Berry intrigued

Apparently, Snickers has a berry option!

As a berry lover, this definitely caught my eye and eventually bought a few pieces to try.

Verdict: it's good, but the berry flavour could have been drummed up some more. If it had something like berry jam or berry bits inside, that would have made this Snickers berry good.

Very good, I mean.

Okay, Pine (apple)

I've seen many KitKat flavours, but strangely, this is the one I'm most intrigued about.

KitKat Pineapple!

It might be because of the fact that I'm a big fan of pineapples on everything. Yes, even pizza.

I'm only going to be fine after trying this.

Exotic Taste

Almost forgot about another interesting find from our SG trip.

Apparently, Hershey's has a line called "Exotic/" It was my first time seeing that variant, and this particular one was the one that most caught my eye.

Raspberry and Goji berries. In dark chocolate.

Divine.

And yes, it's as good as it looks. The berry flavoured centre was chewy and bursting with flavour. And the dark chocolate was rich and a bit bitter, which offsets the berry flavour.

Wish they would also carry this in MNL.

Setting the Tones

Despite the heavy rains, we made it to SM Megamall to check out and support Toni's Sweet Tones booth at the United Bloggers bazaar.

It was such a joy to see her small business gain so much support. People were patiently lining up to get a taste of her cakes and chocolates. And having had tasted her products, it's worth the wait.

I'm sure this is just the start of many more successful bazaars for Toni.

SG turns sweet

Wanted to bring a pasalubong that's both unique and yummy for my friends in SG.

Didn't have to look any further. 

Of course, I had to let them try the chocolates and crack cakes made by my niece, Toni.

Sweet!

Pack it in

One of the advertising processes that I'm really into is packaging design.

Even if I'm a writer at the core, I've always dabbled in the art side of things. Throughout my career, I've done many designs - from logos to packaging - that were actually implemented. When we were in Cebu a few months back, we passed by the Globe building and saw the "Globe Innove" logo that I designed more than a decade ago.

When my niece, Toni, told me about her chocolate business, I volunteered to design her label. Thankfully, she agreed.

Et voila!

My vision for the label was young, fun and chic. Thus, it's more minimal in approach, but has youthful colours, graphics and fonts.

I'm happy to be part of Toni's passion project. And I'm sure she'll pack in the sales!.

Tokyo Treats

Thanks to Mark, I have a big bunch of chocolates from Tokyo!

Sweet!

Gold. Finger.

Because of the articles I've been reading online about Cloud 9 Gold Caramel Nut Crisp, there was a lot of intrigue about the product on my part.

That's why when I chanced upon it at the supermarket, instinct led to me grab and buy a few bars.

Verdict: IT"S TRUE! 

This variant of Cloud 9 Gold is a lot like Butterfinger!

Of course, nothing beats the original. But in case it's not available in stores, this will be a good back-up.

Confessions of a Goya Chocoholic

Just like any kid, the Morales kids (all 5 of us) were into chocolates. From the eldest to the youngest, chocolates were always something that we’d buy, share, and have readily in the fridge.

 It helped a lot that we had relatives in the US and Spain. This ensured that we had a steady supply of chocolates - imported ones at that. Back then, brands like Hershey’s, Nestle Crunch, e Musketeers and Snickers were rare and only available in PX stores. And Unimart. But luckily, we had these regularly. 

And we also were fortunate enough to enjoy “premium” US chocolates like See’s and Whitman’s.

But even if we had our regular fill of these imported brands, my favourite chocolate as a kid was a local brand called Goya.

I’d always badger my parents to buy me the iconic Goya chocolates like Goya Cubes, Silver Cup, and coins. And even if there were imported ones at home, I chose to indulge in Goya.

As I grew older, I never outgrew my love and loyalty for this brand. In fact, I bought a tall glass jar and filled it with Goya, and placed it in our living room so that visitors (and household members) could share my experience.

Then, as if by providence, when I joined Catalytx, one of the accounts assigned to me was - of course - Goya! And because of my childhood love for the brand, I treated the account with the same passion as I treated the brand as a kid.

Last week, I found out that Goya had a new variant with yogurt and berries.

YOGURT. AND. BERRIES.

Yes, my 2 faves combined with my childhood fave!

Needless to say, I searched for it with the help of Renee. And today, this was delivered:

I guess it’s pretty obvious that even after decades, I’m still a Goya chocoholic.

Spread the news

Being a chocoholic, you can't imagine my thrill when I found these spreads in one my online snack haunts.

I'm a huge fan of both Twix and Maltesers, so, finding out that they're now available in spreads is awesome news to me!

(Peanut) Butter makes it better

Growing up, Snickers was one of the chocolates that was the epitome of "all-American."

Whenever we'd receive a package from the US, Snickers would be part of that package. And the Morales kids would always be thrilled to get this chocolate that was oozing with caramel and peanuts. 

Sometimes, when our package from the US wasn't in MNL yet, we'd often go to "PX Shops" (Kids, look it up,) like Hyacinth and Orobelle to buy our stash. Because every bite of Snickers was really an experience.

Since Snickers was so iconic, whenever they would come up with new variants like Snickers Crisper, Snickers Strong, Snickers Almond, etc, I'd always go back to the original.

But this weekend, I discovered a variant from the haunt that brought together a classic (Snickers) and something I'm very fond of (Peanut Butter) - in one!

Tadaa! Snickers Peanut Butter!

Compared to the other variants, this is actually good! The peanut butter centre still keeps that nutty taste without it being to chunky. So, it's actually better than the other iterations I've tried before.

But still, I'll go for the original.

Call it!

The last time I saw Whatchamacallit was in 2019 when we spent Christmas and New Year in the US. This super-yummers chocolate is commonplace in the US, and it's available in every supermarket and gasoline station convenience store. Which is why it was easy to buy and stock-up on it back then.

It's not that easy to find in MNL, though. Last year, was trying to look for this in SM, S&R and Landers, to no avail

But today, was able to find it at my Chocolate and snack haunt in Cubao. Best part, they deliver!

So now, Whatchamacallit is back in our fridge! And my tummy, of course!

Call it a lucky day for my chocoholic self!

Finding Fiorella

Here's another fabulous find!

Fiorella Dark Wafer!

Saw it randomly while doing groceries online, and thought of trying it.

Amazing what you can discover online these days.

How's the Wedel?

It was a random purchase from an online supermarket.

Since they didn't have my usual chocolate wafer brands - Take It and KitKat - I decided to try their only available brand, E. Wedel.

It was an unfamiliar brand, so I didn't keep my hopes nor expectations up. But after the first bite, I couldn't help but think, "Heck, this is really, really good!"

After doing some research, it turns out that this is one of the oldest and biggest chocolate brands in Poland. I guess you can say that E. Wedel in Poland is like Hershey's in the US or Lindt in Switzerland. Read: it's a legit brand with super high quality.

You can actually tell by the creaminess of the chocolate and the crunch of the wafer. This ain't now cheap chocolate.

Looks like I have another brand to add to my chocolate repertoire.

A Choco Rainbow...

Nope, this isn't about Nips.

It's about this special line of chocolate that you can only find at 7-11, right now, at least.

This special line of Hershey's chocolate isn't the usual chocolate brown. It's actually a rainbow of pastel colors like pink, light yellow and mint green. And just as the colours are vibrant, so are the flavours.

Being a fan of strawberries, mint and sprinkles, I had to try them, of course. And they didn't disappoint.

Each one definitely added a touch of color into my chocolate repertoire.

Ride the Wagon

Oh, look! Another discovery from my Lander's on-line grocery shopping.

Arnott's is best known for the company who makes Tim Tam. We all know what Tim Tam is, and gosh, I miss their Salted Caramel and Red Velvet variants. But that's another story.

Apparently, Arnott's has a product called "Wagon Wheels." It's a biscuit, marshmallow and jam that's coated in chocolate. So, it's pretty much like Orion Choco Pie, but with fruity jam in between.

It's such a popular product in Australia that they turned it into a chocolate bar which is equally popular. Not in the Philippines, though, since this is the first time I've heard of it.

But since I'm into trying new things, I ended up putting this in my cart and trying it. Which I'm glad I did. It's super yummers!

It took me 2 days to finish the whole bar by myself! It's that good!

This is going to be in my cart again the next time I'm going to Landers. (On-line, of course.)

I think I'm so ready for this jelly

It was in SG a few years ago when I first tried the Cadbury Marvellous Creations - Jelly Popping Candy.

To say I was floored would be an understatement. Why? Let me count the ways:

1. That rich, unmistakable Cadbury chocolate taste!
2. Jelly beans!!
3. Popping candies!!!
4. Irregularly shaped chocolate chunks!!!!

Every bite of this variant was an adventure in itself. The taste, texture and size all worked so well together. I think I was able to finish one big bar per day of my stay in SG.

I've been trying to look for this variant in MNL last year, to no avail. But today, I found out that there was a chocolate store in Cubao that sold this Jelly-cious and Marvellous Creation. And the store is just a few minutes away from our house. And the store delivers!

I'm sure we all know what happened next.

What's Zap?

Another day, another chocolate-y discovery:

Goya Zap!

What's Zap with the chocolate bar? Well, it's so good, after trying it, it's all going Zap from there!

Okay, I can Ztap now.

Peanut Better

Yes! I have a new cheap thrill!

Presenting, Cloud 9 Peanut Butter.

The first time I tried this was February, pre-CQ, at the Mini-Stop near the office. Immediately, I fell in love with the peanut-buttery goodness of this Cloud 9 variant. It was like eating Reese's Peanut Butter cups, with a bit of a crunch!

I was so, so, SO craving for this during the ECQ period, but there was no Mini-Stop near where I lived. But this weekend, when my Dad and I eventually ventured out to pick up some stuff I had printed, we finally stopped by a Mini-Stop branch and bought a few.

Once again, cravings satisfied!

Mysterious & Mexican

I've seen a lot of M&M variants before, especially when I go to the US. I have my personal favorites, like the pretzel M&M, mint M&M, and crispy M&M.

Then, I saw this mysterious pack on the shelf and was instantly intrigued by it:

Mexican Jalapeño M&M!

True to its Mexican roots, it's spicy! You can taste the kick of spice the moment you bite into it. But before it gets super caliente, the chocolate comes in and neutralizes it.

Off hand, I think this is one of those "acquired taste" M&Ms. Fortunatelt, I've acquired a taste for Mexican food.