Bissli Falafel

Gosh, another falafel-flavored snack?

The Attraction

Over the last several weeks, my pal Grace has heard me complain about not being able to find any new and interesting snacks to review. She then took it upon herself to hook me up with some new and interesting snacks so I would shut up. Well played, bud.

The Review:
I've previously reviewed a Kosher snack, Zetov Bamba, last year, but I didn't really think about sampling more kosher snacks until this bag of falafel flavored crispy things were presented to me. Falafel flavor, really?

In case you haven't tasted a falafel before, it's a fried ball made up of ground up chick peas and fava beans. It can be served in a pita with usually some lettuce, tomato and some hummus.

I enjoy falafel quite a bit, I probably even have a falafel sandwich once a month during my lunch break, but a falafel flavored snack wasn't really on my snacking wish list. However, now that its here, I am curious as to how this sucker would taste.

I look like fried worms!

The bag opens and immediately the smell of falafel fills the air. It's amazing how similiar the smell is to the actual thing. I take a peek in and these snacks look like curly fried potato strips. I pickup a small handful and pop it into my mouth. As I bite down, the crunch is serious. It's not jaw breaking, but it's a nice, serious crunch. As the smell would have indicated, it also taste remarkably like a falafel. These snacks do a incredible job of capturing the fried flavor of a falafel along with the crispy fried exterior of one.

I pack a flavor punch

The Sweet:
Genuine falafel flavor and crunch

The Bitter:
You won't find this at the corner bodega or Walgreens

Conclusion:
It's not everyday you have a hankering for a falafel..or at least not for me, but these Bissli Falafel snacks are so tasty that even if you weren't thinking about it, it pleases that savory, crunchy snack itch. This even more so if you are a falafel fan.

Though not the most readily available snack in town, these crispy critters are highly addicting.

Video of the Week 

Party like a rock star...sorta

My friend Chris is getting hitched this week. She and her future husband decided to forgo the pomp and circumstances of a lavish wedding and kept it simple. The one thing I won't miss is the possibility of a photo booth at the wedding. Over the years, this has become a bit too cliche for me.....but alas there is a new variation....the Slow Motion Booth. (Congrats to Neil and Chris!)

Chips Ahoy Brownie filled Cookies

Am I a brownie or a cookie?

The Attraction

Look up in the sky, it's a cookie, it's a brownie, no it's Chips Ahoy Brownie filled cookie! Taking two fan favorites and combining them can only make one incredible item, right? Umm...I'll be the judge of that. This sounds too good to be true.

The Review:
I've had my eyes on these for awhile. Chips Ahoy has been making some varieties of their cookie masterpiece for several years now. I even reviewed their peanut butter chocolate chip cookie not too long ago. The difference this time is that instead of adding something different into the cookie recipe, they are building their cookie around a brownie center.....whoooaaaa. It's like a cookie version of a turducken, if you will.

I'm like a transformer; first a cookie...

I take a good look at a cookie and from the outside there is no indication of the madness that lies within. If you were to mix this into a regular batch of chewy Chips Ahoy cookies, I don't know if you would be able to distinguish them other than it's slightly larger size. Maybe you would think you just hit the cookie lottery and have a giant cookie from the batch.

I do the obligatory cookie split in order to see what's under the hood. Sure enough, there's what appears to be a brownie inside. It sure smells like it too.

I take one half of my cookie and indulge. The first wave is the unmistakable chocolate chip cookie flavor that you get from a Chips Ahoy cookie, but as you continue to chew, the flavor is quickly overwhelmed by the brownie flavor filling on the inside.

Yes, you have the chocolate chip outside and the filling does capture the brownie taste on the inside, but mixed together, there was a odd flavor I didn't expect as a result, it tasted salty. Perhaps it was the sweetness of the brownie contrasting against the chocolate chip cloak that brought out the saltiness in the cookie batter. It was odd tasting until the brownie sweetness eventually washed away the saltiness.

..then boom! A brownie

The Sweet:
Can't decide which cheat snack to have? You have 2 in one cookie!

The Bitter:
Never really blended well.

Conclusion:
I'm sure when the folks over at Nabisco cooked up this idea, it sounded amazing and to a degree, it still does. The actual execution and the end result leaves much to be desired. I don't think it's anything Nabisco can really fix. It's just too much going on to really enjoy one or the other.

What makes a brownie really great is all the little nuisances that come along with it; the gooey / moist nature, the crispy crust on top and in some cases, the crunch of walnuts mixed in to add to the contrast. What Chips Ahoy did here was take the flavor of a brownie and made it into a cookie, but at the cost of all those delicious little nuisances. The end result tastes like having a moderately-sized bite of Chips Ahoy Chewy Chocolate Chip cookie in your mouth and then taking a nibble of a lackluster brownie at the end.

These are two iconic snacks. Mixing them only takes away space from each other to take their rightful place to shine on the snack center stage on their own.

Video of the Week 

Want sweaty palms? Watch this.

Sergey Devlyashov is a crazy Russian mofo that has built up a reputation for free climbing high and scary stuff. As if climbing them weren't enough, in some cases he takes it a step further and does some crazy stuff while on top of said scary high structures. In this case, he's on a crane and has some bungee cord. A regular bungee jump would be too boring / safe.

Lotte Toppoki Snack

That's one big mouth dog

The Attraction

Maybe it was the red shiny dog on the outside of the packaging or it was the unusual amount of hits I got from people checking these dukbokki snacks I previously reviewed. Anyway, I thought it was fine time to try see what a spicy version of what that snack might taste like. 

The Review:
I must apologize; I know I've been doing a lot of Asian snacks lately, but it's been awhile since I found a snack that caught my interest at the local supermarket. (I can see my friend Gabby's eyes roll as she sees this product. I'll work harder to throw some more diversity to my snack reviews, OK, damnit?!

I open this bag and immediately there is a sweet / fried smell creeping out of the bag. It's almost as subtle as that shiny red dog on the outside. I take a peek inside and I see these "chips' that look like mini-churros or penne. Interesting. hopefully they taste like dry, uncooked pasta.

I pick a lucky toppoki from the bag and give it a bite. There is a nice crunch and as expected, there is a sweet flavor that comes through first and at the very end...a slight spiciness.

Pasta time

"What!? That's it?! That's the 'Crazy' heat indicated on the outside of the bag?!"

I must have become the Superman of spicy snacks if that was considered spicy. I plop down in front of my computer and start to form my review while continuing to munch on these snacks.....next thing I notice is about 7-10 pieces later the heat has built to the point where I'm starting to salivate a good amount. That is what is tricky about the spicy-sweet combo....sometimes it just sneaks up on.

The heat seems to build steadily at about 10% increments until it gets to the point where your brain finally tells you, "Hey, this is sorta spicy, homey"

I'm a hottie (when I'm with my friends)

The Sweet:
Great snack if you like a sweet / spicy mix

The Bitter:
Need to string a bunch of these together to start feeling the Bern, burn.

Conclusion:
If the heat you were getting from the other Korean style snacks like this wasn't doing it for you, start munching on a few of these and it's only a matter of time before your mouth starts sweating. It's actually remarkably similiar tasting to other dukbokki / toppoki snacks, but this item punches up the heat about twice that of other similiar products I have tried.....all doing it while it's slightly sweet flavor gives you a false sense of security. This is like that date you meet on Craigslist that joins you for dinner, have great conversation with, only to have them ruffie you and take your watch later; it's stealthy, but good.

Video of the Week 

How quickly can we get to Shanghai?

Now, I don't know the movie Tron terribly well, however, the visuals are quite memorable. That's why without even seeing the movie or it's sequel, I would consider flying to Shanghai to check out this ride in the Disneyland over there. That and check out it's skyline and eat like a beast. Did I mention the food?

Yamayoshi Hokkaido Rich Butter Potato Chips

 Hokkaido butter better than "regular" butter?

The Attraction

For awhile there, a post of mine that received a lot of traffic was a very early review I did of a D-Plus Hokkiado Cream bun. I'm not sure why, but it was up there in hits for awhile. Out of curiosity, I wondered if people out there just had a fascination with Hokkaido cream or anything related to Hokkaido. Now is my chance to find out.

The Review:
Aside from this experiment to see how much interest another Hokkaido flavored product would generate, this snack didn't jump out at me. I've already gone through my honey-butter phase (Calbee, Haitai, Calbee and Haitai), and although these chips don't advertise honey, they certainly let you know it's all about the butter...Hokkaido butter to be exact.

What's the big deal, you say? Apparently it is in Japan. Don't believe me, see here.

So with that pretext in mind, I was now super curious to see what these chips were about. Was it about the fans of butter in Japan or is this just a late comer to the S. Korean "butter" fad of last year?

Looks like regular chips

I open the bag of chips and there is no distinguishable scent or odor that presents itself. Perhaps a slight buttery smell, but hardly enough to notice. Like the other chips I mentioned earlier, these chips are not as oily as American made potato chips seem to be.

Chip meets mouth and it's a very casual affair. If not for the advertised flavor on the bag, it would not be clear what flavor exactly would these chips be. It's neither savory nor sweet or rather it's both, but subtly at the same time. The "Hokkaido butter" flavor of these chips does not grab you by the hand and says, "Lets dance!", but it prefers to talk to you while it slowly bobs it's head and the next thing you know you are surrounding by other people on the dance floor bouncing to the music.

In this case, I think adding "Hokkaido" to the butter description, is for marketing purposes as Hokkaido doesn't seem to create butter than has any substantial distinguishable flavor difference from conventional butter. I liken it to saying, "Wisconsin Cheese". So much for a new "flavor".

I'm no clearer what Hokkaido butter is

The Sweet:
Subtle sweet /savory flavor interplay.

The Bitter:
Maybe too subtle for snack lovers that like a definitive savory stance

Conclusion:
I can now see why / how the "honey" aspect of the honey-butter craze of recent memory was an important addition. It pushed those products closer to the sweet side and it set the expectation that the snacks would have some "sweet" elements to it. These Yamayoshi Hokkaido Rich Butter Potato Chips without the added honey are more agnostic in it's flavor. Like butter itself, it doesn't firmly set its foot down as savory or sweet, but rather it seems to thrive happily living somewhere in the middle.

Video of the Week 

This is not at all what I imagined it would be like

You like rice, I like rice, over half the world loves eating rice....but did you ever stop to think about how it's grown? Those poor ladies in the muddy fields slowly planting each rice plant by hand, day after day, all day long while the blazing sun is shining down upon them. Well, you are living in another century like I was, my friend. Welcome to the new world. Stay awhile.

Kasugai Pineapple Gummy Candy

 Can the Japanese improve upon another idea?

The Attraction

Last week I reviewed gummies from a company originating from Germany. It got me thinking, what would a Japanese version of gummy candy taste like? Let's see!

The Review:
OK, ok, so I have to 'fess up. It's not like I've never had Japanese gummy candy before. I've had several Kasugai gummy flavors prior to this review, but I've never put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) to write a review about it. Sure there are other tasty flavors available, but I have never tried the pineapple flavor, so I thought this review should at least be about a flavor I've not had prior.

I open the packaging and peer inside to see all the gummies individually wrapped. I have mixed feelings about this. It's not environmentally friendly and in my mind, if it means less product in the bag, then I can forego the double-freshness factor.

Seriously hygienic, for the OCD crowd

Oddly enough, when I open the bag, there's a strong scent of plastic or glue. Almost like Shrinky Dinks from back in the day. That was off-putting, but I must solder on in the name of snack review.

I pickup a gummy, unwrap it and give it a gentle squeeze. It already feels less firm than the Haribo variety, which is neither good nor bad. I take a whiff and there is a slight pineapple scent. I take a bite and the gummy gives way fairly easily. If biting into a Haribo cola gummy requires 8 out of 10 gummy bite strength, these pineapple gummies require about 6 out of 10 on the same scale. Flavor-wise, it's a relatively mild compared to dried pineapple itself. Best of all, as with many Japanese snacks, it's not too sweet.

It's healthy because it looks like a

dried apricot, right?

The Sweet:
Nice soft gummy texture with a mild pineapple taste.

The Bitter:
If you like a "gummier" snack, you may find that these yield too easily to your bite. Should be for a pineapple flavor fan.

Conclusion:
If you are a gummy fan, you will enjoy this snack.You will also have to be a fan of the taste of pineapple also. It's not necessarily on everyone's top 3 favorite fruit flavors. Even with that, it didn't take much time to make short work of the remaining gummies in the bag. If you really want to make a bag of gummies disappear, try the Mango, Grape or Lychee flavors.

Video of the Week 

Cause we all need to do our part

In case you haven't figured this out, I'm a fan of food, so when I heard there was a pizzeria that started making a pizza box made out of pizza, I was intrigued. The only question now is how will you keep your pizza pizza-box warm? Build another pizza box...and then so on and so forth....( I hope you really like pizza).