Haitai Calbee Honey Butter Chip

I'll be home for Christmas!

The Attraction

Does any avid reader of this blog really need the reason as to why I'm reviewing this baby? For those of you that aren't, these are the original snack chips that started the Honey Butter craze in S. Korea. (Here's a summary). The time......has come.

The Review:
I've been searching high and low in the Korean markets around here in the New York area to see if I could locate a bag of these chips to complete my snack trifecta as I have previously have reviewed Haitai's version of the chip, Honey Tong Tong and Calbee's version of the Honey Butter Chips. I really needed to review the original and collaborative version between the two snack manufacturers to reach a final verdict. Although I've struck out here in the States, this is where my pal Hayley comes in to save the day.

She was heading over to S. Korea to visit her family and said she would hook me up if she came across it. In my mind, I had imagined my poor friend Hayley going to every store in S. Korea looking for these chips, striking back alley deals to get the next shipment, rerouting delivery trucks, etc. Unfortunately, it wasn't anything as dramatic as that. She said she walked into a convenience store and there they were. OK, not as cloak and dagger as I had hoped, but I really appreciate her getting me these. Thanks Hayley!

After snapping a few of the obligatory photos, I carefully tear open the bag to see what these K-Pop stars were going crazy about. As I open the bag, like the other two competitors, the smell of butter and sweetness comes pouring out. Ah...it's all coming back to me; that time when I reviewed those other honey butter chip offerings, but will these taste THAT different? Let's not waste another moment...

I pickup a chip and take a bite.

The sweetness of the honey starts the ride, but as the sweetness hits a crescendo, the slight saltiness of the butter slices through the sugar and brings the flavor back down to earth as the flavor ride draws to a close. It leaves your mouth and mind wanting to have another one to see if what just happened was real. Usually most snacks go the savory or sweet route exclusively, but these honey butter chips throw a curve ball with it's unique and roller-coaster like flavor combination. OK, maybe I'll have a couple more to be sure.

Go towards the light!

The Sweet:

Great sweet and savory mix, both very subtle.

The Bitter:
Can't seem to be able to get these in the States.

Could this possibly live up to the hype?

Conclusion:
Do these live up to the hype? I really don't think any snack can after getting so much publicity in Asia, but these are tasty. It's very unique in it's flavor profile and I can certainly see why people would be a fan; whereas many snacks play it straight, either savory or sweet, these Honey Butter chips are schizophrenic and keeps your taste buds off-balance.

As to how these original Honey Butter Chips compare to the solo efforts from Haitai and Calbee, it seems like the perfect compromise between the two snack makers. After having all three products, I would guess that the flavor of these original Honey Butter chips are from Haitai's recipe as it seems very similar in their refined flavor and not as strong as Calbee's version. The chip or the method of applying the flavor onto the chip maybe Calbee's contribution to this joint effort, as Haitai's snack vessel to distribute their solo Honey Butter flavor is a thicker, triangular shrimp-like chip, as opposed to Calbee's conventional and more streamlined potato chip.

This is all speculation, by the way, but it certainly sounds a lot more poetic this way, doesn't it?

Like Jagger / Richards and Lennon / McCartney, some collaborations are just magical and are so special because jointly they could accomplish what they just could not do so alone. So is the case with these Haitai / Calbee Honey Butter Chips. Haitai is the Ying to Calbee's Yang, and although individually they can create great products, sometimes, even in the snack world, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Video Website of the Week
As the year draws to a close, this week I will be sharing Noisey's 50 Best Albums of the year. Other than listening to #3, I can't say I've heard of any of the other albums. Perhaps it'll only be a matter of time before I tell kids to "keep that racket down" and that music now is "crap" compared to when I was a kid. Oh, how cruel Father time can be...

You know you are old when you've
heard of only four of the artist on the list

Kit Kat Sweet Potato

As if Kit Kats couldn't get any better

The Attraction:

Kit Kat...ding! Kit Kat new imported flavor....ding, ding! Kit Kat imported sweet potato flavor...ding, ding, ding!

The Review:
As far as I'm concerned, Kit Kat already has street cred with me. I've tried a larger Kit Kat with peanut butter and Kit Kat Green Tea and although I liked one more than the other, neither was a disappointment. I've seen a few other flavors of Kit Kat and passed on them, primarily because of cost, (about $8.00 a bag!) but when I saw these new sweet potato flavored ones, I just could not imagine what on earth this thing would taste like. Well, yes, sweet potato, of course, but within the context of Kit Kat, I had no clue how it would be incorporated into that brand. Let's not dilly dally anymore, shall we?

I open the bag and find these small, individually wrapped packs of Kit Kats. They are about half the size of a regular Kit Kat. I pay $8 a bag and get half the size? Do most people that buy these charge them on a credit card or do they just take gold bouillon?

I unwrap the "mini" Kit Kat and smell a familiar sweet smell that I can't quite pinpoint. Is it custard? Taro? Oh, I guess it's sweet potato. Hehe

I take a bite and the sweetness is intense, but then the source of the smell comes bearing down upon you like a freight train. It's not just sweet potato, it's a baked sweet potato like just out of the oven! Actually, it's more like a baked sweet potato on steroids because it's stronger than any sweet potato I've ever had. Take the sweetest baked sweet potato you've ever had and multiple that times 4. That's what this flavor was like. It's as subtle as Donald Trump during a political debate.

Quadruple the cost, half the size.

Got to love capitalism 

The Sweet:

Miraculously captures the essence and flavor of a baked sweet potato.

The Bitter:
It's pretty sweet, but the bigger crime is the cost. At $8 a bag, you might have to sell some internal organs to support this habit.

Was that worth it?

Conclusion:
In addition to Kit Kat introducing this new and interesting flavor, they also encourage you to stick one in the oven to really recreate the baked potato experience. Talking about going all the way with something.

I must say, I'm pretty floored as to how spot-on their flavor recreation was and I would encourage everyone to try it because it's so accurate, but for the price point, I don't know if I could consistently afford to put this sucker in my cart. Maybe if my supermarket took lay-away, but I digress.

I wouldn't be honest if I said price wasn't a concern, but I could potentially work past that. However when you tack on the over the top sweetness along with the pain in my wallet, well that's 1-2 combination that would send this snack down for the count for good.

Video of the Week
With Star Wars: The Force Awakens just released this past weekend, how come we not acknowledge it somehow? Over at Vice, they went to a NY Jedi School to attend a lightsaber class. Yes, that's what I said, a lightsaber class. Surprisingly, there are some attractive women in this class, so fellas, who needs Tinder when you can swipe right into this class?

Jedi School AKA, the singles dating pool

Pringles Bacon

Did someone say "bacon"?

The Attraction:

As part of my recent trip to Walmart, I saw this "exclusive flavor" just for Walmart. Even though it's new to me, it's not that unusual as Walmart also had a similar to deal with ice cream makers Ben and Jerry. Perhaps I'll write about that in another review, but for now, I got bacon on the brain.

The Review:
What is it about the word "bacon" that catches my eye? This year I've tried a Maple Bacon flavored product, a Bacon Mac and Cheese potato chip and lastly a Bacon Cheddar popcorn. Why not just try a straight up bacon flavor? Thank goodness Pringles saved me from having to search near and far for such a snack.

I "pop the top" off the can and peel back the seal. A smoky, innocuous scent comes drifting out. Not too aggressive; that's a good sign.

I pick up a chip and contemplate if I should shove the whole chip in my mouth or try to act semi-human and take a bite. My mother would be proud as to the route I took on this one.

As I crunch into the chip, the saltiness is the first thing to strike me. There's a reason it doesn't say "low in sodium" on the outside of this can. Whoa momma!

After that shot of salt subsides, the smoke and subtle cured flavor come in to talk me off the ledge.

"Hey, buddy. You are going to be just fine.", they console me.

"We are going to make it all better".

And you know what? They do.

Pringles stack: A person with OCDs dream come true

The Sweet:

Great smoky flavor without feeling like you licked an ash tray.

The Bitter:
Not exactly shy with the salt on this one. I'm not sure bacon was the flavor that came to mind.

I was considering  Photoshopping that chip back in...

Conclusion:
I wouldn't say these particularly taste like bacon to me, but they certainly do taste good, even with the amount of saltiness that comes screaming through. Pringles is one of those snack brands that I have begun to trust. Other than some of the sweet flavors, I haven't encountered a flavor that I didn't think was at least "OK". In the case of Pringles Bacon, it's more than just OK.

Video of the Week
Recently there has been a bunch of "challenges" making their rounds around the 'net. Many of which involve food like the Bean Boozled challenge. Here's a good example of why I don't take these challenges.

Be warned; this doesn't end well

Snack update Coming on Sunday 12.21

Hi SneakASnack fans! I'm a bit behind, but there will be snack update on Sunday. Please check back then for my next snack review. Thanks for stopping by and keep on snacking!

Yummy Star Magic Cookies Chocolate Flavor

I may have the snack selection
process of a 12 year old

The Attraction:

I normally don't go for snacks that are seemingly geared towards kids, well except for this. However, something about this packaging was begging me to try it. Maybe it reminded me of Riska Sittori Ichigo and since that was such a favorable experience, maybe this could be like the chocolate version of that snack.

The Review:
I have mixed feelings when I see snacks with very little English on them. Part of me is annoyed as I can't determine what the snack is suppose to taste like, yet the other part of me is intrigued and curious as to what the snack actually is. In this case, the only thing I understood on the front of this snack's bag was "Yummy Star". OK, time to flip this thing over and see if there are any more clues on the other side.

"Magic cookies- chocolate flavor" says the label on the back that also list the ingredients. "Magic?". What exactly makes these things magical? Something inside? Is the flavor magical? You win again, language-I-can't-read-packaging.

I open the bag and the poof of chocolate smell that comes out is of that like a chocolate flavored cereal such as Coco Puffs or Count Chocula. Smells like my childhood.

I pick up a star, which is about an inch in diameter. The star itself feels light and airy. Next, time to take a bite. I dig in and get a gentle crunch, if that's possible. The flavor is very much like the chocolate-flavored cereals I mentioned earlier, but the texture seems familiar also. It's not quite as hard as cereal. It's actually like a cheese ball or Cheez Doodles Puffed, but still not as crunchy. I'm so used to that texture being associated with a savory snack, it takes some time to change that neuro-association. I'll guess I'll have to have some more...

Looks like giant deformed Cherrios

The Sweet:

Reminiscent of a chocolate flavored cereal

The Bitter:
I'm not quite used to the paring of something sweet with a cheese ball-like texture

Familiar things paired in unfamiliar ways

Conclusion:
These Yummy Stars were like an emotional roller coaster. Apparently there wasn't anything particularly magical about these stars, yet they are tasty and offer up chocolate-flavored bits delivered in a slightly crunchy, but mouth-friendly package. As yummy as these stars are, they don't deliver a memorable enough performance to warrant a return engagement to my snack stage.

Video of the Week
In parts of China, women who are over the ripe old age of 27 and not married are called, "Leftover Women". I think in the States these same women would be called, "Normal-working-women-that-have-a-life". Anyway, in some extreme cases, parents with children that are still single have taken it upon themselves to "assist" their children by meeting at local parks called "Wedding Markets" to help expedite the matchmaking process. In many cases, the singles do not know their parents are doing this. (and you thought your parents were annoying when they told you to eat your vegetables).

This video digs deeper into the root causes of what may create this perception.

Maybe my meddling matchmaking ways are in my genes.

Snyder's of Hanover Hot Buffalo Wing

Rest in Pieces

The Attraction:

I don't hit Walmarts very often, but when I do, I usually see snacks there that I don't see in my usual supermarket. Last week, I came across a few products that I have never seen, like this one. I recently reviewed another Snyder's of Hanover product, Peanut Butter Pretzel Sandwich and was so pleased with that item, I was receptive to try another snack of theirs.

The Review:
As of late, I've been snacking my way through a bunch of products that have tried to emulate "animal" based foods such as Pringles Tangy Buffalo Wing, Kettle Brand Maple Bacon Chips, and Lay's Cheddar Bacon Mac and Cheese. Some did a better job than others, but I was convinced that these snacks would never be able to get over the texture chasm of eating an animal based protein no matter how crunchy or thick the chip was. That feeling is just too hard to emulate. With that said, I went into this with an open mind, but with low expectations.

I tear open the bag and a stand back for the scent to hit me...and it eventually does. The smell of a vinegar-based spice is very buffalo-wingesque to me, and these certainly deliver that much. I take a look into the bag and see the pieces in which these pretzels come in. After pulling several pieces out and examining them closely, it's obvious why these are in pieces; the seasoning that are applied won't stick to the pretzels outer shell, but will stick to the interior, non-baked sides of the pretzel. Brilliant idea and it makes total sense, but it takes some getting used to. You can't help but feel like someone has stomped on your bag of pretzels and you are left to literally pick up the pieces. I digress; enough of the science of this snack, we need to know how does it taste!

I pop in a few pretzel shards into my mouth and suddenly things get very familiar. The saltiness of the pretzel, the spice and alkaline flavor from the buffalo wing seasoning all bring to mind a night out with friends at the local watering hole with your favorite beverage in hand. The flavor is unmistakable and remarkably on target. What is even more astonishing is how well it works with pretzels. The hard multiple crunches needed to polish off a pretzel does a good job of tricking your mind into thinking it's chewing something more than just a carbohydrate with seasoning to make it taste like something else. The pretzel just makes it far more satisfying somehow.

On the heat-o-meter, this rates pretty mild. You won't be pouring water on your face to put out the flames, but it moves the needle.

Looks like the USPS handled these

The Sweet:

Great hot buffalo wing flavor. As close as the real thing I've had.

The Bitter:
Still takes some getting used to eating pieces of pretzels. It's almost like eating discounted snacks.

They got the color just about right

Conclusion:
One of my biggest gripes with these savory snacks that try to mimic actual "meat" products is the texture issue. It doesn't quite seem right because typically it's difficult to capture that mouth-feel of an animal product, but when you toss in the flavor you usually associate with such a dish and the texture and density of a pretzel, it is the surprising convincing. Short of carrying a buffalo wing in your pocket, this is as close as you are going to get to having the real thing in a snack form.

Video Rant of the Week
Usually I like to share an interesting video that I've come across that perhaps my readers would be interested in watching. This week, I'm doing the opposite. I'm posting a video that I absolutely hate. (and I hope my readers avoid)

Last week, there was a new trailer released for the upcoming "Superman Vs Batman: Dawn of Justice" movie. I was really excited to check it out, but when I did, I was extremely disappointed.

Why you may ask?

They reveal too much in the damn trailer!

Now, if you haven't seen the trailer, please avoid it if you plan to see the movie next year, cause I sure wish I did. Actually, I hate this trailer so much, I might avoid seeing the movie altogether to spite it.

Without going into too much detail, from the trailer you can sort out parts of the battle between Superman and Batman, why and approximately when they stop fighting each other, the origin of one of the villains, and when another superhero officially makes an appearance with them. I feel like I've actually seen the movie already. Arghh! I'm so angry just writing this.

If you must.....youtube it. I won't link it here.

Meito Donut Party Chocolate

What will await me inside?

The Attraction:

There are a several words in my life that you chain together that will get my attention. Some examples are "Free hot pizza", "Large buttered popcorn" and "Tall Asian librarian". With the exception of that last one, they all relate to food, so when I was in the Asian grocery a few weeks back and saw this curious and festive looking package, I wondered what it was. I had to turn it over to read the translation: "Donut Party Chocolate". Ding.

The Review:
I haven't been this excited to try a snack in awhile. I thought to myself, "What on earth could this be?" I know what donuts are and I know what chocolate is, but are these mini-donuts that are all chocolate flavored or are they donut-flavored chocolates? Well, anyway, whatever the sequence may be, I don't think it can be bad.

I gently open the bag to ensure I don't disturb the "party" going on inside and peer in to see a bag of individually wrapped "donuts" with faces on them. Cute touch, but still, what the heck are these things? I do see that there are several flavors like strawberry, chestnut, banana, cookies and cream and chocolate.

It's almost like they were sleeping

As I take a few out for my customary photo op, I look closer and see that these are pieces of chocolate. OK, one questioned solved, but many more come pouring into my mind; do these chocolates actually taste like donuts with their advertised flavor? Are there any baked tidbits inside the chocolates themselves? Are these just donut-shaped chocolates in a variety of flavors?

This all can be easily solved.

I unwrap a strawberry flavored looking "donut" and take a bite. Yeah, I quickly get the answer to all my questions. These are essentially flavored chocolates. I like the different flavor choices you have, but this snack doesn't introduce anything new flavor-wise, although it's quite a unique presentation. Within the chocolate itself, there are these little bits of wafers to add some texture contrast, but primarily, it's composed of chocolate.

They even have faces on them!

The Sweet:

Cute presentation and idea. Multiple flavors add some variety.

The Bitter:
This was more like a chocolate social than a donut party. The only thing donut-like is the shape.

This don't taste like no donut!

Conclusion:
Half the fun of this product was trying to figure out what it was exactly...and unfortunately when you do, it's nothing really new. I can see how the presentation would be great for kids and the idea is really cute, but just on the premise of a being a snack, it's nothing innovative. It's like a lot less biscuit version of a Pocky and also a lot less of a party than I was hoping for.

Video of the Week
I don't know much about rugby and I know even less about Tongan culture, but last week rugby great Jonah Lomu passed away. Aside from how abrupt his passing was, what was notable was how beautiful of a send off his friends and family gave him. It provided some insight into the richness of Tongan and Maorian culture.

A warrior's send off

Kettle Brand Buffalo Bleu Potato Chips

It must be fancy if it's spelt "Bleu"

The Attraction:

Sandwiches go together with chips like PB +J, burger and fries, and Batman and Robin, so when it was lunchtime recently at work, I had to pair up my sandwich with something. That's when she walked in through the "out" door (out door)

The Review:
I was a bit apprehensive with this bag of chips after I tried one of Kettle Brand's other products, Maple Bacon Potato Chips. It wasn't awful, but it didn't set my world on fire from it's snack goodness. I decided to give this another go with a new flavor.

I open the bag and wait for any amazing snack smells to greet me. They did not this time, so I leaned in and got a good hint of a barbecue chip aroma. I was surprised as the flavor "Buffalo Bleu" seems to suggest buffalo chicken wings with bleu cheese, but the smell was more just plain bbq. Well, it's only a smell.

"..but what about the taste, Paul?"

I take a bite out of one of those hefty chips that are almost identical to the ones I had in the Thick and Bold Carolina BBQ flavor chips. Taste-wise, think traditional barbecue potato chips a bit more on the vinegary side with some heat towards the end and some cheese flavor thrown in to boot. Not bad, but not enough to really burn a snack hole in my soul. I can't say at any point I thought it tasted like Buffalo Wings with Bleu cheese.

-

A crinkle cut tunnel

The Sweet:

Subtly spicy bbqesque flavor built into a crunchy potato chip 

The Bitter:
Maybe I'm not built to like crinkle cut chips...

Taco shells aren't this rigid

Conclusion:
The flavor itself is interesting. It sort of feels like a mashup of a bunch of traditional potato chip flavors; the sweetness and smokiness of a barbecue chip, the cheese flavor of a cheddar chip, and the slight heat of a...well, a spicy chip. In my mind, I thought this would be what Ruffles All Dressed Up was supposed to be. Although intriguing flavor-wise, the thicker crinkle cut of the chip was the final straw. I'm just not a fan of a thick crinkle cut chip, which unfortunately also makes me not a fan of these Kettle Brand Buffalo Bleu chips.

Video of the Week
I had a few choices this week, but I decided to go with a sweet story of how a man raised a gorilla for years, released him back into the wild and then tracked him back down some time after that to see how the gorilla was doing. It may only be a matter of time before Disney or Pixar picks up the option for this story.

"Hello. It's me.

I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet"

Marukin Muffin Cake

There was some signs of moisture in this package,
but it was still good. How is that possible?

The Attraction:

I love baked goods and I usually enjoy Japanese snacks, so when I came across a Japanese muffin, it was like trying to tell Pepe Le Pew not to pursue that black cat with white paint on the back. Who can be THAT strong?

The Review:
I have very little doubt this won't be at least OK at the minimum. I can't think of a Japanese pastry that I have tried that has really disappointed me. Let's hope that streak doesn't end now!

I open the package of four and am quickly welcomed with the smell of sweet vanilla. Actually, it reminded me of Tortuga Rum Cakes, minus the alcohol part. I wonder if it'll be moist like a rum cake? I take a muffin out and carefully peel off the perforated wrapping on the bottom (I love the Japanese attention to detail) and take a big bite.

It not only smells like rum cake, it taste like it too! For those of you who have never been gifted a rum cake from someone on vacation or got one yourself when you were away, the cake is similar to a corn muffin, but not quite as dense. There's hints of vanilla and it's soft, light and fairly moist. These muffins are not as moist as a rum cake, but not bad considering the journey it took to get into my mouth.

This looks like the creme brulee of muffins

The Sweet:

Lightly sweetened muffins that somehow taste relatively fresh.

The Bitter:
Doesn't bring anything new to the snack world. What the hell is in this stuff that makes it last so doggone long?

Good stuff!

Conclusion:
This stuff taste good. There's no argument there, but when was the last time you had a baked good come from the other side of the world, endue however long on the grocery store shelf and another 2-3 weeks in your cubbard and not only not have mold, but still taste OK? I've bought pies from local farmer's markets that don't even last a week. What on earth must be in these muffins to have this kind of a half life?

Where it falls short here in the States is that there is nothing particularly special about these muffins compared to anything else you can get at the local bakery or grocery store. Yes, they are tasty, but you can find something comparable that is cheaper, fresher and less processed than this snack a stone throws away. Where this flavor may be more unique in Asia, it's rather pedestrian here in the USA. Now that I think about it, the flavor is probably not even that unique in Asia.

When you sit down to do the math, you'll find that although the flavor is good, it's not worth the premium you would pay both financially and processed food-wise to make this snack investment balance out.

Video of the Week
Earlier this week, the trailer for the new Marvel movie, "Captain America: Civil War" was released. After watching it another 20 times and analyzing every frame, I thought those of you living under a rock might want to check it out also.

This can't end well for someone

Smartfood Popcorn Cinnamon Brown Sugar

Pop it like it's hot

The Attraction:

While strolling the snack aisle on my work break, I came across this shiny, red bag of potential snack goodness. I love popcorn, cinnamon and brown sugar. Can this be too good to be true? 

The Review:
The good people at Smartfood have been making popcorn standards like White Cheddar and Movie Theater Butter for awhile now, but recently I've been seeing some flavors like this one sneaking into the mainstream, perhaps to slowly dip their toe into the off-the-beaten-path flavor pool like many other snack brands.

Upon opening the bag, the smell of cinnamon comes wafting out of the bag. That's a good start. I pickup a piece of popcorn and go in for the kill. There's that cinnamon flavor on the front end and it's accompanied nicely with the sweetness of the brown sugar, but it's not as sweet as I thought it would be. Maybe it could be a little sweeter. It is a bit reminiscent of a cinnamon based cereal. Before you conclude that bite, towards the end there is an interesting savory note. It's a subtle savory butter flavor. "What? Where did that come from?", I think to myself. Then the cinnamon after effects kick in and your mouth feels like you have cotton mouth . Why must cinnamon be so delicious, yet dry your mouth like this! Oddly enough, a few more pieces later, I didn't have that experience. Maybe some of the cinnamon shifted into one spot?

If you stare long enough, you will see the face
of your future spouse, if your spouse was made of popcorn

The Sweet:

The light fluffy popcorn isn't overly aggressive with it's sweetness.

The Bitter:
The cinnamon leaves your mouth feeling dry. The slightly buttery finish confused me.

"Who you calling a Cracker Jack?"

Conclusion:
I'm on the fence on this one. It's a well made product that you can tell some attention was paid to it in development. The buttery finish, the nice sized popcorn pieces, the measured amount of sweetness applied...it all points to care in a quality product. With that, it all boils down to flavor, snacking experience and my true test; would I actively pursue this snack to get more of it?  I regretfully say "Nay".

Video of the Week
Back in the day, I used to love riding roller coasters. Then one day I rode one and I had the worst headache after it. Since then, I've not been able to handle anything beyond the bumper cars. For those folks feeling a bit more frisky and just happen to be in Germany, I present to you a spinning car on a roller coaster!

Why not add some snakes while we are at it?

Riska Sittori Ichigo

I wonder what they are saying is 70g?
Strawberry flavor?

The Attraction:

It appears as though my local Asian grocery has decided to take on some new snacks from Japan. This strawberry take on something that looks like a porous stone looked too strange not to try. 

The Review:
I really wasn't sure what to expect with this snack. What I was pretty certain about is that I would encounter an exaggerated Asian strawberry flavor as seen in other snacks such as Strawberry Pocky or Strawberry Yan-Yan. Like it or not, you must come to accept that this is what strawberry flavored anything will taste like in Asian snacks.

I open the bag and before I can even take a deep inhale, the sweet smell of strawberries comes pouring out of the bag. Well, I guess that probably means the strawberry flavor will be strong enough, but what's the point of having another strawberry flavored snack on the shelf? What the heck could be so different?

I pick up a biscuit out of the bag and notice how odd these cookies look. They look somewhere between a crouton and that pumice stone you use to scrape callouses off your feet. I wonder why the odd shape? "I hope these aren't too dry", I ponder. If they are just a strawberry-flavored crouton, I'm going to hurt myself.

I take a bite and although they are crunchy, they aren't quite as dry as a crouton, but as you continue with your bite, you get a weird sensation of a small "burst" of strawberry flavor. Almost as if there was a small pocket of strawberry moisture inside. It's an odd experience and difficult to explain, but it certainly has gotten my attention now. Let me try that again...and again.

Should I eat them or exfoliate with them?

The Sweet:

Interesting and tasty "pop" of strawberry flavor

The Bitter:
Not the most natural presentation of strawberry flavor

Little pockets of strawberry goodness

Conclusion:
After downing a few of these cookies, I Google translated what "Sittori Ichigo" means and it translates to "moist strawberry" in English. Ahh...it  all makes sense now.

The taste itself is run-of-the-mill-stuff; standard artificial strawberry flavor, however where it separates itself from the crowd is that sensation of strawberry moisture, for lack of a better term. It's so unusual and unlike any other snack, you can't help but have another and another to have that "hit" of moisture again. Ingesting artificial flavors in a snack has never been so much fun!

Video of the Week
As if video games couldn't be anymore realistic, a company called Force Dynamics has products that work in conjunction with gaming consoles to create motion and the actual feeling of being in the game. Now if only I could scrape together $85K to pick one up. (Feel free to click some ads to help me move closer to that goal. I only need 8 cajillion clicks to get one)

Christmas IS just right around corner...

Kettle Brand Thick + Bold Carolina BBQ Potato Chips

Thick+Bold = Good+Tasty?

The Attraction:

I was trying to pair up a bag of chips to go with my pesto chicken sandwich when I happened upon this little beauty. Let's see if adding adjectives to a flavor actually translates to something good.

The Review:
Not too long ago, I reviewed another Kettle Brand product, Maple Bacon Chips and although it didn't rock my world, I thought it was a nice attempt to expand it's flavor horizons. I'm hoping this bbq flavor variation pans out and hits closer to the bullseye.

I open the bag and do my standard whiff test. Nothing unusual, just the smell of something fried. Unusual considering that it's a bag of bbq flavored potato chips. I would have thought for sure there would be a stronger smell of bbq, but it was not to be. "Will the flavor be weak also?", I thought to myself. Too late now, the bag is open and there's only one thing left to do.

I pull out a thick cut chip and notice that even the chip itself doesn't have that customary reddish bbq color. Admittedly, this takes some getting used to. After years of eating bbq chips with added food coloring, it's a bit odd to have bbq chips that don't have a red hue to them. It's sort of like when you first had root beer that was clear. Probably better for you, but still an adjustment just the same.

I finally take a bite and as with the maple bacon flavor chip, immediately notice the super thick crunch on this chip. This chip means business. First the smoked component hits your taste buds and it's quickly followed by a slightly sweet flash, then caps it off with a savory finish. The sweet notes aren't quite as exaggerated as other bbq chips I've had, but this simplification of the bbq flavor seems to make the experience more refined. Less cliche and more substance. The thicker Kettle chip really grounds the whole product nicely. A lighter or thinner chip may have left the flavor floating in your mouth trying to find a home.

Funny, they don't look like bbq chips?

The Sweet:

Super thick, crunchy chip with a refined taste. No artificial reddish color! Non-GMO

The Bitter:
I get why the thicker chip, but I don't know if I can do a large bag's worth of chips these thick

It's so thick, I could pour a jar of salsa on this thing
and it would just laugh at me

Conclusion:
These ain't your Daddy's bbq chips. Kettle Brand Thick and Bold Carolina BBQ chips feels like a more mature, grown-up potato chip. I can see getting tired of eating chips this thick, but with the straight-forward, no-nonsense approach Kettle Brand Chips took on with this flavor, it couldn't have been any other way. Going thinner would have felt flighty and this is not a chip to be toyed with. Although I can see an occasional visit with a small bag, ultimately the thicker cut is it's undoing. A frequent visit or a purchase of a large bag is too much of a commitment for me and my promiscuous snacking habits.

Video of the Week
I'm not sure why this guy would think of this. There are bad ideas and then there are bad ideas. A bad idea is lighting fireworks in your apartment. A bad idea is lighting fireworks and pointing them at your nipples.

I think I have a great idea on my hands... 

Nuggle

Ain't nothing like a good "Nuggle" on a cold winter's night

The Attraction:

A few weeks ago I was in a local Duane Reade stocking up on discounted Halloween candy (yes, I'm that guy) when I was walking the aisle and found this candy bar that I have never seen before. It was located in an area with other local ethnic snacks and foods, so I knew I had to give this snack a shot.

The Review:
I can't say I've seen or ever heard of Nuggle or it's manufacturer, The Charles Candy company out of San Juan, Trinidad in the West Indies, so I was really curious what this candy bar might taste like. "Any interesting ethnic flair? Will they incorporate any local flavors? Does chocolate taste the same  made in the West Indies?" were all questions I had racing in my mind when I finally got this chocolate bar home.

I quickly unwrap the chocolate bar and see that as the wrapper proclaimed, there are some serious nuts on this snack! It's like a chocolate covered Thing!

I proceed to take a bite, start to chew and realize you can't chew once without biting into a nut. This is like peanut nirvana for nut lovers! As solid of a candy bar and tasty as this is proving to be, it's also well covered ground by many snack makers previously. Don't get me wrong, it's well made; the nuts are plentiful and the chocolate isn't too sweet, but they aren't bringing anything different to the chocolate bar parade. Think of a Nuggle as a Snickers with three times the amount of nuts and minus the syrupy caramel in between. That sounds pretty good to me.

I see your Snickers and raise you a Nuggle

The Sweet:

Great nut to chocolate ratio, if you are a peanut lover like I am.

The Bitter:
Nothing really new to the snack arena

Might want run, not walk if you have a nut allergy

Conclusion:
OK, so there's nothing groundbreaking here. The tried and true recipe of chocolate and nuts strikes again. Where Nuggle differentiates itself from it's American counterparts is the amount of nuts in this thing. It's crazy. The closest thing I've had with this much peanuts in it in a commercial candy bar is Nutragaeous from Reese's. The only obvious difference between the two is the addition of peanut butter in the Nutrageous candy bar. As much as I loved Nutrageous as seen here, Nuggle is not to be taken lightly either. If loving Nuggle is wrong, I don't want to be right.

Video of the Week
You can always count on the Japanese to leave nothing sacred in the name of entertainment. In this case, it's a game show of who can hold, umm..."air" in the longest while arm wrestling. Seems like a game in which no one really wins if you asked me.

I've seen that face somewhere before

Pik-Nik Ketchup Fries

Could Ketchup fries actually be good?

The Attraction:

I was haunted or shall I say scarred recently by a snack that was ketchup flavored. I was so turned-off by the flavor, it made me wonder if the product was just so bad or was I just not a fan of ketchup flavored chips. It was time to ponder no more.

The Review:
The snack in question, were these Changheyuan Potato Chip DJ Mix that I reviewed a few months back. Not only did I not like them, I had to toss them out. I couldn't bare to share these with my co-workers as I may have been accused of trying to "poison" them with their unusual flavor.

I wasn't too excited to try another ketchup-flavored chip, but I thought I had to find out for myself what was going on with these things. Can this flavor really be popular enough were snack companies like Pik-Nik continue to produce such an item? Am I missing something? Do I have that gene where instead of cilantro tasting like soap, ketchup-flavored anything taste like poop?

I do have to say that I enjoy ketchup; I have them on hot dogs, hamburgers, sometimes eggs, hash brown and so on and so forth. It's not that I don't like ketchup. Maybe on a deep-subconscious level, I love it too much and I refuse to take any substitutions. Well, enough of the head-shrinking session. Let's get to snacking, Doctor.

I peel the seal off the canister and am greeted with a slightly fried smell. I stick my hand in and pick up a stick and toss it in my mouth. There is a hint and feel of a french fry, but an old, crushed french fry. After the initial savory flavor passes, the ketchup second course begins. It's more reserved in the presentation of the ketchup essence versus the DJ mix where they punch you in the face with it. It's not bad, but do you really want to spend hours at the gym working off a "not bad" snack?

They look like fried wonton strips in here

The Sweet:

Crispy crunch and a flavor that vaguely resembles french fries with ketchup.

The Bitter:
When I say "vaguely", I mean in a stale "I found a fry in the couch with ketchup on it and ate it" kind of a way.

..or smashed french fries here

Conclusion:
Yes, they are better than I imagined, but I still can't see myself throwing a canister of these into my cart with joy. Perhaps I'm just not a fan of "ketchup flavored" anything. In the end, I think like many things in life, there are just no substitutions for the real thing. Now how about we stop by McDonald's and move past this phase?

Video of the Week
What are a couple of guys to do when you are in Paris with a Go-Pro camera and hours on end to spare? How about sneak onto the Eiffel Tower and free climb throughout the night? That literally might be the last thing that would ever come into my mind, but thanks to these chaps, you won't need to even think about doing it anymore.

It's not that high, really (gulp!)