Kev's Snack Reviews

I've become a major convert to 100% cacao dark chocolate bars recently after attempting to clean-up my diet and reduce my sugar intake. Because of this, I've been trying out different types of 100% cocoa bars from the likes of Hotel Chocolat (I previously reviewed their Saint Lucia 100% Bar) and various brands available from Chocolatiers.co.uk.

After reading this article on high cocoa chocolates by the lovely Zoe Perrett of Foodepedia recently, I decided to make it my mission to try every 100% cocoa bar I could get my hands on, and luckily Rococo were kind enough to send me one of theirs!

As usual with Rococo chocolates the packaging looks very nice indeed, with a rustic paper wrapper with various animal designs printed on it. Opening it revealed a green foil-wrapped bar, which is a rather unique colour for chocolate that works very well. So far so good - Rococo get top marks for presentation!

Removing the foil revealed a dark slab with Rococo imprinted in the centre and a lovely block design around it. The bar looked glossy and smooth, and had a strong rich aroma. I could tell this was going to be an intense chocolate bar!

Snapping a piece off, I carefully placed a block in my mouth. I wasn't sure what to expect since many 100% chocolates can be bitter and dry, whilst others are rich and smooth. Initially I was met with an intense cocoa hit, and it took a few chews until my palate became acclimatized to the taste. Then I could detect a wonderful richness from the chocolate; it tasted intense yet smooth, rich and slightly fruity. In fact it was the perfect balance - not so smooth that there was no flavour, but not so rich that it was too intense. It skirted both lines perfectly and brought out the best of both.

Whether that's a good thing or not will depend on your personal tastes. If you're new to 100% cocoa chocolate you may prefer something milder such as The Grenada Chocolate Company's 100% Bar. If you prefer something a bit richer then this is the bar for you! In my opinion both are excellent, but this Rococo bar is more of a "treat" whereas the Grenada bar is more of an "everyday" 100% bar (if such a thing exists!)

I'm by no means an expert on 100% cacao chocolates and don't pretend to be, but as someone who's eaten plenty of cheap stuff from the likes of Nestlé, Cadbury etc over the years I can certainly appreciate how fantastic this bar is in comparison!

Overall, I love all Rococo chocolate bars I've tried so far but this 100% Noir really is the bees knees! (speaking of which, they also make some cute "bee bars" - see my review here).

To peruse Rococo's range of award winning chocolates check out their website here:

http://www.rococochocolates.com/

Allergy Information: Produced in a factory that handles nuts, gluten & soya.

*This bar was sent for an honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

Many thanks to Monster Sweets for sending me these Milk Duds to review recently. I must admit I had never heard of them before but it seems like they're rather popular in the US. They're basically hard chewy caramels coated in chocolate, or rather, a "chocolate coating" made up of vegetable fat and cocoa powder. Like a lot of US confectionery the caramels contain corn syrup and vegetable fat, as opposed to butter and condensed milk like UK caramels. According to Wikipedia Hershey changed the recipe in 2008 to retain the price of Milk Duds due to rising cocoa butter costs. Personally I think they should have just increased the cost, because in this form they taste a bit rubbish!

Opening the pack I knew something was wrong because they only had a vague chocolatey smell. There were no strong notes of caramel like you usually get with most hard caramels.

Tasting one, I found it to be very chewy and pretty flavourless. It had a very vague hint of caramel but mostly tasted non-descript, whilst the chocolate coating had only a mild cocoa flavour.

I actually didn't bother finishing the pack which is very unusual for me. They tasted so chewy, bland and boring that I would rather make up my daily calorie allowance from elsewhere!

If you've tried Milk Duds please let me know your thoughts in the comments! Did they taste as bad as this before the recipe change?

RATING: 3 out of 10.

Do check out Monster Sweets Online for some much better European and American snacks than these - they have some fantastic stuff like Reese's Cups, different Skittles and M&M's varieties plus Milka and Ritter Sport bars!

http://www.monstersweets.co.uk/

*This product was sent for an honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

cadbury dairy milk marvellous creations banana caramel crisp

The new Dairy Milk Marvellous Creations bar is finally out in time for Easter, and what a marvellous creation it is indeed! This bar seems to be replacing the Cookie Nut Crunch variety introduced last year, which can now be found in Poundland and other discount stores.

The 200g bar is on introductory offer at Asda for £1.50 at the moment but the RRP will be £2.50. It's described as "Milk chocolate with banana flavoured candy pieces (8%), caramel pieces (5%) and malted cereal balls (3%)", and like the other Marvellous Creations bars comes in a "crazy paving" style slab. This made it a little awkward to break into pieces, but I managed to find some chunks with bits of banana candy sticking out:

The aroma of the bar had me salivating - it reminded me of the (now discontinued) Dairy Milk with Shortcake Biscuit I used to love, as the cereal pieces had a similar biscuity aroma.

I was fully expecting the chocolate to taste weird due to the banana candy but it was actually pretty normal and tasty! It had a banana, toffee and biscuit synergy that was reminiscent of banoffee pie, but combined with the comforting taste of Dairy Milk. All these familiar elements worked together perfectly. The malt balls reminded me of Maltesers but were more denser and biscuity, providing a lovely crunch together with the caramel pieces. The banana candy wasn't like the foam bananas I remember from childhood, but more of a chewier sweet with a glazed shell.

Overall, although this bar may sound a bit weird since banana isn't a flavour often paired with chocolate (though Gnaw did it well with Go Bananas!), it's actually a rather tasty combination. If it's meant to replace the Cookie Nut Crunch then I think Cadbury made a wise choice, as this bar is a bit more exciting and keeps with the Marvellous Creations theme much better. If you like banoffee pie or banana & chocolate combinations I would recommend giving this a try!

RATING: 8.5 out of 10.

Price: 200g blocks are currently £1.50 at Asda (introductory offer), RRP is £2.50.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.
Allergy Information: Contains milk, wheat, gluten. May contain nuts.
Nutrition (per 25g serving): 6.7g Fat, 15g Sugar, 128 Calories.

cadbury dairy milk marvellous mix-ups oreo

As well as the new Marvellous Creations Banana Caramel Crisp bar, Cadbury's have also launched these new "Marvellous Mix-Ups" and the idea is that they're a "mix up" of different chocolates and sweets made by Cadbury. As someone who remembers penny "mix-ups" as a kid I was quite excited to see how the combinations would work, and if they could rival Revels for flavour-combining!

Today's review is for the Oreo variety (there's also a Maynards jellies variety - review due soon!) When I first read the description for these I was a little skeptical as it seems like a sneaky way to re-package existing products. The "mix-up" features Giant Dairy Milk Buttons, Dairy Milk Pebbles, Mini Oreos and White Chocolate Buttons. All delicious products in their own right...but what matters is whether or not they all work together, and luckily they do!

Opening the bag there was a nice amount of each product, with plenty of white chocolate buttons in particular and lots of mini Oreos.

Munching on a handful of them all together I have to say they worked perfectly - there's the crunchiness from the Oreos, the comforting taste of Dairy Milk from the Giant Buttons, a creamier and milkier edge from the white buttons and then a nice sugary crunch from the Pebbles.

Overall, this bag is a nice combination of creamy, crunchy and chocolatey elements mixed together and you'll definitely be reaching for more. My only gripe is that there seemed to be such a small amount in the bag - you certainly won't want to share them with anyone!

RATING: 8 out of 10.

Price: £1 at Asda (introductory offer), £2 at Tesco.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.
Allergy Information: Contains wheat, milk, soya. May contain nuts.
Nutrition (per 100g): 505 Calories, 24.5g Fat, 64.5g Carbs, 51g Sugar.

cadbury dairy milk marvellous mix-ups with maynards jellies

Hot on the heels of Marvellous Mix-Ups with Oreo, today I'm reviewing Marvellous Mix-Ups with Maynards. Unlike the Oreo version this is more unusual in that it contains jelly sweets...with chocolate! Marvellous Creations are known for their jelly and chocolate combinations, of course; (Jelly Popping Candy and Cola Pretzel Honeycomb) so this comes as no surprise. In a way I suppose you're getting the best of both worlds with a product like this - it saves the bother of deciding between sweets or chocolate when you need a snacks fix! (we've all had that dilemma, right?)

The bag contains Dairy Milk Caramel Nibbles, Fudge Dreams and Maynards jellies. I'm not sure which jellies specifically as they aren't Wine Gums or Jelly Babies...just different fruit-flavoured jellies in fruit shapes. The Fudge Dreams are the same as those found in Cadbury's Milk Tray, although this isn't highlighted on the pack.

Opening the bag I was a little sad at the small amount in front of me. There was no way I was going to share them!

They were a little awkward to eat by the handful as the fudge pieces are rather chunky, but I did manage to eat some of them all together and they were very tasty indeed. The fudge was buttery and smooth, with the Caramel Nibbles adding further buttery caramel elements and then...the jellies added a burst of fruitiness. They were a bit odd combined with the caramel and fudge flavours but somehow it worked. It's not the perfect synergy of flavours like Marvellous Mix Ups with Oreo, but it's certainly very tasty.

The addition of the Fudge Dreams is the real highlight, as it's not often you get chocolates from a box like Milk Tray in bagged form. In fact it makes me think they should launch a bagged version of Milk Tray... or even the Milk Tray Bar from the 80's! (here's a pic:)

Back on topic, overall I thought this was an interesting "mix-up" of sweets although I do think many people will find the inclusion of the jellies a bit odd. To be honest though the bag is worth buying just for the Fudge Dreams!

RATING: 8 out of 10.

Price: £1 at Asda (introductory offer), £2 at Tesco.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes - including the Maynards jellies as they contain pectin.
Allergy Information: Contains milk & soya. May contain nuts & wheat.
Nutrition (per 100g): 430 Calories, 14g Fat, 72g Carbs, 56.5g Sugars.

Whilst in TK Maxx recently I spotted these "Liquid filled sugar eggs" and bought them because they sounded rather unusual, in that they're not regular chocolate eggs, but rather liquid filled sugar sweets. This isn't something you see often, although Nestlé attempted it once with Fruity Smarties Mini Eggs:

Credit: http://smartiescollector.com/

The eggs reminded me of jelly beans but with a much harder, crunchier shell. They come in an array of bright colours with speckles on them:

To be honest there's not much I can say about the taste as they were all insipidly sweet and overly sugary - there was very little fruit flavour to them. The shells were hard and crunchy, and the liquid filling was simply a basic sugar syrup. Nothing all that exciting really! Still, I imagine kids with a sweet tooth would love them.

Overall, these are an interesting novelty and definitely one for the kids, but not something I would recommend. I would suggest looking in TK Maxx after Easter though as they usually do heavy discounts on their Easter chocolates!

RATING: 5 out of 10.

Have you tried these Corifeo Liquid Filled Eggs? If so what did you think?

Some more mini eggs I picked up in TK Maxx recently were these by The Mallow Tree. They were reduced in price and I'd never heard of Mallow Tree before so I couldn't resist giving them a whirl!

I'm glad I did as they turned out to be very tasty mini eggs indeed, in fact far better in quality than anything from the major confectionery companies like Cadbury or Mars!

The eggs had thick, chunky shells in pastel colours with speckles on. They looked very impressive indeed...far better than Cadbury Mini Eggs!

The shells were much thicker and crunchier than Cadbury Mini Eggs, and the chocolate inside was richer and darker. They tasted fantastic - extremely creamy and rich, with a higher percentage of cocoa solids compared to mass produced mini eggs. They were far more satisfying too!

Overall, I thought these mini eggs from The Mallow Tree were fantastic and some of the better quality ones I've tried - it's just a shame they're not more widely available! I would recommend checking out TK Maxx after Easter though as they often reduce unsold Easter stock...you may just pick up a bargain!

RATING: 8.5 out of 10.

I've had this bar in the snacks archive for ages now, in fact I bought it last year alongside a Blueberry Cheese variety from my local import store. I don't know if its still available or not, but if you've seen/tried it yourself please let me know in the comments!

Nestlé Orion is a Czech brand that makes some very interesting chocolate bars. I've reviewed quite a few since starting the blog - Orion Deli Raspberry, Orion Studentska, Orion Lime Cream, Orion Banány White, etc. I always love to see what new products they come up with as they're far more exciting than a lot of stuff we get in the UK!

This Pistachio Cream bar was no exception. For £2.59 I got a huge slab of chocolate filled with pistachio cream, chocolate cream and a crunchy pistachio filling. I loved the unique, curvy block design it had:

Cutting into the bar there were two different layers - a chocolate cream lower half and a green pistachio cream upper half, topped off with a layer of chopped pistachios. All of this was wrapped in sweet milk chocolate.

This bar was quite simply delicious! It's not often I sing Nestlé's praises but this was one of the nicest bars I've tried from them. The pistachio cream filling was so smooth, rich and nutty it was to die for. It contained vegetable fat which makes it melt-in-the-mouth like Lindor, and while I'm not a fan of vegetable fat in chocolate it actually worked really well here! The chocolate coating was very sweet and milky, nothing amazing but it worked well with the filling. The bar was perfect with a cup of coffee, and because it was so rich I only needed a few pieces to feel satisfied.

Green chocolate bar!

Overall, this is a fantastic bar from Czech Nestlé and one that Nestlé UK should seriously consider introducing here. If you spot these bars anywhere I would recommend giving them a try! Please stay tuned for my review of the Blueberry Cheese version...

RATING: 8.5 out of 10.

Have you tried/seen this bar? Let me know in the comments!

Last year I found some unusual and interesting chocolate bars in a local Polish store. I was very excited because these flavours aren't typically found in most UK shops, and it seems the Polish are an adventurous bunch compared to us Brits! Thanks goodness their chocolates are available in the UK then!

Wedel are a well-known Polish chocolate company, and I believe they used to be owned by Cadbury. They make pretty decent chocolate compared to other Polish companies (such as Wawel) and do some pretty exciting flavours too!

An example of that is Wedel Maxi Smak. This is a milk chocolate bar with a cream filling and a layer of lemon and orange jam.

The jam provided a zingy tartness which tasted rather unusual combined with the cream and milk chocolate. Usually I like lemon flavours paired with cream, but in this case the inclusion of orange somewhat spoiled the overall flavour. Overall, this was an interesting bar in terms of novelty but didn't quite work for me.

RATING: 6.5 out of 10.

Wedel Blood Orange & Mango Exotic Duet:

Another fruity bar I bought along with the Maxi Smak was this Wedel "Blood Orange & Mango Exotic Duet" bar. Grocery Gems reviewed this bar earlier in the year so many of you may remember it. Wedel certainly like to play around with fruity combinations don't they?!

Taste-wise I thought this bar was nice and pleasant, but the tartness from the filling was just a little bit too odd paired with the cream layer and milk chocolate. It didn't quite work together.

Overall, although this bar sounded interesting, for me it didn't quite work out in practice.

RATING: 6.5 out of 10.

If you're a fan of fruity chocolates I would seriously recommend heading to your local Polish store and trying some Wedel bars...they do a rather extensive range including the Coconut, Pierrot and Forest Fruits Leśny Duet bars I reviewed last year. All of those were seriously tasty bars!

Have you tried these bars? Let me know in the comments!

Just a few things I spotted whilst out shopping recently...

Kallo Rice & Corn Cakes Blueberry & Vanilla Flavour:
I saw these in Home Bargains and thought they sounded like an odd flavour for rice cakes - they're apparently new and contain 36 calories per rice cake. If you've tried these please let me know your thoughts in the comments!

There's also a Caramel variety:

These contain 40 calories and have no added MSG. I wouldn't expect a sweet-flavourd snack to contain MSG anyway so I'm a bit puzzled as to why Kallo are boasting about this!

Arabian Delights Chocodate:

In Tesco's World Foods section I saw these "Arabian Delights Choco-date with almond". They sound very interesting...presumably they're chocolate coated dates and almonds, but I'm not sure I'd pay £9 for a box!

Gap Tom Yum Flavour:

Also in Tesco's World Foods section were these Gap Tom Yum flavour biscuit sticks. At first I thought they were an orange version of Mikado or Pocky, but it turns out that "tom yum" is a Thai word for a type of spicy soup. The story behind it is complex but luckily Wikipedia explains everything!

Not a snack, but whilst on the subject of Tesco I couldn't resist mentioning this Frog Key Hider they're selling for £3...

I don't get the logic behind this at all - if your burglar shops at Tesco then surely they'd know exactly what this is?!

That's all for today's short edition of Spotted In Shops...if you've spotted any cool new products please do get in touch and I'll give you a shout-out in the next edition!

A while ago I found a load of different Milka products in a local Discount store. These have been doing the rounds for a while now and include a Milka Black Forest Roll, a Strawberry Yoghurt Cake, the Schokolade Cake reviewed here by Grocery Gems, Strawberry Mini Rolls and also these Milka Tender a la Tiramisu mini rolls.

I paid £1 for this pack, which contains 5 mini rolls.

When I opened one up it had a sweet chocolatey aroma with a slight hint of coffee.

Taste-wise it was very light and spongy, with a light alcoholic coffee flavoured buttercream filling. It was nice but not very strong in flavour. Coupled with the very thin layer of chocolate coating I was a bit disappointed to be honest - it felt a bit insubstantial and not quite as special as I was hoping.

Overall, these mini rolls were very pleasant but they're not really as special or fancy as they initially appear. The tiramisu flavour is a little weak and the sponge itself is too light. They're worth trying for £1 though if you happen to see them. I would recommend the Milka Black Forest Roll over these instead though, it's much nicer!

RATING: 6.5 out of 10.

Whilst browsing a local Turkish store I came across this Ülker dark chocolate bar with pistachios. I've previously reviewed the Ülker Milk Chocolate Hazelnut bar and was very disappointed as it was a bit stale, but thought I'd give them another chance. I was especially intrigued by a bar containing pistachio nuts as it's not something you see that often!

Opening the cardboard sleeve revealed a lovely golden foil-wrapped bar. I have to say Ülker are great with the presentation of their chocolates! Of course it also fits with the name "Golden", which is even better!

Opening the foil revealed a rather glossy looking bar. It looked a lot nicer than some other dark chocolate bars I've tried.

Snapping it in half revealed plenty of chunky pistachio pieces embedded within the chocolate. They certainly don't skimp on them!

Taking a bite I was met with quite an intense dark chocolate but unfortunately it didn't have a particularly distinctive flavour, it was just quite bitter. The pistcahios were a nice addition and added a lovely savoury nuttiness, but unfortunately they got lost under the harshness of the chocolate. I've heard there's anÜlker Golden White Chocolate variety with pistachios, which sounds like it might be a bit nicer than this. I'll certainly keep my eye out for it, because although this bar didn't quite work I imagine pistachios would work better with creamier chocolate.

Overall, this is an interesting bar but the harshness of the dark chocolate just doesn't work with pistachios. Hopefully I can get my hands on the white chocolate version!

RATING: 6.5 out of 10.

I can't believe it's taken me so long to review this...I bought it from Lidl last year and somehow it got lost in the snacks archive!

The box pack contains mini sticks of white chocolate bars with a vanilla mousse filling, and they're absolutely delicious!

There were plenty of individually wrapped sticks of chocolate in the pack, each divided into 3 small segments. Usually I wouldn't see the point in this but in the case of these bars, it was very wise. That's because they taste so incredibly rich that you need to savour them just a little bit at a time.

The filling contains vegetable fat, which usually I'm not a fan of since it's so unhealthy, but I keep reminding myself that Lindor also contain veg fat and they taste fantastic. So I'll forgive JD Gross on this occasion ;)

Taking a bite I first noticed the intense creaminess from the white chocolate. It's very sweet and vanilla laden, but good quality - better than Milkybar for example. The filling is of course extremely creamy and smooth, with a strong vanilla flavour. It all melts in your mouth to form a molten creamy, rich mass of deliciousness. It's almost too rich, in fact! These certainly aren't chocolates to eat a lot of at once, so it's just as well they come in mini bars!

Overall, if you're a fan of white chocolate you have to give these a try! They're pretty cheap at Lidl - I forget how much exactly, but they were about £1.09. They're a great bargain for the price and the quality is excellent in comparison to most mainstream white chocolates.

RATING: 8 out of 10.

I purchased this 70% Noir Intense from Sainsbury's recently on a whim. I've tried Galler's filled bars before and was a little unimpressed, but thought I'd give them another chance since this is the first 70% bar I've seen from them.

The box was almost like a cardboard envelope and opened like one, containing a golden foil wrapped bar inside. The bar had unique shaped blocks which you don't usually see on chocolate bars...they were quite wide in size.

Taste wise the chocolate was intensely rich, with a slight hint of fruitiness. It was a little on the bitter side, but still very nice. I loved the clean look of the chocolate and the snap when breaking pieces off - you can tell this is good quality stuff.

Overall, an excellent quality 70% bar from Galler, although I'm not sure I'd go for this over Lindt's 70% dark chocolate, given the choice.

RATING: 7.5 out of 10.

A big thankyou to Degustabox for sending me two of their monthly subscription boxes to review recently. I was a bit too late to review the March one so I'm going to move straight on to April - there were so many cool goodies included I just had to review it straight away!

Degustabox is a foodie subscription service that send out a box of specially selected products each month. They include many quality well-known brands as well as some new products you may not have heard of. The monthly fee is £12.99 which includes delivery, and Degustabox estimate the value of the contents to be approximately twice that. There is no fixed contract so you can cancel whenever you wish.

Discount Code: You can use the following Discount Code for £3.00 off your next Degustabox: EXPM7.
Competition: Become a Fan of Degustabox on Facebook to win a big surprise!

Below are the contents of this months Degustabox...

McVitie's Jaffa Cakes Mini Rolls - Berry Burst & Tropicool Flavours

I haven't seen these on shelves yet but since you can freeze them I presume they must be new flavours for Summer. I love the idea of frozen mini rolls, and a tropical flavour of jaffa cakes sounds awesome. I can't wait to try these!

Cawston Press Rhubarb Drink

To wash down those fruity mini rolls there's this equally fruity apple & rhubarb sparkling water from Cawston Press, which I'm sure will also be perfect for the warmer months! I have this chilling in my fridge and can't wait to taste it!

Dr. Oetker Fine Cooks' Chocolate

These 150g Dr Oetker bars have been made especially for baking - the dark chocolate version contains 72% cocoa solids and the milk version contains 35%. I'll be sure to test these out on some of my culinary creations soon...watch this space!

Go Splash Energy Lightning Red

Go Splash Energy is a sugar-free water flavouring that can be used to make flavoured energy drinks on the go. It apparently makes 30 200ml glasses, and contains caffeine plus vitamins B3, B6 and B12. No doubt this is handy to squeeze into a bottle of mineral water whilst out and about..I'll certainly be giving it a try!

Mornflake Superfast Muesli & Granola Pots

These Mornflake "superfast" pots come in Raisin, Almond & Honey Granola and Fruit & Nut Muesli varieties, and only require cold water to produce the milk...how handy is that?! They're perfect for an on the go breakfast and come with a handy spoon under the lid.

Keogh's Atlantic Sea Salt & Irish Cider Vinegar Crisps

These salt and vinegar crisps from Keogh's are gluten-free as well as being hand-cooked on the Keogh family farm in Ireland. They have a "Spud Nav" on the pack to tell you exactly which field they came from, the variety of potato used and even who cooked them! Try beat that Walkers! They're also available from Tesco in the World Foods section.

Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Bars

We all know and love Lindor truffles, but now they come in a bar too! These are very handy for carrying around to enjoy with a cuppa or just a bit of portable indulgence!

Clearspring Miso On The Go Soup

These miso soups contain sea vegetables and fermented soya, and are suitable for vegans. They're very easy to prepare - just add to a mug with hot water. Perfect for a lunchtime snack!

Crabbie's Raspberry Flavour Alcoholic Ginger Beer

Made with special ginger shipped from the Far East and flavoured with real Scottish raspberries, this ginger beer is very refreshing indeed! Crabbie's use a secret recipe and steep their ginger for 8 weeks before blending with raspberry. This beer is Gluten Free.

Overall:
Well I have to say I'm surprised and very impressed with this selection of goodies from Degustabox. There's such an interetsing, unique and eclectic range of products that you'll never be bored with any of this, and it all goes together really well. Most of the items would be perfect for a camping trip or picnic, or any outdoors activities really. I was particularly pleased with the Jaffa Cakes mini rolls as I've never seen them anywhere! A big thank you to Degustabox for sending me this box.

For more details:
http://bit.ly/DBhomepage - Degutabox Website
http://bit.ly/DBUKfacebook - Degustabox Facebook
http://bit.ly/DBUKTwitter - Degustabox Twitter

Discount Code: You can use the following Discount Code for £3.00 off your next Degustabox: EXPM7.

*Degustabox sent me this box for an honest review.

The supermarkets are currently gearing up for Summer and Tesco in particular have launched a whole new batch of frozen products...they had two whole freezers dedicated to new ice creams when I was in there recently! So today's Spotted In Shops features heavily on ice cream, as well as many other interesting products I've spotted while out and about...

Barr Irn Bru Ice Cream Bars

Yes, the famous Scottish drink that's "made from girders" has been transformed into frozen form! These are of course made by the "original and best" Iron Brew makers A.G Barr. I have to say it's great to see such a well-loved traditional fizzy drink evolve like this. I'll definitely be trying some of these when Summer arrives!

Nestlé Kitkat Ice Cream Cones

In more ice cream goodness there's these new Kitkat Cones. I say new, but I'm sure they've been available in the past. Still they sound ace and I can't wait to try them!

D'aim Ice Cream

Also new (for the UK at least) is this D'aim Ice Cream, described as "D'aim flavour ice cream with D'aim pieces". As a fan of D'aim bars I can't wait to try this!

Nestlé Smarties Sharing Block

Nestlé did Smarties bars years ago in both milk and white chocolate (there's a Facebook Page to bring back the white chocolate version!) but unfortunately discontinued them. Luckily they've now resurrected the milk chocolate variety in large sharing blocks. Available from all supermarkets (often broken into pieces, I've noticed) for around £1 or more.

Nestlé Rowntree's Tangy Tots

Also new from Nestlé are these Rowntree's Tangy Tots. Of course we all know (and hopefully love) regular Rowntree's Jelly Tots, so it's rather exciting to get a new variety! Oddly, they're only available in joined-together mini packs from Tesco. There's also another new variety called Chewy Tots - see a review here from A Review A Day.

Haribo Bonissimo Sugar-Free Sweets

Sugar-free sweets will be the next big trend in the UK according to this article, so it's no surprise to see Haribo launching these "Bonissimo" jellies. I'm not sure what sweeteners they use to replace the sugar - presumably isomalt. If you've tried these please let me know in the comments!

New Chewits Chewmix

Chewits usually come in a stick format but they've now launched into sharing bags too. These contain "a random mix of fruit flavour chewy sweets" and "no hydrogenated fats".

Chewits Xtreme Chewmix

For the more "xtreme" among you, there's this "random mix of sour apple and tutti frutti flavour" Chewits. I'm not sure how having just two flavours makes them "random", exactly?!

Crik Crak Bacon Crisps

In a local Polish store I spotted these scary looking Crik Crak crisps thanks to the mad face on the wrapper. They're bacon flavoured and his face is made from bacon, so no wonder he's mad! There's a review of them by theSnackSpot.com which makes me glad I didn't buy any - they sound a bit naff! If you've tried these yourself let me know in the comments!

McVitie's Junior Smurfs Biscuits

I spotted these McVitie's Junior Smurf biscuits in B&M. They're described as "biscuits with a chocolate flavoured filling", although judging by the picture Papa Smurf's hat is coated in chocolate too!

Sonko Strawberry Coated Rice Cakes (Polish)

I saw these in a local Polish store and just had to take a pic as I've never seen strawberry coated rice cakes before. We all know that rice cakes taste like cardboard, but maybe in this form they're a bit more palatable?!

Sonko Musli Rice Cakes (Polish)

In the same Polish store they also had these "Musli" flavoured rice cakes. Since there was a coconut on the wrapper I presume it includes coconut flavouring...which sounds rather nice!

Branston Cheese & Pickle Flavour Coated Peanuts

In B&M I saw these Branston Cheese & Pickle flavour "double crunch" coated peanuts. I'm not sure if these are new but they sure sound interesting!

Big Eat - Chunky Turkish Delights & Chewy Caramels

Last but not least are these "Big Eat" chocolates which I also saw in B&M. There wasn't much info - no brand name or anything - they're simply described as "A delicious selection of chunky milk chocolate coated turkish delights and chewy caramels". It's a bit unusual to mix caramels and turkish delights so I'm curious how they taste together. If you've tried them please let me know your thoughts!

Well, that's all for this edition of Spotted In Shops - I hope everyone's enjoyed reading! If you spot any new products please let me know via email/twitter and I'll be happy to feature your submissions in a future edition!

Whilst writing this review I had to remind myself "it's not bombay mix!" since this was stated several times in the press release. No, this is much more than that...it's "Rani's Quality Mixture"! Apparently "Mixture" is how these fried noodle snacks are known in South India and Sri Lanka, where Rani's mum originally created the recipe. Here in Britain we would call it Bombay Mix, of course - what an unsophistiocated lot we are!

This product has won a Gold Star in the "Great Taste 2013 Awards and is hand made in small batches to Rani's mums secret recipe, and contains no added colourings, flavourings or preservatives - just salt and chilli powder. This isn't regular, stale-tasting run-of-the mill cheapo bombay mix!

The mix contains delicious ingredients such as boondi, which are drops of deep-fried batter, Omapodi, which are crisp gram flour noodles, cashews, peanuts, roasted cassava chips, roasted channa and curry leaves.

Taste-wise the mixture was extremely moreish indeed. It wasn't greasy and salty like the bombay mixes we are used to in Britain, instead it was light, flavoursome and crunchy, with each of the different flavours getting a chance to shine. I enjoyed the subtleties of all the different ingredients and it never felt too spicy or overpowering.

Overall, I thought Rani's Mixture was a great snack and definitely a cut above your average Bombay Mix - I can see why they want to differentiate themselves from the rest of the crowd now. The Gold Star rating is very well deserved, seek these out if you can!

RATING: 8.5 out of 10.

For more information and a store locator, visit www.ranismixture.com.
Follow @ranimix on Twitter.
Like Rani’s Mixture on Facebook.

*This product was sent for an honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

I've been on the lookout for the new Dairy Milk Marvellous Mix-Ups desserts for ages so was glad to finally track one down in Sainsbury's this weekend. Oddly, I couldn't find the "fruity jelly popping candy" variety that was apparently launched last month.

The "mix-up" consists of "smooth and creamy dessert made with melted Cadbury Milk Chocolate, with a side of cherry flavour candy cereal balls, fizzy cola flavour jellies & milk chocolate coated cereal clusters". A very unique combination indeed!

Peeling off the lid revealed the chocolate dessert and sweets mixture in separate sections, rather like a Müller Corner:

The sweets mixture had a pleasant cherry aroma, with a slight cola tang in there too. I tipped it into the chocolate dessert as instructed.

Mixing it with the dessert resulted in a lumpy, chocolatey mass that didn't look all that appetizing, to be honest!

The dessert tasted sweet and creamy and pretty much the same as Dairy Milk Pots of Joy. Combined with the sweets mixture it all tasted a bit odd, to say the least. The cola jellies and cherry cereal added a nice fruity tang, but they were a little artificial tasting and didn't really work with the chocolate. The clusters were tasty enough, and brought a nice crunch to the dessert. I do think this is an interesting idea from Cadbury, and there's certainly no other desserts like this on the market, but somehow it didn't quite work.

Overall, I think it's great that Cadbury are trying new things with the Marvellous Creations range, and they've come up with some interesting stuff so far, but this isn't for me. I would've preferred coconut, cherries and nuts instead of the sweets. This is one for the kids I think!

RATING: 7 out of 10.

Price: 78p a pot at Sainsbury's.
Suitable for vegetarians?: No.
Allergy Information: Contains wheat, gluten, milk & soya. May contain nuts.
Nutrition (per pot): 240 Calories, 11.3g Fat, 30g Carbs, 25.8g Sugars.

Have you tried this dessert? If so what did you think of the combination?

Whilst in Morrisons over the weekend I spotted these new Cadbury Roses Pots of Joy. I couldn't quite believe it - this is the first time Cadbury have used the Strawberry Dream from Roses in a different product! They're described as "A layer of smooth & creamy dessert with melted Cadbury milk chocolate and a layer of Strawberry flavour fondant". The pack contained 2 pots with foil lids.

Peeling the lid off one revealed an upper chocolate layer with a larger amount of strawberry fondant below:

The chocolate layer tasted similar to Dairy Milk Pots of Joy - very creamy and smooth, but perhaps a tad sweeter. The fondant layer had a strong strawberry flavour which replicated the filling from Roses Strawberry Dream very well - meaning it's very sweet! It also reminded me of the Dairy Milk Strawberries & Creme bars from last Summer - slightly yogurty. The combination was very nice and made for a lovely sweet treat, although it was a bit of a sugar rush all at once. The pots are quite small which is probably a good thing in this case!

Overall, these Roses Pots of Joy are a nice limited edition and I'm sure fans of Strawberry Dreams will enjoy them. They're a bit too sweet for me, although I certainly wouldn't say no if offered one again!

RATING: 7 out of 10.

Price: 64p for 2 pots at Morrisons (Special Offer).
Suitable for vegetarians?: No.
Allergy Information: Contains milk, may contain nuts.
Nutrition (per pot): 160 Calories, 7.3g Fat, 21.3g Carbs, 18.9g Sugar.

Have you tried Roses Strawberry Dream Pots of Joy? If so what did you think?

A few more new products I've seen whilst out shopping recently...

Cadbury Crunchie Minis Ice Creams

Contains Crunchie flavour ice cream with a Crunchie chocolate coating - available at Asda and other supermarkets.

Ritz Breaks Rosemary & Olive Oil

New Ritz crackers in a handy "breaks" format. Available at Asda.

Müller Corner Apple & Pear - Voted by You

New "voted by you" apple & pear flavour Müller Corner. Available at Asda.

Müller Corner Dessert Inspired Banoffee Pie Yogurt

And a "dessert inspired" banoffee pie Müller Corner - because you can never have enough banoffee pie variations! Also at Asda.

Müller Corner Greek Style Mango & Passionfruit

Completing the trio of new Müller Corners is this Greek Style Mango & Passionfruit flavour. Also at Asda.

Nestlé Ski Smooth Coconut Yogurt - Limited Edition

Limited edition low fat Ski coconut flavour yogurts, also at Asda.

Nestlé Aero Orange & Choc Bubbly Mousse - Limited Edition

A limited edition chocolate and orange Aero mousse - available from most supermarkets. And Asda ;)

Nestlé Vanilla Yogurt with mini Aero Bubbles

This is simply a vanilla yogurt with a side portion of mini Aero Bubbles. How exciting...not! I saw these at...you've guessed it...Asda!

NEW Pringles Roast Chicken & Herbs Flavour

I thought Pringles already did a chicken flavour but apparently not as these are labelled "new". According to the box "you don't just eat 'em'". I'm not sure what else you're supposed to do with them exactly - use them as earrings?!

Early Times Fire Eater Hot Cinnamon Liquer

There was a whole shelf of this cinnamon liquer at Asda, so they must expecting it to be popular. I'm a fan of cinnamon but not sure if I fancy it in liquer form. If you've tried this please let me know your thoughts!

Sweet Shop Choc's Chocolate Bar with Fizzy Pink & Blue Cola Bottles

Cola bottles are ace...especially the pink and blue ones, so this chocolate bar looks amazing! Spotted in TK Maxx.

Super Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong Klik Candy Dispensers

Fans of Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong will love these! As a longtime Super Mario fan I'll be going for the Mario version. Available at Asda.

Multi Millions Chewy Sweets

Millions aren't new but this Multi Millions bumper pack is. It contains various different Millions flavours, including apple! Spotted in B&M.

One Direction Mini Biscuits

Oh dear...when will it end?! One Direction mini biscuits half covered with milk chocolate. Spotted in Poundland.

Jelly Belly Hello Kitty Jelly Beans

These jelly beans come in 5 different flavours, all of which appear to be various shades of pink and red. Nice if you're a fan of Hello Kitty. Spotted in TK Maxx.

Bahlsen X-tra Tasty Caramel Biscuit Sticks

I'm not sure if these are a Bahlsen take on Twix, but they look very similar. Having tried other Bahlsen products recently I bet they're delicious - if you've tried these let me know in the comments! These are available at Poundland, but I've also seen them in Waitrose. I know where I'll be buying them from!

The Mallow Tree Marshmallow Mushrooms

A marshmallow version of the classic coconut mushrooms sweets. These look amazing! Spotted in TK Maxx.

The Mallow Tree Orange Marshmallows

Orange shaped and flavoured marshmallows. These look so cute! Also at TK Maxx.

The Mallow Tree Strawberry Marshmallows

And a strawberry version!

The Mallow Tree Lemon Marshmallows

Plus a lemon version!

Chocolate iPhone

Last but not least, I spotted this iPhone shaped chocolate slab in TK Maxx. Made in Germany.

That's all for this week's Spotted In Shops - if you've seen any cool new products please do get in touch via twitter/email, and I'll be happy to give you a mention in a future edition!

Rococo 100% Cocoa Dark Chocolate - Plus Noir Que Noir Review

Hershey's Milk Duds Candy Review

New! Cadbury Dairy Milk Marvellous Creations Banana Caramel Crisp Review

New! Cadbury Dairy Milk Marvellous Mix-Ups with Oreo Review

New! Cadbury Dairy Milk Marvellous Mix-Ups with Maynards (Vegetarian) Jellies Review

Corifeo Liquid Filled Sugar Easter Eggs (TK Maxx) Review

The Mallow Tree Mini Eggs Review (TK Maxx)

Nestlé Orion Pistachio Cream Bar (Czech) Review

E Wedel Maxi Smak and Blood Orange & Mango Duet Bars - Polish chocolates Review

Spotted In Shops! - Blueberry Rice Cakes, Chocodates & Tesco's Bizarre Frog Key Hider!

Milka Tender a la Tiramisu Mini Rolls Review

Ülker Golden 70% Cacao with Pistachios - Turkish Dark Chocolate Bar Review

JD Gross Vanilla Mousse White Chocolate Bars Review (Lidl)

Galler Chocolatier 70% Noir Intense Review

Degustabox April - Foodie Subscription Box Review & Discount Code!

Spotted In Shops! Irn Bru Ice Cream, Kitkat Cones, D'aim Ice Cream, Smarties Sharing Blocks & More!

Rani's Quality Mixture Review

Cadbury Dairy Milk Marvellous Mix-Ups Cherry Cola Fizz Dessert (Limited Edition) - Review

New! Cadbury Roses Pots of Joy Strawberry Dream Review

Spotted In Shops! - Ritz Breaks, New Müller Corners, Chicken & Herb Pringles, One Direction Biscuits, etc...