Reese's Redux

I've always loved Reese's Pieces! While all the kids were carrying around their Nestle Crunch bars, their Snickers and Butterfingers, their Three Musketeers and Milky Ways, I was sitting in one corner savoring my little peanut butter cup. Making small bites and letting the chocolate melt in my mouth and give way to the peanut butter center. That was my definition of bliss.

Growing up, I've dabbled into other chocolates as well, especially after my Tita from Barcelona introduced us to the concept of European chocolates. Suddenly, the entire chocolate world opened and we realized that there's more to chocolates than M&M/Mars and Hershey's. Now, we had brands like Andes, Lindt, Perugina, Valrhona and Cote 'd Or. I suddenly became a chocolate polygamist and jumped from one brand to the next. There was even a time when I was addicted to Andes Chocolate Mint and Chocolate Orange thins!

But while these European brands dislodged all those American chocolates off our repertoire, Reese's still remained in my book. Once in a while, I'd find myself leaving Lindt in the fridge in favour of another Reese's Peanut Butter cup. This trend continues even up to now. While I enjoy indulging in Royce, Leonida's and Godiva, it still doesn't compare to the goodness of Reese's. I think it's more than the flavour that makes Reese's such an important chocolate for me, it's all those memories from childhood to adulthood that make it super special.

Memories like sneaking out of my room in the middle of the night to eat Reese's in the kitchen. Or how Xtine and I went grocery shopping in Long Beach and my eyes lit up at the sight of a big shelf of Reese's. Or how Biboy and I went back to Walmart because I wanted to check if they still had the special edition Reese's available. (They had white chocolate and dark chocolate Reese's.) Or how Mark visited me at Unitel with a pack of Reese's on hand. Or how, despite all these years, my parents, siblings and other relatives remember that i'm a big Reese's fan and send me some from the US whenever they have the chance. (The last bag they sent me was the Reese's with Caramel - and I still saved a piece at home.)

This weekend, while we were roaming around Wynn Macau, I saw a very unique pack of Reese's at the hotel's gift shop. Excitedly and without missing a beat, I rushed to the shop and bought two packs. This is how it looked like:



It turned out to be a special edition Reese's that features these yummy peanut butter cups in their original packaging. And instead of two cups per pack, it had three.

Needless to say, I bought it. (Ignoring the fact that it's 400% more expensive than the regular Reese's.) Why shouldn't I? The pack looks classic, it got me excited, and it has more of what I enjoy in every pack.

Yup, that's exactly what Reese's means to me.