Review Update: Hungry Jacks Tropical Whopper

Big thanks to one of my brothers (let's call him B1) for volunteering to try the Hungry Jacks Tropical Whopper on my behalf (I hate pineapple so didn't think I could fairly review it).  The Tropical Whopper is much like a standard Whopper (one of my fave burgers) with the addition of bacon, pineapple and BBQ sauce instead of ketchup.

B1 is a man of few words, the most I could get out of him was "yeah, it was tasty".  But knowing B1 as well as I do, that is indeed high praise, so it looks like this variation of the Whopper gets two thumbs up.

Rating:  Apparently very tasty, 8/10

McDonalds Toffee & Honeycomb Shake

I dropped into Maccas for a meal, nothing specifically on my mind that needed reviewing, when I saw an in store promotion for the all new Toffee & Honeycomb Shake.  So being the dedicated Junk Food blogger that I am, I grabbed one for a trial.

I've had a bit of a look around and it doesn't appear that this product has been advertised yet, but I'm really hoping people stumble onto this product because it is DELICIOUS!  I'm not big on soft serves and shakes, but I love caramel/toffee/honeycomb flavours and this shake delivered.

Rating: One for the caramel/toffee/honeycomb lovers, pure genius, 9/10

Peanut Butter Snickers

Although this product has been out in the US for some time, the product has not actually been released in Australia, but I stumbled upon this at one of my candy haunts and just had to try it (peanut butter chocolate bars are few and far between here in Australia).

Rather than being in bar form, the Peanut Butter Snickers comes as two squares ("Save One For Later" the wrapper encourages).  The filling is the standard nougat as the bottom layer, and where the peanut/caramel layer would be is a layer of crunchy peanut butter.  I really enjoyed this twist on one of my favourites, but I did find myself missing the caramel a bit.

Rating: Note to candy makers, Aussies like peanut butter too, 7/10

Hungry Jacks Tropical Whopper & Tropical Tendercrisp

Unfortunately due to my dislike of pineapple, I didn't think I could really review the latest summer offering from Hungry Jacks.  Would love to hear what others think about it, leave me your thoughts in the comments section.

Mars Honeycomb

I love that chocolate bar makers are trying new variations on well established products.  Not always a success but it keeps things interesting in the candy world.  Released recently is the Mars Honeycomb bar (note: our Mars bar is the same as a Milky Way in the US).

I was a little concerned that the combination of honeycomb flavoured nougat with caramel would be a little sweet for my liking, but one bite of this bar and my concerns were addressed.  Mars has done an excellent job with this product, the honeycomb flavour is nice and subtle, the bar tasting like a standard Mars Bar with a nice, subtle honeycomb aftertaste once the sweetness of the caramel dissipated.

Rating:  Could have been a disaster, well shown restraint by Mars product developers, 9/10

KFC Twister Max

A new product released for Aussie summer at KFC is the Twister Max.  The Twister Max is a wrap with grilled chicken, lettuce, tomato (which I had removed), chorizo, cheese, hash brown, BBQ sauce and mayonnaise.

I apologise for my lousy photos, I did my best to show the product and its contents :)  I have always liked KFC Twisters, but part of the love is for the crispy fried chicken which I probably would have preferred in this instance (but not great for the Calorie count).

Speaking of Calorie counts, in Australia, fast food restaurants are required to post the energy content of their products on the menu.  KFC has found a sneaky little trick of using a low Calorie drink (Pepsi Max) when calculating the energy content of their combos.  So, if you're watching your Calories, don't forget to add extra if you get a full sugar drink.

On the whole I would say the Twister Max is definitely worth a try.  I had a bit of confusion during the first few bites as I had assumed the chorizo was bacon.  Once I worked out it was chorizo, I realised what an awesome addition it makes, I hope other fast food groups follow up on this.  I also loved the addition of the hash brown.  Although the Twister Max has many different ingredients, they all work well together.

Rating: A bonus point for the use of chorizo, one point off for using grilled chicken, 7/10

Parker's Organic Pink Lemonade

Ever since my first trip to the USA, I have been in love with American style lemonade.  Sadly, it is very rare to see anything even close in Australia, so I was terribly excited when I saw pink lemonade on the menu one day when out for breakfast.  It turned up with an old school waxed paper straw (I love anything retro) and I excitedly took a sip, expecting a nice hit of sour lemon flavour tempered with either a strawberry or cherry overtone.  One sip was enough to know something was terribly wrong, the disappointment clear on my face.  The problem?  Let the following ingredient list on the product explain...

The main ingredients are grape or apple, followed by apple?!?!?  Excuse me?  Sadly, all this drink tasted like was lame, fizzy apple juice.  Even though the ingredients state there is lemon and strawberry juices, they were impossible to taste over the strong apple juice flavour.

Rating: If I had ordered fizzy apple juice, it would do OK I guess, but for a Pink Lemonade it gets 0/10

Wishlist: Skittles Candles

I wants, I wants!  As usual, if you see these in Australia, let me know.  I'm also happy to trade or pay people from overseas where these are sold.  You're probably all working out by now I'm a bit of a Skittles fan, and if not the following photo of my current collection should do it! (More photos of the collection on my Facebook page)

McDonalds Pavlova McFlurry

Not my best photograph but I hope you get the idea.  For any non-Australians out there, a pavlova is a very popular Aussie dessert, basically a large cake shaped meringue (crunch on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside).  The pav is typically served topped with cream and fruit such as strawberries, kiwi fruit and passionfruit.

The Pavlova McFlurry is more of a softserve as the ingredients weren't mixed up like a typical McFlurry.  Instead, the softserve is topped with passionfruit syrup and mini meringue pieces.  I'm not really a dessert person, but I actually enjoyed this combination although I found the passionfruit a tad on the sweet side.

Rating: Here's hoping McDonalds does an Eton Mess McFlurry next, 7/10

Why I Have Trouble Keeping Up My Blog...

McDonalds McOz

McDonalds is bringing out a number of new Aussie-themed summer products, one of which is the McOz.  This is one of McDonalds on-again-off-again products which I haven't previously tried.

 

The McOz includes a standard beef patty, beetroot, lettuce, tomato, cheese, onions, mustard and tomato sauce.

I have absolutely no complaints about this burger, being a true Aussie I love betroot on burgers, definitely one of McDonalds better limited time offers in recent times.

Rating: Keep it on the menu please! 9/10

Wishlist: Skittles Darkside

To quote Gollum: "We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious". A new product in America is Skittles Darkside, having the flavours Midnight Lime, Forbidden Fruit, Pomegranate, Blood Orange and Dark Berry.  I think this could be the best Skittles spinoff ever!!!!  If anyone spots these in Oz, please drop me a line.