolute favourite is the salted caramel, with its smooth, sweet layer that actually has a great salty kick to it, it really unleashes the flavour and gives a fantastic after taste. But yeah, these are all great, some great new flavours presented in a pretty fancy way, great for sharing, if you don't eat them all yourself.

My rating: 5/5

Today's Review: Naipo Shiatsu Back, Neck & Shoulder Massager

The good folks at Naipo sent me this massager to try out a little while back, and it was extremely difficult to say no, since my back and shoulders ache a lot of the time. I've tried out Naipo's pillow massager before, but this one seemed more geared towards getting right into those shoulder and neck crevices, so I was pretty excited to try it out.

Basically, the massager itself consists of two sets of rolling nodes, which change rotation direction every minute while it's switched on. Those long straps there are for putting your arms in, allowing you to position and hold down the massager on the area you want, with the amount of pressure you desire. This is a welcome change from the pillow massager, which was just dependent on how hard you lean on it, although it is a bit awkward sticking your arms through the straps, I'd say it's a pretty decent way to emulate what being a T-Rex was like, while getting a massage. Still, it's pretty easy to change position and pull down with your hands to provide more pressure, so it's a decent trade off for a more precise massage.

Here's the main control panel, situated on one of the straps. It offers a lot more options than the pillow massager, in a very intuitive way. You can change the rotation of the nodes whenever you like, so you don't have to wait for the automatic minute change to kick in. You can also turn the heat on and off to your preference, though I don't see why anyone would want to turn it off, it's nice and toasty. Finally, the bottom button changes the speed of the rotation, ranging from a gentle to a pretty damn intense rub. The range of options is pretty great, but with where the panel is situated on the strap, it is a bit of a pain to change the settings while you've got your arms in the straps.

This is a very decent massager with a lot of great options, and it also comes with a car charger, so you can get that massage on the go. I'd suggest not sticking your arms through the straps while driving though, I imagine a T-Rex wouldn't do well at steering. Maybe this is one for the passenger seat. So yes, a lovely piece of kit, that gets right into those tricky aching areas. I've been using it quite a lot, and it provides a good amount of relief. The guys at Naipo have given me a voucher code to share with you guys, so you can get 10% off if you want to buy this massager. Just use the code LWDUJGW5 at checkout.

My rating: 4/5

Buy the Naipo Shiatsu Back, Neck & Shoulder Massager here

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Today's Review: Sweet Petites Creamy Flurries

 

Twinkies have become more available in the UK in recent years, but despite some good competition they're still relatively overpriced, what with all the importing and whatnot. Twinkies are something of a cultural phenomenon, although I don't see what all the fuss is about. I find them pretty average, the cake isn't particularly great, and the cream is not as delectable as it looks. I mean, they're okay, but I'm not gonna pay loads for them. Thankfully Poundland are here to help, now stocking these Twinkie look-a-likes, a box of which will only set you back, you guessed it, £1! But how do they stack up against the cream filled cake giants?

Well, that doesn't look right. It's a good colour for a loaf of bread, but it's not the shade I expect a soft, golden cake to be. In essence, these are like slightly burned Twinkies, they're not particularly soft, but the cake is edible at least. The cream inside is firmer than in the official ones, but there's a decent amount of it, and it tastes alright for a cake that essentially costs 20p. Seeing as I'm not a big fan of Twinkies anyway, these Creamy Flurries may be a downgrade, but they're not all that bad. Clearly inferior to the original, and not exactly a fantastic treat, but if you're really into Twinkies yet strapped for case, you might want to give these a try.

My rating: 2/5

Today's Review: Pop Works Strawberry Cheesecake Popcorn

It's good to see the popcorn craze isn't entirely dead. Pop Works have come out with a range of new flavours, from ones drizzled with chocolate to these glazed ones. Here we have strawberry cheesecake popcorn, and I'm all for eating cheesecake in different forms, it saves carrying a fork around everywhere. Maybe I'll have to for the time being though, while this is a fairly decent popcorn, it's not particularly cheesecake-like. The strawberry is there, light and sweet, and there's a creamy taste behind it, but it's quite over the top, and not exactly reminiscent of that oh-so-wonderful cheesecake cheese. But, these are some good quality kernels, and the glaze provides a satisfying crunch. As a strawberry popcorn it's pretty great, but as a strawberry cheesecake popcorn, it's pretty average. I'm still intrigued to try the other flavours though.

My rating: 3/5