Funny Starburst Commercials

 I find that Starburst commercials go dark pretty quickly, not that I mind it.

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Mixue, The Ice Cream Trend That I Didn’t Know Anything About

 My first experience with Mixue happened in Thailand. I was walking through a mall that I have visited many times when I noticed a new ice cream place. It appeared to be a soft serve ice cream shop, and I didn’t really give it much thought. Later that afternoon I walked by the shop again only to see a gigantic line forming outside the shop. This isn’t something new to Thailand as it’s a bit of a collection spot for trendy foods. I figured that that ice cream shop might just be the newest hip thing and eventually the lines would die down and maybe on a future visit I’ll give it a try. I’m not really the type of person to line up for soft serve ice cream, unless someone I trust tells me it’s worth the wait.

I few months later I was back in Thailand and once again I walked by this unassuming ice cream place and once again it had a huge line. It was a little peculiar as often the trendy places in Thailand die down in popularity fairly quickly, and in some cases they even shut down in a few months. This one however had some staying power. I once again didn’t get a cone, but I decided to keep an eye on this place.

A little while later I found myself in Singapore, and I happened to walk by an ice cream place, and once again it had a huge line. Upon closer inspection I realized that this was actually the same place that I saw in Thailand. Now I was seriously intrigued. After all it just looks like a run of the mill soft serve ice cream place, so why are people lined up for basic soft serve all over Asia? Could it be that there’s some kind of special treat they offer, or maybe the vanilla ice cream is that great?

When I past the first shop in Singapore, I didn’t have time to stop, but as luck would have it Allison and I came across another location and amazingly enough there wasn’t a huge line. It was just after supper and a soft serve ice cream would make for the perfect dessert. While there wasn’t a lineup, it was still a bit of a challenge to get a cone.

I’m not sure if this is the same at every Mixue location, but the stores in Singapore don’t take credit card. This is problematic for us since we were only visiting Singapore for a short time, and didn’t have much cash. We tried to go to the kiosks to pay and order only to learn that they only took certain forms of payment, none of them being credit card. In order to pay cash you had to walk up to the register. I didn’t even know what I wanted to order, so I used the self service screens to pick what I wanted and walked up to the register.

As it turns out, they offered a super cheap 1 Singapore dollar “World Famous” ice cream cone. Since it was world famous I figured that’s what I should probably get. I walked up to the counter and the person explained that if I was paying cash and only wanted an ice cream cone that I had to go to the walk up window outside the store. At this point the long lineup seemed very inviting. We made our way to the window outside the shop and by that time a short lineup had started to form, but we were already committed.

At the window there was one man frantically making ice cream cones and taking people’s dollar. My time came and fortunately I had a few people in front of me to show me what to do. I soon had a cone in my hand and I was super excited to see what all the fuss was about.

Turns out... the fuss was about nothing that great. I wouldn’t really call the ice cream bad, but I’ve had better. Give me a Canadian ice cream truck soft serve, or a cone from Joe’s in Wales any day over this. Sure the size was pretty good, and it looked cool, but flavour wise it was average. The cone was actually the highlight of the whole treat, it was a bit better than the store bought ones you get with most soft serve ice cream places.

That price was certainly worth it, but I’m not sure that this ice cream is worth the waiting time I’ve seen at some locations. I feel like the hype of this place and the nice mascot design is the real draw. I got my photos, ate my cone, and cooled off on a hot Singapore night, but I can’t say that I was overly impressed.

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Ever Wonder Why I Might Not Review Something?

 Today I decided to explain why I don't review each and every treat that I come across.

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Learn Some Snack Facts Now

  If you've ever wondered about the origins of potato chips or gummy bears, then I've got the perfect comic books for you. Pick up Snack Facts now on Amazon or at candycritic.org/snackfacts.

Classic Lindt Chocolate

There are a few brands of chocolate that really celebrate chocolate diversity and Lindt might be the biggest. I'm pretty sure Lindt has a bar for almost every taste of chocolate imaginable. I'm not sure how low a cocoa content Lindt goes to, but I think once they go over 60% they have a version for at least every ten percent. They also have white chocolates and chocolates with various nuts. Maybe one day I might try and sample each and every chocolate combination that Lindt offers, but when I do, I have to make sure I taste them different ways. After all, some chocolate is great for baking, some is better with s'mores, and some is great on their own.

Check out my latest Lindt chocolate review with the 70% bar.

Funny Airheads Commercials

 With a name like Airheads, it's not surprising they would find the funny in heads expanding and people floating away.

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Lot of Blue Orchid

 I'm making new Blue Orchid stuff all the time, we have all kinds of comics, both print, digital and special micro comics. We even have t-shirts now!

Make sure to check out www.bewarethecheese.com/blueorchid/ or see what I've got on Amazon.

Happy Victoria Day

 

I hope all my Canadian friends are enjoying a slice of Victoria sponge on this awesome day.

Funny M&M's Candy Commercials

 I find the fact that they know that they're candy to be the best part of the humour, but also something that keeps me up at night.

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Difference Between Canadian and Thai Tim Hortons

 

Being Canadian, I believe it is my solum duty to visit every Tim Horton's that I come across in my travels. The one thing I've learned is that while there are some similarities between all of the Tim Horton's around the world, there are also often some very interesting differences. On a recent trip to Thailand, I was talking to a Canadian friend who complained that the Tim Horton's in Thailand aren't as good as the ones in Canada. While I don't think I can say for sure if one is better than the other, I do want to point out 3 interesting features that Thai Tim Horton's have that I don't think I've ever seen at a Canadian Tim Horton's.

The first difference is obvious right off the bat, and that's the decorations. I find that most Tim Horton's in Canada are very similar in their decoration choice. There are often a few artistic flourishes, but for the most part Tim Horton's in Canada are very fast food looking. In Thailand however I find a lot more art, and almost all of the art has a Canadian theme. 

It also almost always incorporates small details about Tim Horton's into the art. It could be street scene with a Tim Horton's featured, or sometimes it's artistic interpretations of the popular foods served at Tim Horton's. Donuts and Timbits are very common, but occasionally it's the coffee cups as well.

The real difference is that in Canada the restaurants are decorated to celebrate Tim Horton's, but in Thailand they're not only celebrating Tim Horton's, but also Canada.

The second difference between Tim Horton's in Canada and Tim Horton's in Thailand are the doughnuts. For the most part the doughnuts in Canada are just a quick dessert that no one would consider to be very fancy. In Thailand however the doughnuts are presented in a clean glass case, and are very elegantly decorated.

There is also no tradition to follow in Thailand, so the variation of flavours and types of doughnuts is huge. I would almost describe the doughnuts in Thailand as being closer to fancy desserts than the doughnuts in Canada, following food trends and always changing. In Canada they do offer higher end doughnuts, but in Thailand almost all of the doughnuts are higher end. Even if they're the simple doughnuts, like a chocolate glazed, they're presented in a much more fancy way.

The final thing that I love about Tim Horton's in Thailand is the merchandise. While there are a few things one can buy at Tim Horton's in Canada like cups, and coffee related merchandise, Tim Horton's in Thailand offers some pretty cool stuff. Hats and t-shirts are common.

They also have a bunch of "Canadian" animal characters that are not only on the doughnut boxes, but also on bags, mugs and t-shirts.

I don't think it's fair to say that one countries Tim Horton's is better than the other. It really depends what you're looking for in a Tim Horton's. What I love about all Tim Horton's in the things that make them different, but also the things that tie them together. I've visited Tim Horton's in at least 5 or 6 different countries, and I've never been disappointed.

It's A New Episode of Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!!

 This mysterious little bun looked almost exactly the same as the package, but the real question is how did it taste?

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Those Beasties and Their Treats

Don't forget to check out my fun alphabet book featuring beasts and the treats they love.

Treats and Beasts is available on Amazon or by visiting bewarethecheese.com/treatsnbeasts/

Funny Sour Patch Kids Commercials

 I'm not sure I really ever understood the whole first they're sour then they're sweet add campaign.

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Some Facts About Snacks

 Check out Snack Facts, a fun, illustrated look at the history (as well as some bonus facts) about some of the snacks you love.

You can pick up your very own copy at candycritic.org/snackfacts or on Amazon.

Surprise Candies

You would think after the many years I've spent taste testing candies that I wouldn't be surprised anymore. I have learned to decipher clues on candy packaging fairly well, but I still occasionally miss certain clues as to what might be inside some candies. Granted, if it's a candy from a place where I can't read the package it's far more likely. There are also some cultural references on candy packages that get by me. Probably the most common reason for me to be surprised about a candy is when I'm either really excited about a package or if I'm in a rush to buy some candy (it happens more than you might think). I'll be honest, even if I don't like the candy I do love the occasional surprise.

Check out my latest review with a surprise that I really enjoyed.

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Funny Skittles Commercial

 I think Skittles commercials really pushed the boundaries of what's funny versus what's extraordinarily weird.

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Is Nutella Better Than Nutella?

 

I've written a series of blogs comparing various spreads to Nutella. I use Nutella as a comparison because I feel like many people have sampled the stuff. I'll also be very honest here, I believe Nutella is one of the best dessert like spreads in the world. There are a few better, but Nutella is pretty amazing considering it's so mass produced. Today however, I think Nutella may have met it's match... literally.

I've recently come across the same Nutella two different ways. One is in a giant jar (from Costco) while the other is in a tiny single serving blister pack. One is meant to be one serving, the other is really small (I joke). From what I know both of these Nutella samples were manufactured in the same place (Canada). They're also both about equally fresh. So in theory they should be exactly the same, only in different sizes.

Here's the strange thing, the minute I started to smear on the Nutella, I got the sense that the one in the smaller package was a little bit darker. It's very subtle, and may not even really show up in a photo, but I felt like it was just a tiny bit darker than the stuff in the big jar. Could they be cheating out on cocoa for the stuff they sell in bulk?

Flavour wise they seemed pretty similar, although my mind may have been playing with me a little. I thought the smaller package of Nutella tasted a little more cocoa full. If we take this possibly hypothetical difference out, there are a few other things worth noting about the two. First of all the small one gives you less Nutella. Take that any way you like. If you're trying to cut back on Nutella usage, it might be a good tool. If you want more Nutella in your life, it's not great.

The smaller container was also a little harder to get the Nutella out. I've always said that a near empty jar of Nutella is a bit of a challenge, and this small container was like a near empty jar virtually instantly. One of the good features of the small package is the portability. If you need Nutella on the go, this is really the better way.

It's really hard to decide which is better. Since economics plays a role in this for me, I think I'll stick with the bulk jars. Even if there is slightly less cocoa, they're good enough and the difference is ever so slight (if any at all). I like to get little packages of Nutella when I'm eating out, only because an open jar of Nutella at a restaurant or breakfast buffet is always tragic. People need some serious Nutella etiquette.

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Best Black Licorice?

As you may or may not know, I'm not a huge black licorice fan. While I've been trying to improve my tolerance for black licorice, I'm surprised at how high the top black licorice treats actually ranked.

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