Merry Christmas!

I hope all your stockings are filled with sweet treats... except maybe the ones you're wearing, that would be just awkward.

10 Second Kitchen - Street Tea Yangon, Myanmar

 Watching a pot boil at a street market in Yangon, Myanmar.

Those Beasts and Treats

 If you've ever wondered what kind of treats that beasts like to devour, check out my awesome alphabet book called Treats And Beasts.

You can pick up Treats and Beasts at bewarethecheese.com/treatsnbeasts/ or on Amazon.

Wafer Bar Problem

This latest featured review is the main reason I have trust issues when it comes to wafer bars. It's not that I totally dislike wafer based bars, in fact my favourite bar (the British Kit Kat) is a wafer based bar. The thing about wafer based bars is when they're good, they can be fantastic, but when they're bad... yuck.

Check out this latest wafer based bar, in this case the wafer actually ruined the whole treat.

Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!! - Hot and Spicy Lay's

 I decided to taste test a flavour of Lays who's name doesn't really make sense, except for the fact that they're really spicy.

Blue Orchid For The One You Love

 It might be tight, but there still might be time to pick up Blue Orchid for the holidays, and even if there isn't, it's better late than never.

Pick up all things Blue Orchid at bewarethecheese.com/blueorchid/ or on Amazon (or search "blur orchid comics").

What If I Just Stopped Eating Spicy Snacks?

I've mentioned here many times that I'm not a huge spicy food fan. In fact I would describe my spice tolerance and low, only recently getting a little closer to moderate. I've always had mixed feelings about eating spicy snacks. I know that I'm probably not going to enjoy them, but I feel like I would be doing people reading visiting my site a disservice by not reviewing them occasionally. It's a really weird situation, I know I'm not going to like it that much, but I feel like I have to eat it.

Check out my latest spicy review.

Pop Mart Treats... Sort Of

For those unfamiliar, Pop Mart is a toy company that has stores all over the world featuring fun pop art style toys. While the name Pop Mart might not be that familiar to you, I’m willing to bet you’ve heard of Labubu, which is a Pop Mart toy. Their lines of toys reaches way beyond Labubu, and includes some of their own original creations as well as some licensed characters done in their style.  While I’ve seen their toys all over, I’d never actually gone into a Pop Mart store before, until now.

The main reason I’d never been into a Pop Mart store before is that it’s not uncommon for their to be a lineup to get it, sometimes the line can be really, really long. Most of their stores also often have a lot of security and bag checks just to go in. However, on a recent trip to Bangkok I came across a Pop Mart store with no line, and I happened to have no bag with me at the time (so I didn’t have to check it or have it searched).

I decided, for the sake of this blog, to check out all of the candy/snack themed treats that I could find and report back.

Since Labubu is what’s hot, I’ll start there. There are dozens of different monster/Labubu toys themed with snacks and food. In fact I would almost say that more than half of the Labubu toy lines have at least one or two characters that have some kind of food tie in, and several that are completely food themed.

Most of the food themed Labubus are pretty general and based on popular Asian foods, however I did come across a series of Coca-Cola themed Labubus, so you know they’re not shy about having official tie ins. Makes me wonder what other food company would pair well with Labubu. I’m thinking and Oreo cookie or Pocky themed Labubu would be kind of cool.

I also came across a series of toys they have called Pino Jelly that seemed to have a sort of gummy theme to them. Some of them seemed more candy branded than others.

I also came across these Mickey Mouse themed toys, many of which had fun candy/snack themes. The vending machine themed Mickey was probably my favourite.

Probably my favourite non-Labubu collection of toys was called “Molly Carb-Lover”. It’s a series of cute little dolls that all have some kind of bread/baked good theme. It’s a really peculiar set and even a weirder name, but I think that’s why I liked it.

The final thing I came across was this dog/hamburger themed toy called Hacipup. It seems like it might serve another function, but I really couldn’t figure it out since I don’t know what a “rolling time machine” does.

Candy and snacks as a theme in toys is common, when it comes to collectible toys like the ones from Pop Mart it seems like having a food tie in is essential. I didn’t buy anything on this trip as I was frankly overwhelmed with choices. Maybe one day I’ll get some kind of key chain/bag charm from Pop Mart, but for now I think I’ll just brows. 

One thing that makes me curious is if Pop Mart will ever go the other direction and start making treats. I feel like their visual style would work great for making fun and very pretty looking candy, and in particular gummies. For now though it appears that nothing at Pop Mart is actually edible, it’s just that half the toys look like they should be.

10 Second Kitchen - Cinnabon Bangkok, Thailand

 Watching them finish up some tasty mini cinnamon buns at the Siam Paragon in Bangkok, Thailand.

Holiday Cheer with Blue Orchid!

 Don't panic, there's still plenty of time to get Blue Orchid comics (and even some merch) to the one you love this holiday season.

You can get everything you need at https://www.bewarethecheese.com/blueorchid/ or on Amazon(or you can also search "blue orchid comics" on Amazon)

Is It A Cookie?

Is there a certain ratio that makes a cookie a chocolate treat? One of the biggest challenges I come across on a regular basis is trying to figure out which category of treat to put many of the snacks I review. This latest review is just such a problem. It's a cookie, but it's also a big glob of chocolate. There's probably more chocolate than cookie, but the cookie really feels like the part that's holding this whole treat together. So is it a cookie, or is it a chocolate?

Check out this latest confusing review.

Quick List - My Favourite Candy Packages

 A quick list of some of my favourite candy packages from all of the treats that I've reviewed on candycritic.org.

Blue Orchid For Christmas!

  Fill up someone's stocking with lots and lots of fun comics!

Pick every issue of Blue Orchid (the comic I wrote and drew) right now for that special person on your Christmas list.

You can get everything you need at https://www.bewarethecheese.com/blueorchid/ or on Amazon(or you can also search "blue orchid comics" on Amazon).

Best Gummy Ever?

The fact that there are so many gummy candies out there in the world makes it really hard to pick one that is better than another. I think we could all point out some of the worst gummies in the world, but the best depends greatly on what you like in a gummy candy. I have opinions on the subject, but I think I can also say that I've tasted a lot of gummy candies, so maybe my opinion matters? Probably not.

Check out my latest gummy review, it's in my opinion the best gummy ever made.