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"