Soda Can Fizzy Candy

I bought this candy partly for the novelty value and partly because it included a cola flavour.  The six-pack of mildy fizzy candies comes in four flavours: grape x 2, cola x 1, orange x 1 and lemon-lime x 2.

Grape Splash, Loca Cola, Orange Crash, Lemon-Lime Sprint

There's not too much to say about these candies, the initial tasting was good but they became sickly as I continued eating them, particularly the overly fake grape flavour.

Rating:  Fun novelty, good cola flavour, 5/10

I&J Microwaveable Cheeseburger

A piping hot cheeseburger in 2 minutes without having to leave the house? Yes, please!

I couldn't resist purchasing this when I saw it in the freezer section of my local supermarket.  All excited, I popped it in the microwave and eagerly awaited the moment I would chow down.  My verdict...

Disgusting!  I only managed one bite and promptly spat that out.  The bun tasted stale, the meat tasted off, the cheese was overpowering and the tomato relish could not save the day.

Rating: Give me cheeseburger-in-a-can any day, 0/10

Samboy Atomic Tomato

My friends and I refer to Samboy chips as gut shredders.  They may be tough on the belly, but one thing Samboy gets right is there is always tonnes of flavour.  Atomic tomato is a really unique flavour, there is nothing like it on the market as most brands tend to lean towards a tomato sauce/ketchup flavour. 

Rating: A decent substitute for Thins Light & Tangy 8/10

Cadbury Marvellous Creations Range: Peanut Toffee Cookie

Cadbury has recently brought out a "Marvellous Creations" range of chocolate bars.  The three blocks are: Peanut, Toffee, Cookie (which will be reviewed today); Jelly Popping Candy Beanies; and Jelly Crunchie Bits.  I would have liked to review all three flavours at once but I'm having trouble tracking down the other two flavours.

The first thing to note is the packaging and form of the bar.  It has a fun, carnival type feel to it.  And rather than even pieces to be broken, the fun factor is lifted with the use of irregular shapes, sizes and texturing of the blocks.

But we're not here to appreciate the chocolate like a piece of art, how does it taste?  I would have to say I give this flavour combo 2 thumbs up.  Cadbury chocolate is always great and the combination of peanuts, toffee and cookies gives interesting chewing contrasts.  The flavours are all great, the dairy milk chocolate you should all know and love by now, but for me the toffee was the real stand out.

Rating: Fun the Cadbury way, 8/10

Kettle Sweet Potato, Beetroot and White Sweet Potato Chips

Being a diehard chip eater, and a lover of all forms of sweet potatoe, I couldn't go past this new offering from Kettle chips.  They are what you expect, think thin crunchy chips, but instead of potato you get orange and white sweet potato and beetroot chips instead.

The chips are only very lightly salty which would usually bother me (I have often considered getting a salt lick for my desk at work), but in this case the seasoning is absolutely spot on.  You can taste each of the individual flavours clearly, reminding me of a caramalised version after the veggies that have been cooked up with with a roast lamb.  The yellow are my favourite by far, which isn't to say the others aren't great (because they are).  I can imagine some people being put off by the beetroot flavour.

Rating: A welcome addition to the savoury snacking world, 8/10

KFC Double Down Sandwich

I hadn't planned on heading back to KFC any time soon, but when I heard they were doing a two day limited run of this "burger", the desicion to return was made for me!

Apologies for the terrible photos, I was too eager to take the snaps and so I could start eating!

For those who don't know, a KFC Double Down Sandwich uses two fillet pieces as the "bun" and fill that with melty cheese slices and crispy bacon strips, smothering the result in lashings of BBQ sauce.  Great if you are on a low carb diet, but calorie wise not good for anyone's diet!

Rating: If I hadn't had the Popcorn Chicken Melt yesterday, this would have been a 10, but being unable to remove the memory of the chicken melt I can only give the KFC Double Down a 9/10

Crazy Candyfloss Bubblegum

I picked up these purely for the novelty.  I'm a sucker for a candy that starts one way then changes course during the eating.

 Orange

 Strawberry

Crazy Candyfloss Bubble-Gum starts of light, fluffy and silky, certainly less gritty than traditonal candyfloss. Definitely a pro whencompared the the lumpy crompressed pre-packaged candy you can get in stores
.

I wouldn't be concerned if orange and strawberry aren't your cup of tea, the flavours start out bland and then generally disappear.  If I was a teacher I would give this an encouragement award, I see the promise of what it could be, it just hasn't quite made it yet.

Ratings: for the flavours a bland 4/0, for the concept a solid 9/10

Comments on Jelly Joiners would be appreciated

I have seen the Jelly Joiners post has become a popular page.  Obviously the Jelly Joiners did not float my boat, so to speak, I found they were a little too much on the 'natural' and 'healthy' marketing direction, Given I care little about my teeth weight or health, they were fighting a losing battle with me.  Personally I'd prefer to eat an apple over a naturally tasting apple candy.  I think my tastebuds are more intune with the more processed and unnatural that I grew up on, I don't want natural colours and flavours, i want my ingedients listed as numbers!

I couldn't do a post without some food porn so here are Disney World Mickey waffles with strawberry jelly Rating: For the kid in all of us (10/10)

BTW The Citrus Skittle give a way is still going on so get in quick to claim you prize.

JFJ

KFC Popcorn Chicken Melt

This will be a short review.  I was feeling peckish, wandered into a KFC, saw the picture of the Popcorn Chicken Melt and ordered away.  The Melt includes popcorn chicken, cheese, tomato and a smoky BBQ sauce.

Lucky for me I got my melt to take away or else I would have found myself returning to the counter time and time again.  As it is, I barely managed to get a photo of it before devouring it.

Rating: Already counting down the time til my next one, 10/10

Europe Nougat Honey Log

The Europe Nougat Honey Log is pretty much exactly as it sounds.  The filling is a chewy honey flavoured nougat with peanuts and coconut and smothered in good old Cadbury's milk chocolate.

This is my number one go-to chocolate bar, in fact it was the first solid food I had after having my wisdom teeth out.  I usually eat it the normal way, but on occasion I like to eat off the chocolate and enjoy the nougat on it's own (TMI???).

Rating: There's a reason it's my number one go-to chocolate bar, 10/10

Mentos Aqua Kiss 3D

First a Simpsons quote to sum up how I feel about gum.
Apu: Our wide variety of gum comes in both stick and ball.
Bart: I'm not really about gum, but I like the whole chewing thing.

Mentos Aqua Kiss 3D is a tri-layered sugarfree gum combining the flavours of Watermelon-Pineapple-Melon, Blackberry-Kiwi-Strawberry, Strawberry-Green Apple-Raspberry and Yuzu-Grapefruit-Orange.  There is also a mint based Aqua Kiss however I haven't seen it in stores (or it blended in with all the other mint flavoured offerings).

I want to admit straight up that I hate anything watermelon related (fruit or flavouring).  I did try the Watermelon-Pineapple-Melon flavour though and, although not going into it with high hopes, I didn't hate it.  The watermelon flavour is mild and the melon leaves a nice aftertaste.

Rating: I hate anything watermelon and I didn't hate this! 6/10

Next up was the Blackberry-Kiwi-Strawberry.  I thought this was a great combo of flavours, although the strawberry flavour tends to overpower the others soon after chewing.  Nicely tart which is huge plus for someone like me who could happily eat raw lemons.

Rating: Think sour strawberry, 9/10

I've had the Strawberry-Apple-Raspberry before, until this review it was my go-to gum (I have a feeling it will be the Blackberry-Kiwi-Strawberry from now on). It doesn't quite pack the berry flavour punch of the Blackberr-Kiwi-Strawberry but the apple in this combination is a nice edition and from past experience I can say you can chew these gums for a long time without them becoming boring and tasteless.

Rating: One of the few good uses of apple flavour I've ever tasted 8/10

Finally, the one I was most excited about, the Yuzu-Grapefruit-Orange, I had to check trusty old Wikipedia to find out what a Yuzu was, this is the first time I've seen candy in Australia utilising this flavour.  I love all things citrus and this did not disappoint.  The grapefruit flavour came out kicking before the gum settled to a nice citrus flavour.  Not as sour as I would have liked, but that's just me nitpicking really.

Rating: Would have been a 10 but the flavour faded faster than I would like, 9/10

Hawaii Edition: McDonald's McRib and Cinnamon Melt

I missed the recent Australian limited edition McRib, but I did have the pleasure of enjoying a McRib during a recent trip to Hawaii.  The reports I've heard on the Australian McRib have not been glowing, but I thoroughly enjoyed my Hawaiian version, lot's of sauce, tasty bun, very enjoyable.

Rating: Totally lived up to the hype, 9/10

I also had the pleasure of enjoying a cinnamon melt, which was deliciously warm, melt in the mouth dough and a generous helping of icing, I would say that the McDonald's version blows Cinnabon out of  the water.  If anyone from McDonalds reads this, please, please, please release this in Australia.

Rating: Worth the price of a trip to Hawaii!!! 10/10

McDonald's Sydney Stack

I have been following the McDonald's Flavours of the Games promotions with interest and intend on sampling as many as possible, but due to not being a fan of pineapple I didn't think I could fairly review the Sydney Stack.

The Sydney Stack includes a beef hamburger, bacon, pineapple, beetroot (a must on any Aussie themed burger!), cheese, lettuce tomato and BBQ sauce.  If anyone out there has tried this burger, let me know your thoughts.

Competition: Win Citrus Skittles

In a shameless attempt to get people viewing my blog I have decided to run a competition.  The first five people to email me at JunkFoodJournal@gmail.com with their address win a packet of Citrus Skittles!

Citrus Skittles

As will become apparent as this blog progresses, I am a huge Skittles fan.  I have tried every flavour variation I could get my hands on, my lolly jar at work always contains skittles in an attempt to convert my workmates into fans, I have the lip balm, the whiteboard and the motorised fan (fellow skittle lovers will know what I'm talking about!).

Lemon, Mandarin,

Pink Grapefruit, Lime, Orange

I understand that citrus Skittles are no longer available in Australia, and I don't believe they were sold outside of Australia (feel free to correct me on this), but being the devotee I am I have a handy stash of citrus Skittles at home.

I love citrus flavours, I love Skittles, and as would be expected I love the combo of the two.  Lemon, lime and orange flavours are as you would expect from a packet of original skittles, but it is the pink grapefruit and mandarin that are the true standouts of this mix.  Both have the right mix of bitter and tart to truly evoke the flavours of the pink grapefruit and mandarin.

Rating:  Other confectionery manufacturers please note, pink grapefruit is the next big flavour! 10/10

Cola Mentos

I will never understand why there aren't more cola flavoured candies out there, surely I can't be the only person who likes cola????

Since Cola Mentos came out, I have gone through many packets.  There's not much to say in this review, they're cola flavoured Mentos, they're yum.

Rating: If you like cola flavoured candy, these are for you 9/10

The Natural Confectionery Co. Jelly Joiners

Always on the look out for new products, I noticed an advertising campaign for these Jelly Joiners and decided I must try them, not so much for the flavours on their own but to see if the combinations would deliver.

Cinnamon, Banana, Orange, Raspberry, Lime, Apple

The Natural Confectionery Co. proudly boasts that no artificial colours or flavours are used in their products, a selling point for parents who are concerned about what their kids eat, less so for me as I generally prefer artificial flavours.  The flavours on their own were not great, the cinnamon was pretty mild to the point of being pretty bland and all the other flavours were overpowering and a little sickly sweet for my tastes.

Raspberry Lemonade, Cola, Pear, Bubblegum, Mandarin

The true test for the Jelly Joiners, in my mind, was the combinations.  Could lime + cinnamon really taste like cola???  In a word, no.  The combinations mostly just took on the taste of the most overpowering flavour (there is a reason there are so few banana lollies on the market) and by the end I was struggling to force myself to try the next one.

Rating: A novelty for kids but I wouldn't buy them again, 4/10

River Port Portello soft drink

Many moons ago during the summer my parents would order a mixed crate of soft drinks from Slades. I was pleasantly surprised to find Slades is still going strong delivering soft drinks throughout Melbourne.

I’m finding it difficult to write this review without using the phrase “In my day…”, because in my day drinking soft drink was a rare occurrence, which is why that summer crate of Slades is such a strong happy memory for me.  It was in these assortments that I first discovered Portello.

I’ve seen Portello described as Mediterranean grape, a mix of berries and creaming soda, or as having plum and raspberry overtones, and as kids we decided it was a cola/raspberry mix.  I honestly can’t quite pin down the flavour but I can say it is delicious, although might be a touch on the sweet side for some.

A bit of trivia for any clumsy people like myself, this stuff is near on impossible to remove from cream carpet!

Rating: Hard to find but worth the effort hunting down, 9/10

Thins Light & Tangy

I could write this review with one arm tied behind my back (ok, with one arm up to the elbow in a packet of Light & Tangy chips).

When I was younger, chips came in the standard flavours: Plain, Chicken, BBQ and my COC (Chip of Choice) Salt & Vinegar, there was not a gourmet flavour in sight. Light & Tangy was the first "new" flavour I remeber being introduced.  I'm not sure what compelled me to try it (most likely my "dealer" had sold out of S&V), but try it I did and I never looked back.

I do tend to prefer a thin cut chip to a crinkle cut as the thin cut has a better flavour to chip ratio and I prefer the melt in your mouth thin chip to the gum shredding crunch of a crinkle cut.  Light & Tangy chips provide a wonderfully smooth tomato taste and since their introduction they have been my COC and set the standard by which all other chips are measured.


Rating: Perfection, 10/10

Welcome!

Welcome to Junk Food Journal where I will be delving in to the world of all things delicious, less delicious and just purely for the fun of it. There will be a leaning towards Australian junk food, but mostly it will be whatever strikes my fancy!

Bon Apetit!