Kari Poli Candy Sticks: Cola & Soda

I recently picked up a stash of Japanese candy from the wonderful Napa Japan. One of the products that peaked my interest were these Kari Poli Candy Sticks in Cola and Soda flavours.

The box comes with 6 packets, each containing two candy sticks either in the cola or soda flavour. The sticks were solid and of a brittle toffee which was easy to chomp on, and there was a slight fizz to give it a soft drink feel. The flavours were spot on, the cola was sweet with a hint of tartness, the soda was strong and fruity, reminding me of Juicy Fruit.

Rating: Crunch toffee goodness, 8/10

Albanese Army Guys

Walking though Sydney airport recently, I stumbled upon a lolly store carrying candy from around the world. Being a huge Toy Story fan I was drawn almost immediately to the Gummi Army Guys. These guys deserve a 10/10 for novelty overall, the packaging, the shapes and colour of the guys, all well thought out and well executed. But how do they taste???

Is yummo a word? The bag states that the gummis are fruit flavoured. Biting the legs off the rifle man I get hit with a strong, sweet, tart apple flavour that tastes like it has been made with real apple juice.


Rating: They deliver on novelty AND flavour, a rare combination, 10/10

Milky Way Magic Stars

New on shelves are these Milky Way Magic Stars. I can see these jumping off shelves because they're just so cute!

But how do they taste? I had an initial disappointment as I expected that they would be filed with Milky Way whipped nougat and instead got aerated (think Aero on a smaller size) choccie bites. The chocolate was nice and appeared to have a faint hazlenut taste to it. After about my 3rd handful my initial disappointment had melted away!

Rating: Cute and tasty, 7/10

Pringles: Tomato Sauce

The last of my current Pringles stash are Pringles Tomato Sauce. When it comes to chips, many have tried variation on a tomato theme, few have succeeded. The verdict on Pringles Tomato Sauce...

Fantastic! The flavour reminds me of a good tomato paste and has just the right intensity.

Rating: I will happily eat this again, hope it's not limited edition, 8/10

Pringles Loaded Baked Potato

I love that Pringles are constantly trialling new flavour combinations. Some are wonderful, others miss the mark, but it is always fun to try the new flavour.

I knew as soon as I opened the lid, I wasn't going to like these. Unfortunately I have an instant dislike to any bacon type flavouring used in chip products and the facon smell was extremely strong on this product. However, a few friends who like bacon flavouring thought the chips were fantastic.

Rating: You either like bacon flavour, or you don't. I don't 1/10

Pringles: Balsamic Vinegar (Japan) & Screamin' Dill Pickle

Pringles week continues with two of the more bizarre flavours, Balsamic Vinegar (from Japan) and Screamin' Dill Pickle.

The Balsamic Vinegar Pringles were a flat out disappointment.  I was expecting a really acidic flavour with strong balsamic overtones, what I got was more like a sour cream and chive flavour with no acidity and no discernible balsamic taste.

Rating: Could have been great but failed miserably, 4/10

On the other hand, Screamin' Dill Pickle Pringles deliver exactly what they promise, the flavour being reminiscent of a McDonalds pickle.  Unfortunately, pickle flavouring is disgusting and not something I want tainting my potato chips, I only managed to eat half a pringle.

Rating: Delivers on flavour promise, but the flavour is sickening, 4/10

Pringles: Pizza

I need a bit of a break from the sweet stuff so it's Pringles week here at Junk Food Journal. First cab off the rank is Pizza Pringles. I had no real expectations of what the flavour might be, I just opened the packet and dove in. The verdict...

Awesome! In fact, I got through the packet before realising I hadn't stopped to take a photo of the chips themselves. The flavour is a strong tomato with a nice acidity, and the cheese (possibly parmesan?) flavour is subtle and not overpowering at all.

Rating: Would happily eat again, 8/10

Marshmallow Fluff

Marshmallow Fluff is the stuff of legend, and while not easy to find in Australia it can be found in the breakfast spread aisle in some supermarkets.

The original Marshmallow Fluff tastes like uncooked meringue.  I love this stuff and can happily eat it straight from the jar.  I also use it every year at christmas as snow for my gingerbread house, and I have plans to use it as a frosting on cupcakes.

Rating: Fluff-tastic, 10/10

The raspberry flavour was a disappointment.  The flavouring tasted extremely artificial, which is not usually a bad thing for me but in this case it was overpowering and left a bitter, chemical aftertaste.  After experiencing this I don't think I'll bother tracking down the strawberry flavour.

Rating: Artificial tasting, but not in a good way 3/10

Sour Cola Zombie Chew

Spoiler alert: Cola is my favourite flavour and I love all things sour so it's pretty easy to guess the rating I'm going to give the Sour Cola Zombie Chew.

Zombie Chews are flavoured taffy with a sour sherbet filling, and as a connoisseur of cola lollies, this is one of the best cola flavours in the candy world.

Zombie Chews are also available in grape, apple, strawberry and blueberry.


Rating: If I could only eat one candy for the rest of my life, this would be it, 10/10

Caramel Space Food Sticks

I love everything about Space Food Sticks.  From the wonderfully retro packaging to the chewy fudginess of the stick.  The package states that Space Food Sticks "are a nutritional energy food modeled on a product developed for the U.S. Space Program".  I don't know if Space Food Sticks have ever been consumed in outer space, but I'm happy to snack away on them.  Also available in chocolate.

Rating: The food of the future, 9/10

KFC Sweet Sesame Crunch

KFC has been keeping me busy lately with the release of lots of new products.  Today I tried the new Sweet Sesame Crunch chicken.  To help with the review I also grabbed a piece of original recipe for comparison.  The Sweet Sesame Crunch was delicious, the coating was crunchy and had a sweet glaze, in the end I was disappointed I got the original recipe instead of an extra piece of the Sweet Sesame Crunch.

Rating: In a word, awesome! 10/10

Donut King Chocolate Eclair

It was once tradition in my family that birthdays were celebrated with a Donut King donut cake.  This would be a giant, donut shaped cake, made from donut batter, filled with a 2-inch layer of "cream", raspberry jam, thickly iced and decorate with lollies.  I'm lead to believe that donut king no longer make these cakes, so these days I get my fix with one of their eclairs.

Made of donut and given an eclair like shape, the center is filled with the bright white "cream" and a strip of super sweet raspberry jam.  I absolutely love this combination, I'm not sure what goes into the "cream" but it is light, fluffy and smooth, with the jam adding just the right amount of acidity.

Rating: I couldn't imagine a more perfect cake type product. 10/10

KFC BBQ Bacon Roller

KFC is keeping me on my toes at the moment, with lots of new products to taste and review.  Today I tried from their new Roller range which offers two choices: Nacho Cheese and BBQ Bacon.  My intention was to try the Nacho Cheese, as we don't see many products using nacho cheese sauce here in Australia, but sadly the KFC I found was out of nacho cheese sauce.  Disappointed, I ordered the BBQ Bacon instead.

The BBQ Bacon Roller came with popcorn chicken, a rasher of bacon, cheese and BBQ sauce, all wrapped in a tortilla and toasted.  It was pretty good for a snack, I wouldn't base a main meal around it.  The smokey BBQ sauce was bordering on being overpowering, but otherwise a decent enough snack. Hopefully I can try the Nacho Cheese Roller before they disappear.

Rating: A nice snack but stick with the KFC Popcorn Melt, 6/10

Cadbury Mini Drops

Another new Cadbury product to hit shelves are the Mini Drops, Cadbury's take on a candy shelled chocolate similar to M&Ms or Smarties.

The hero for me in most Cadbury products is the chocolate, but for some reason that flavour did not shine through in this product.  My hands also became quickly stained with the colouring of the shell, and this colouring seemed to add an unpleasant flavour to the product.

Rating: I think I'll stick with M&M's, 5/10

Tic Tac: Strawberry Fields and Citrus Twist

I am an avid fan of orange tic tacs and I'm always on the lookout for non-mint flavoured mint type products.  With this in mind I picked up the latest offerings from Tic Tac, Strawberry Fields and Citrus Twist.

Strawberry Fields comes with candies in two shades of pink.  The lighter colour has a mild strawberry flavour with a minty aftertaste, the darker shade has a stronger, truer strawberry flavouor.  On the whole, I liked the darker coloured candies but could do without the lighter shade.

The Citrus Twist comes with lemon (yellow) and lime (green), the lemon seemed to have a hint of mint (I really don't dig fruit flavours with mint), while the lime was pleasant enough.

Rating: Only liked one flavour out of the two in each pack, 5/10

Cadbury Marvellous Creations Range:

Having already tested the Peanut Toffee Cookie, I finally tracked down the other two flavours in the Cadbury Marvellous Creations Range, Jelly & Crunchie Bits, and Jelly, Popping Candy & Beanies.  I didn't go into this tasting with high expectations as I typically don't like the mixture of fruit jelly type candy with chocolate.  My verdict...

I couldn't be more wrong! Whether combined with the honeycomb crunch of the Crunchie Bits, or the crunch of the Beanie (similar to Smarties) shell and the fun of the Popping Candy after the chocolate was eaten, the Jelly pieces were a wonderful, chewy, fruity addition.

Ratiing: Fun and yum, 9/10

Cadbury Cookie Crunch Picnic

New on shelves is the special edition Cadbury Cookie Crunch Picnic.  Much like the regular Picnic (a chocolate bar on high rotation in my regular snacking), the Cookie Crunch includes chocolate biscuit pieces in the chocolate coating.

I really enjoyed this bar.  While I would probably prefer the regular Picnic, I would happily substitute the Cookie Crunch version if need be.  The biscuit chunks in the chocolate add a welcome additional texture and the flavour lends itself nicely to the picnic bar.  Glad they kept the peanuts though, it might have come across a tad sweet without them.

Rating: Well crafted special addition that actually adds to the regular experience, 9/10

Snickers 3 Nuts

There is nothing that grabs my attention faster than the words "limited edition", so the new Snickers 3 Nuts virtually jumped off the shelf into my shopping basket, as did a regular Snickers for comparison purposes.

The Snickers 3 Nuts comes with nougat, caramel, peanuts and chocolate of a regular Snickers with the edition of hazlenuts and almonds.  I enjoyed the 3 Nuts version, noticeably less salty than the regular and the almonds were noticeable and a nice addition, I can't say I could pick up the hazelnuts though.

Rating: A nice variation on the regular Snickers, 7/10

Hungry Jacks BBQ Rodeo Minis

For some reason I can't explain, sliders haven't really taken off here in Australia.  As someone who adores any food recreated in miniature, I don't quite understand this.  Having said this, Hungry Jacks minis (also available in cheeseburger) have been around for a while now and I'm only just getting around to trying them.

The BBQ Rodeo Minis are two mini burgers with cheese, onion rings, BBQ sauce and mayonnaise.  I loved them, they were cute, they were miniature, but they packed a big taste.  The onion rings added a nice bit of crunch, the BBQ sauce was tangy goodness and, let's face it, what food can't be improved with a bit of mayo?!?!

Rating: Yummo, can't wait to go back and try the cheeseburger version, 8/10

Hubba Bubba Mystery Flavor Bubble Tape

From my readings of overseas blogs, the latest trend in candy is the production of a "mystery" flavour.  At my favourite local sweet shop that sells candy from around the world, I picked up this roll of Hubba Bubba Mystery Flavor Bubble Tape and had a little trial with some of my work mates.

Before I go on to our verdict, I will note that I haven't actually looked it up to see what flavour it is meant to be.  The concensus at work was that it was sour blueberry, in fact we agreed to the point where it wasn't so much "mystery flavor" opening a long discussion and debate over what it was, but rather "kind-of obvious flavor" where the first person said blueberry, and everyone immediately agreed.

Aside from the mystery aspect, the flavour was rather nice.  I love that hubba bubba taste, the sweetness of real sugar in a gum product and the perfect amount of sourness to keep my tastebuds happy.

Rating: Little mystery but a great chew none-the-less, 8/10

McDonalds Flavours of the Games: Beijing Chicken

Available from July 4-17, the McDonalds Beijing Chicken includes a crispy chicken patty, cucumber, lettuce, sweet chilli sauce and mayonnaise on a sesame seed bun.

I was excited to try this burger, it's not often you see cucumber on a burger, although I would have picked this flavour combo as being more Vietnamese than Chinese.

The smell of the burger was great, the freshness of the cucumber shining through, I really couldn't wait to tuck in. The verdict...

...it was ok. I enjoyed it, I loved what the cucumber added to the burger, but although good I wouldn't be rushing out to have another one, I think I'd rather a McChicken.

Rating: Glad I tried it, no need for another 7/10

Call Out To Fellow Candy Lovers Around The World

If any of my readers from around the world are interested in swapping local candy for Aussie products, drop me a line at junkfoodjournal@gmail.com

Starburst Fruit Smoothies

A new product to hit the shelves, Starburst Fruit Smothies grabbed my attention as I was wandering the candy aisle.  To be honest, if not for this blog I probably wouldn't have bothered trying this product because I prefer straight out fruit flavours rather than cream/fruit gummis.

The flavours were banana, mango, lime, raspberry and blueberry.  The flavours were nice enough and generally what you would expect of a Starburst product but as predicted I didn't like the watered down cream versions.

Rating:  Grab a bag of chews or jelly babies instead, 4/10