Tony's Chocolonely Rhubarb Crumble

Things have been highly strange in the CreamySteaks household lately...the main source of strangeness being the uncertainty of the household! See, we've been moving around between a few different apartments in the last month or so - explaining my lack of solid updates. Nothing big, so don't worry my dear readers - but I apologize for not being around so much.

What hasn't been strange is my desire to eat more and more chocolate. In times of uncertainty, I tend to find comfort in fat, sugar, and salt. In times of joy, I find a happy companion in sugar, fat, and salt. Basically they're always there for me - the three amigos, whatever the weather!
And me? I'm Dogtanian.

Tony Chocolonely is a company out of the Netherlands, specializing in big blocks of chocolate that are 100 percent fair-trade and super freaking tasty. Yeah, I'll cut to the chase: this milk chocolate was the top banana. They've got a great message as well, and I recommend a browse on their site to learn more about that, but I'm going to tell you how delicious it is, first of all.

The bar I tried came courtesy of my in-laws who had just returned from a trip to Amsterdam - I had requested just any ol' chocolate from there but little did I know that they'd return with such a massive bar of something that is quite unique!

The packaging is super colorful & very eye-catching, with bold type face & bright color choices. In Dutch, it seems to say Rhubarb Crumble, and milk chocolate.

The bar is unevenly split, and also really quirky and cute. As you can see it's super thick squares, so very satisfying. It's not too difficult to snap, even though it's so strangely formatted.

The milk chocolate is creamy, milky, and not too sweet. Imagine Milka with about a 45% cut in sugar, or Lindt with a more traditional texture & melt.

The rhubarb crumble seemed to mean a spread of both big & fine chunks of shortbread, interspersed with tangy and perhaps freeze-dried little bits of rhubarb. Really tangy & sweet, in that way that rhubarb candy or pie is.

It's here that I should warn you, Tony's Chocolonely seems quite difficult to come by in the UK. They have a webshop and you can send them an email and say exactly what you want to order, and they will manually process it. but they don't have any official UK stockists yet. I've got my fingers crossed that they will someday just be in shops - like Selfridges would be a good choice. Here's how to order Tony's Chocolonely in the UK or worldwide.

Pokemon Ramen, Soy Flavor

This was one of the items I got in my OyatsuBox for June. This is currently one of the most popular items on OyatsuCafe, as well! It also comes in a Seafood variety, but I'm glad I got soy. As much as I've gotten used to the taste of seafood in real life, I still don't think the flavor gets translated well into an artificial form. Soy on the other hand - what can go wrong?

This is a snack-size portion, just about 150 calories for the pot.

It's all very on-theme for Pokemon - well, specifically Pikachu. I wonder if Pikachu is going to get his own year like Luigi? Frankly, every year is the Year of Pikachu, as beloved as he is. I'm waiting for the Year of Meowth. I was surprised that the only included packaged thing in this packet was a sticker, but it was very cute!

It's just that usually with instant noodles they get layered on with soup, dried vegetables, oils, et cetera in packages that you take out while the noodles cook. In this case, all of the flavoring & additional items for the ramen were already mixed into the noodles. As you can see, adorable Pikachu fishcakes included. Also bits of corn, green onion, and soybits. By that I mean soy-flavored powder.

Here it is after cooking. Love the completely distorted Pikachu in the top left. Reminds me of Marge's discount smeared t-shirt from the Simpson's.

I find with Japanese instant noodles that they're usually very springy & a bit chewier than the instant noodles created elsewhere in the world. They've got some bite & chew where a lot of instant noodles get quite soft. The quality is a bit higher than average - well, if you like noodles to be more al dente. Kudos for them being this nice from what is probably a children's snack noodle!

The soup is salty & quite savory, with a tiny bit sweet of a soy sauce base. The fishcakes are ever-so-slightly fishy with a chewy & slightly rubberized feeling - trust me though, it's nice. The corn freshens up really well after being cooked, and tastes like sweet canned corn. The green onions...kinda don't show up at all.

Over all, this was a really tasty and filling snack. They're kind of expensive for the size of the pot, but it comes with a collectible sticker & I think you can keep the packaging by cleanly removing it from the bowl, as well. If you're a big Pokemon fan, I think it's worth it.

OyatsuBox July Unboxing

Another month, another awesome OyatsuBox! This July I received a great variety of snacks - gummies, crisps, stranger snack than that - and a mysterious little fellow who seemed to be quite upset with me.

Special feature of this video that was missing from the others: I tested some of the candy right there, on camera. Have a watch, and subscribe to me on Youtube if you please. Oh, I do hope that you please.

Starbucks UK, Summer Frappuccinos - Caramel Coffee Jelly Frappuccino & Lemon Vanilla Creme Frappuccino

I was happy to have caught on Facebook that Starbucks & Uniqlo had teamed up for a launch party for their new summer drinks last Thursday. It was a fun event, open to the public with a DJ, some baristas handing out samples, and Uniqlo goodie bags! It was a good time - I hope the turn out was good enough to warrant more of these sorts of collaborative launch events in the UK.

I tried both of the new flavors - one of which is incredibly exciting for here in the UK: Coffee Jelly! Long a popular seasonal flavor in certain Asian countries (coffee jelly is a popular dessert in Japan, for instance) it's a flavor I never really imagined would come out here. I mean, this is a country that's still not 100 percent convinced about s'mores. However, the popularity of bubble tea in London and elsewhere in the UK at the moment might have been a signal to Starbucks that the time was right. Still, interesting & exciting - good for them for taking a risk, considering how I usually berate the UK branches of chains & food distributors for being too risk averse.

The Caramel Coffee Jelly was definitely my favorite, not too sweet as the coffee jelly has slight bitterness which balances the caramel-base of the frapp quite nicely. Of course, since it's also a coffee based frappuccino you get some of the coffee's bitterness coming through, as well. Don't get me wrong, the caramel does keep it on the sweeter side of the spectrum. At the event they were very generous with the jelly serving, but given my rather unpleasant experience with the Fan Favorite flavors, I'd say your mileage may vary at actual branches.

 Unless my suspicions were correct & that the Fan Favorites here in the UK were kind of a "oh crap, these are a big success in America!...how can we do it here? quick, send out a couple recipes to shops & tell 'em to do those chalk drawings of these four flavors!". See, they never seemed to be getting too promoted - like, they didn't have corporate-made signs, all of the signage for the fan flavors seemed to be done in-shop. I would say it's fair to reason that if these flavors receive more of a traditional marketing push that the recipes will stay uniform throughout - and you'll end up with great globs of coffee jelly.

The Lemon Vanilla Creme, while delicious, was insanely sweet. It's a creme base frappe with lemon & vanilla syrups. Lemon is one of those flavors that really needs a lot of sugar to stop it being unpalatablely sour. As much as I enjoy this kind of sweet & sour lemon flavor, it really only works in a quick-hit format, or when coupled with something slightly more base or even bitter. For instance, a lemon drizzle cake with tea works because you take a big glug of tea in-between bites. This drink was kinda just a liquid lemon drizzle cake - sounds delicious, right? Well, like I said, it was, but I can't imagine it would stay tasty in 12oz format. Eventually you'd reach maximum sugar, with no end in sight. Like a giant slice of lemon drizzle cake or lemon tart, with nothing to drink on the side.

 It's a shame, but I think with a bit of tweaking to make it more vanilla with a hint of lemon, this would go down a lot more smoothly. It's also kind of a shame that it's not the vanilla bean powder frapp base, which is a bit less sweet than one based around vanilla syrup. Is Starbucks USA even still using that vanilla bean powder? I used to get that frappucinno often!

Over all both of these were quite interesting choices for the UK, and I'm looking forward to a big heaping Coffee Jelly frapp as the weather heats up. 

OyatsuBox June Unboxing

New unboxing video! This OyatsuBox is even better than last month's. Take a look and feel free to subscribe to me on Youtube.



As I mentioned in the video, I plan to do a giveaway once my prize from OyatsuBox arrives. Keep your eyes peeled here, Twitter, and Facebook - I'll be making a big stink of it everywhere!

Starbucks UK Fan Favourite Flavor Frappuccinos - Cinnamon Swirl & Summer Pie (Part 2)

Readers, I've had a crappy job. I worked at Walmart for 2 years, America's most soul-destroying chain of slophouses. I smiled all day, because that was part of the job. If I was a jag, I was out the door. Doesn't matter if it was a guy trying to turn his counterfeit cash over to me to change out for a Reese's Cup, a dentist handing me a small bible as a "tip", or the guy who said I should get out in the sun because I was too pale - I had to smile. I didn't have to be nice, but I had to play it. In American service culture, this face is important. It makes or breaks a franchisee, and it's the difference between the Target across from your house, and the Target about 15 minutes away. You'll chose the one where people have the right idea about the face. I'm not too bothered about service here, I get that Europeans tend to see American service as disingenuous (it is, but it feels good man) so it's usually a bit less smiley & less conversational. Fine by me for the most part.

See, I understand service is different everywhere you go, but man oh man - watch out at London Starbucks if you're ordering these new Fan Favorite drinks, because it is stink eye central. I've ordered them twice now, and both times it was like I was asking them for a Googoo Cluster Frappuccino & whatever cash they got. A 'face' best described as scared and angry. I go to Starbucks plenty and order standard drinks with no issues, but for whatever reason these are frightening and confusing to Starbucks employees in London. Should've guessed by how they've hidden the signage about them from view. So, I have no idea if these are being made properly or what - again mine was very thin and separated into a couple layers, but that might've been a result of the gorilla-slam it took against the counter as the girl barked CINNAMON FRAP at me.

Jokes on her, I loved it anyway.

The Cinnamon Swirl Frappuccino has cinnamon syrup, coffee, white mocha sauce, and even vanilla - so this is one syrupy affair. Apparently it's meant to come topped with a cinnamon sprinkle, but I wanted to get out of that Starbucks alive so I didn't mention it. Given all those syrups, I was worried it might be a bit too sweet - the cookie dough one did actually border on it. However, the cinnamon & coffee work nicely to add a bit of spice & a bit of bitterness to it. Don't get me wrong, it's still far more a dessert than a coffee drink, but if you like the sweetness of a standard Frappaccino it isn't much sweeter than that.

The taste really does do a good job of approximating a cinnamon bun - with the white chocolate mocha & vanilla combining into something far greater than the sum of their parts: Cinnabon style icing. The cinnamon is sweet & just a touch spicy, and is really the dominant flavor.

This one is actually my favorite so far, and the one I can actually see drinking again sometime. While the Cupcake was nice and the Cookie Dough was okay, both of them are the sorts of drinks that never really make sense after you've tried them the first time. I already had a sweet milkshake of this flavor - I don't really need to try it again. The Cinnamon Swirl however is very well blended & since it actually has some coffee in it, tastes like a bit more than just a milkshake.

I look forward to trying Summer Pie. I'll amend this review to also include it, and hopefully an update on a better experience in Starbucks when ordering these, haha.

I kid the Starbucks employees, I wouldn't want anyone to lose their job over disappointing an American in the fast food service realm - I mean, it's really easy to do. I'm sure that they just hate making these because they're new recipes with lots of syrup & bits and such.

Pierre Marcolini - Macaron Concession, Selfridges

Readers of the blog are probably aware of my London macaron hunt; I've already reviewed Laduree & Pierre Herme. That leaves only a few left to try including William Curley, Paul, Artisan du Chocolat's ganache macarons, and today Pierre Marcolini.

Pierre Marcolini as a brand seems to focus in quite a bit on chocolates - as you'll see later on in this review, I can see why. They've recently opened a dedicated cafe for London in Marylebone, whereas before the were sold only in the Selfridges Food Hall. Not only are they selling macarons & chocolates, but the Marylebone cafe also sells eclairs baked on the premises. Glad to see a bit more of the patisserie side of things popping up, as I had bemoaned the Pierre Herme cafe for a lack of cakes & pastries. Good on Pierre Marcolini for giving it a try. Hopefully if the eclairs sell well they'll go on and start serving Religieuse, Saint Honore, et cetera. I'll try my best to encourage this, haha.

So, where are we at then? Macarons! The variety is a bit more adventurous than Laduree, and a little less 'mature' than Pierre Herme. For instance, there is a Speculoos macaron & quite a few chocolate varieties.

Our selections included:
Pierre Marcolini, Framboise, Pistachio, Palet Or Fondant, The Citrus, and Passionfruit.

Pretty sure I've got the order right. I'll cut right to the chase: the BEST macarons from Pierre Marcolini are the chocolate ones. It makes sense, as the focus does seem to be on chocolate, at least in the international market. They are also amazing. Properly bitter dark ganache holds it's own against sweet, buttery caramel notes in the Palet Or Fondant. Instead of blending into one sweetened dark chocolate, as I suspected might happen, two distinct tastes were produced, with a bitter beginning and a sweet end. The equivalent, I suppose, of a filled caramel dark chocolate. Really lovely stuff!

The macaron shells are slightly chewier than Pierre Herme, but less chewy than Laduree - putting them in the middle in terms of chew. The fillings were particularly soft as well - the chocolate ones were similar to ganache in terms of thickness & unctuousness.

To be fully honest, I can hardly remember the taste of the flavors that contained no chocolate - but the ones with chocolate? Unforgettable.

I recall the Framboise was an amazing zingy, perfectly balanced chocolate and raspberry combo. Not too sweet milk chocolate base with a natural raspberry flavor - minus the seeds, add a bit of zest.

The Pierre Marcolini was deserving of what I presume is it's signature status - semi-sweet Grand Cru chocolate with a hint of vanilla to sweeten & deepen the flavors. It reminded me of a homemade chocolate pudding, baked in the oven with vanilla.

The The Citrus is a citrus tea, kind of refreshing bergamot with a squeeze of lemon. Similar to an Earl Gray, this one was my favorite of the non-chocolate flavors.

The Passionfruit was suitably sharp & strong, but it didn't leave a hugely lasting impression. I think that has more to do with the greatness of the chocolate flavors, than any failing on the end of this one.

The Pistachio suffered a similar fate - nutty, warm & sweet, but it didn't stick out any particular way.

I highly recommend trying out the chocolate varieties, and the flavor of the month at the moment sounds nice -Yuzu. I'd like to check out the shop in Marylebone and try an eclair, as well.