Is Creme a Tatiner Gout Framboise better than Nutella?

The thing I’ve learned about spreads lately is that more chances need to be taken. I’m talking about not just me, but also the companies out there making spreads. While we all know that chocolate and hazelnut will make a fine spread, we should start looking at some creative options as well. That brings me to this jar of Baristella raspberry spread (or creme a tatiner gout framboise in French). A fruit flavoured, yet still chocolate based spread makes so much sense that I’m surprised no one has thought of it before. Keep in mind I’m assuming my cultural bias since I’ve never seen it before. It could be that there are parts of the world where this kind of thing happens all the time.

All I’m saying is that not only should the idea of fruit and chocolate blended into a nice spread work on paper, but the folks at Baristella have made it work in reality as well. The white chocolate makes this spread super creamy. The raspberries add a wonderful contrast to the deep chocolate flavour and texture. Best of all is that they’ve even added a slight sour flavour to make the raspberry flavour work so well. I would not only suggest you try this spread, as long as I’m in a country where this stuff is made, I plan on putting it into my rotation.

It could be that in a few months or years I’ll get tired of this spread, but at this very moment I would say that this is easily comparable to Nutella. A better way to describe it is that it compliments Nutella, in that if offers you a very different flavour (and even slightly different texture) while still being a creamy spread. In other words, if you like to have a few different spreads open in your cupboard, I would suggest finding a jar of this stuff to add to the mix. It will give you all the satisfaction you might get from Nutella, but it’ll also offer you a slight change of pace.

Is Dubai Chocolate Spread Better Than Nutella?

 One cannot deny the popularity of Dubai chocolate bars. It’s probably one of the biggest candy/chocolate trends recent times and even large name brands have added it to their repertoire. There are two things about Dubai Chocolate that make it interesting, the colour and the texture. The flavours not bad, but the fact that it’s bright green and has an odd crunch is really the appeal. The flavour isn’t bad either, but it’s not really that unique. 

While the name of this treat is Dubai chocolate, in reality the chocolate is only secondary, as everything really centres around the filling. Well, the other day I was at my local bulk food store and I saw that they were selling the filling on its own. I’ve seen this filling used on everything from cakes to croissants, but I was wondering how it might compare to Nutella as a spread on toast.

The first thing I’m going to do is break down exactly what this filling consists of... mostly. There could be other ingredients, but I tasted pistachio butter, sugar and those crunchy filo pastry like bits that give it its crunch. The thing about putting this on toast is that one of the main features of this spread that makes it work with chocolate, kind of doesn’t matter if you spread it on toast. The crunch is really what makes this filling something unique, and surprising for many on the first time trying it. However, if your toast is crunchy the crunchy texture of the filo crunch bits is kind of hidden.

I wouldn’t say that these crunch bits completely disappeared, but they’re very similar to the texture of the toast and therefore I don’t think I could call this the best use for this filling. At this point you’re pretty much just eating sweetened pistachio butter. I would imagine that this would work much better on something softer or smoother. Dipping chocolate is the obvious choice, but maybe as a layer on a soft cake would be nice as well. The one thing this trend has done for me is given me a better appreciation for pistachio butter, which is a great thing to have even if it doesn’t have the sugar or crunchy bits.

Is Baristella Rocher Better Than Nutella?

 

One of the benefits of having a life that involves a great deal of travel and moving around the world is that you get to experience foods that might be similar to what you already know, but with a local twist. This has actually allowed me to sample many interesting treats, like several different version of the milk chocolate Kit Kat, as well as some variations on KFC. If you look back on this blog you'll also find that there has been a series of posts where I compare different spreads to Nutella. In fact you're reading one right now. 

My point is there are many different version of hazelnut spread out there. While Nutella is the name most people associate with this type of spread, it's not the only one. What I've learned while writing this series of posts is that there are many brands of hazelnut spread that are trying to do the same thing as Nutella, a simple chocolate and hazelnut spread. There are however many brands that are trying to do something different, pushing the boundaries of what a chocolate and hazelnut spread could be. This Baristella Rocher is exactly that kind of spread.

The interesting thing about this particular attempt, is it's not really original in its concept. Rocher chocolates are really just chocolate with crunchy bits (often rice crisps and sometimes nuts), filled with a hazelnut spread/cream. It's all flavours and textures we know work really well. So why is this the first time I've tasted a spread that's trying to copy that amazing, classic treat. You would have thought there would be hundreds of this variation out there, but nope, there is not.

Most importantly you'd think Nutella would have come up with something like this. Particularly since the brand that makes Nutella also makes Ferrero Rocher, probably the most popular rocher in the world. It actually made me think on this subject a little more, most notably, why is there not 100 different variations of Nutella out there? Is this choice because they wanted to keep their brand pure, or do they just not want to invest in research and development?

The main reason I ask this of the folks at Nutella is that while this Baristella Rocher is a creative idea, I'm not really a huge fan. There's something about the flavour of the chocolate that I just don't love. It could be the quality of the cocoa or the flavour of the hazelnuts, but something is a little off. The crunchy rice crisps are nice, but a few crunchy bits of hazelnut as well would have made this a lot better. As it stands it's a great idea with a slightly below average execution.

Is Vanoise (white and milk chocolate) Better Than Nutella?

 This is a special edition of Better Than Nutella because we're looking at two spreads instead of one. Normally I would split these two spreads up, but I feel like it's important to actually compare these two spreads instead of looking at them independently. Both are made by the same company and even have the same name Vanoise. The difference however is in the chocolate.

If I was to look at the Ma Creme A Tartiner (milk chocolate) Vanoise spread, I would describe it as average to below average. The chocolate flavour is there, but it's kind of weak. The hazelnut flavour is just weird, it almost tastes like a chemical version of hazelnuts instead of the real thing. I'm not saying that they faked the hazelnuts, I'm just saying that something in this mixture made it taste really fake and strange.

Honestly I wasn't a big fan of this stuff, and I probably wouldn't get it again. This spread alone would be a very short edition of Better Than Nutella because it's just not great and nothing really that special. If it wasn't for the companion version of this spread that's so different this article would be over.

I've tasted a few spreads out there in the world including cookies and cream, regular cream and most of all milk chocolate. I can't say however that I've ever tried a hazelnut spread with milk chocolate like this Vanoise Ma Creme Noisette White (strange how they use one English word in the name). I've been doing this series comparing various spreads to Nutella for a few years now so maybe I've forgotten, but I'm frankly surprised that this white chocolate variation doesn't come up more often.

More importantly, it works, and in this case works really well. I can't figure out why, but the hazelnut flavour of this version of the Vanoise spread doesn't have that chemical like flavour that the milk chocolate version does. It tastes of real hazelnuts and it works so very well with the white chocolate. It's a nice blend of smooth milk chocolate and toasted hazelnuts. A good hazelnut will often have a nice toasted flavour, and while milk chocolate certainly doesn't smooth that out, white chocolate seems to smooth it out in a different and also pleasant way. I'm not sure if this white chocolate spread is better than Nutella, but it's truly something different and well worth giving a try.

In fact, I feel like the folks at Nutella should maybe think about making some variant versions of their spread too. I've tried a few spreads with additions that are obvious and work really well. This white chocolate version is a great example of a version of a hazelnut spread that I'm surprised I haven't seen more often, particularly from the folks at Nutella.

Is Said Pate A Tartiner Better Than Nutella?

 It's been a while since I've written a Better Than Nutella blog post and the main reason is geography. I've been living in South East Asia for the last few years in a place where chocolate spreads were actually fairly uncommon. They had a few, but I went through them fairly quickly. I have however moved, and it appears I've moved to a place that loves chocolate spreads. In fact my local grocery store has an entire section of an aisle dedicated to them. They have Nutella as well, but the range of other brands is staggering. 

I decided to start with the brand that seemed to be the most common. I won't say popular because I'm pretty sure Nutella is the most popular brand, but Said is all over my local grocery store. It's a fine spread, it's not better than Nutella by any stretch of the imagination, but it's fine. Many spreads seems to go a little too creamy and miss out on the chocolate and hazelnut, this is the problem here. It's not a huge problem, but it's not a perfect balance either. The good news is that unlike many other chocolate/hazelnut spreads I've had in the past, the chocolate and hazelnut are still present. Most of the time the creamy flavour or chocolate overpower the hazelnuts.

I also want to mention that "pate a tartiner" might be the classiest way ever to describe this kind of treat. I call them chocolate hazelnut "spreads" and the more I think about it the less I like that description. I'm not sure if I'll switch to pate a tartiner in my daily use, but I will say that it's much better a name.

Is Crispy Wow Better Than Nutella?

 Not everyone likes Nutella. I know that’s a bit of shocking thing to say, but it’s true. When I tell people that I like to write about various spreads and compare them to Nutella, some people will then tell me that they assume that almost all the other spreads must be better. I don’t put these people down, I understand that they simply have different tastes than myself. Two of the most common complaints I’ve heard about Nutella are about the texture and the sweetness.

The most common complaint people have with Nutella is that it’s very sweet. I don’t deny that at all, I just happen to enjoy very sweet things. After all I have a website dedicated to the love of sweet things. If however you happen to be one of those people who feel that Nutella is too sweet, then you might actually enjoy this Crispy Wow spread. It’s not to say that it’s not sweet, but I would say that it’s marginally less sweet than Nutella. It’s not that it has a richer cocoa flavour either, it just seems less sweet.

While maybe not being the most common complaint, I have talked to several people who feel that Nutella’s texture is a little boring. Once again Crispy Wow has managed to deal with just that problem. Better yet it’s dealt with it in a really original way. While rice crisps are not rare in the candy world, it’s not often that you find them in any kind of liquid treat. The reason for this is that rice crisps often get soggy in any liquids. Some how however, the crisps in Crispy Wow have remained fairly crunchy. The texture of this spread is really a winner.

So is Crispy Wow better than Nutella? I would probably say no, unless you fit a very particular criteria. If what you’re looking for is a spread that’s a little less sweet than Nutella, with a fun crispy texture, maybe it’s better for you. The downfalls however are that the cocoa quality of Crispy Wow doesn’t seem as good as Nutella. I would also argue that the addition of hazelnuts would improve this spread as well. So this is no Nutella, but if you want a quick break from Nutella with a little crunch, this might work perfectly.

Is Sweet Potato Butter Spread Better Than Nutella?

 When I first started this series of blogs comparing Nutella to other spreads, my main focus was on chocolate hazelnut spreads, then it expanded to any kind of chocolate spread, now I think it’s gone off the rails a little. Comparing sweet potato spread to Nutella probably isn’t very fair, as they’re completely different things. The problem is since I’m now searching the grocery store isles for spreads, I sometimes come across odd things to put on toast, and sometimes I can’t pass one up. My brain also has a hard time trying to come up with another way to write about this odd spread, so I just lump it in a category that it probably doesn’t belong.

As for the spread itself, the first thing some people might have to get over the fact that it’s made with a sweet potato. For some reason some people have a hard time readjusting themselves to believing that sweet potato works as a sweet ingredient. It’s odd because just about every sweet potato dish has a sweet aspect, and the word “sweet” is even in the name. 

The only problem I had with this spread is that I’m convinced that there’s more than just sweet potato in this spread. I feel like there’s some additional sugar and possibly some spices (I couldn’t read the ingredients as they’re not in English). This makes me feel a little ripped off, like when you eat something that’s pumpkin flavoured, but it’s actually flavoured with pumpkin as well as the spices that are associated with pumpkin pie. I’m not saying that there’s no sweet potato in this, I’m just wondering how much help the sweet potato has had to make it a little more flavourful.

As far as comparing it to Nutella, I think Nutella is a bit better. However, this does have a uniqueness to it that Nutella does not, and so I would say if you have the chance to try it you should. If you have the choice of either this or Nutella then I’d lean towards Nutella assuming you’re basing your choice on flavour and texture. If you’re basing your choice on adventure and uniqueness than I would probably suggest you try the sweet potato spread instead.

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Is Delicious Chocolate Share Happy Moment Better Than Nutella?

The theme behind this series of blog posts is to sample various spreads and compare them to Nutella. The title of this series suggests that I’m looking for a spread that’s better than Nutella. They do exist in the world, however this Delicious Chocolate Share Happy Moment is under no circumstances better than Nutella. In fact, I feel like you could take the worst spread I’ve eaten up to this point, and this would still be worse.

This spread is not only made from lacklustre ingredients, and almost impossible to spread, but it’s also really confusing. For some reason there’s a single small cookie embedded in my package of Delicious Chocolate Share Happy Moment. When I first bought this treat, I thought that it might be a candy. Then after a bit of investigation it seemed like it was more likely some kind of spread. So I took it off my list of candies to review, and added to my list of spreads to compare to Nutella. The problem is, after seeing the cookie embedded in the spread I’m once again not too sure what kind of treat this is supposed to be.

I use the word “embed” instead of “floating” because this spread is rock hard. Even if it’s a candy, I feel like you’d want it to be soft and gooey. This is just some semi hard chocolate with a cookie stuck in it.

To be fair, I decided to place the random pieces of this treat onto a piece of toast. The chocolate did melt a little bit, but it just became a softer solid rather than any kind of spread. The texture was nothing like Nutella, and because of the solid state I wasn’t able to cover my entire slice of bread. As a spread goes this totally fails (to be frank if it is a candy it’s a pretty big failure too).

The flavour is about as disappointing as the texture. It had a slight chocolate taste, but that flavour was mostly overpowered by staleness. The name of this spread/candy suggests that I Share Happy Moment, but instead I’m sitting here writing this blog about my misery.

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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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Is Cookies and Cream Better Than Chocolate and Hazelnut?

 I feel like comparing this Cookies and Cream spread to Nutella is a little unfair. They're both very different types of spread. I do believe that many sweet spreads out there in the world owe a great deal to Nutella. While Nutella was not the first sweet (non jam) spread out there, I believe it's probably globally the most famous. I believe the fame of Nutella has allowed for new and obscure spreads to get out into the open market. Cookie butters are very popular right now, but I don't believe that we would have them available in so many places if it wasn't for Nutella. Because of this, I figured it was okay to broaden my search for sweet spreads that might be better than Nutella beyond just chocolate and hazelnut themed treats.

While I'm really glad that spreads like a cookies and cream spread exists, I'll be honest and say that I wasn't really a big fan of this one. The crunchy cookie bits were great, and most of the time I'm a huge fan of cookies and cream things. The problem with this spread is that it's too sour. I believe that many cookies and cream treats have a sour component in order to balance out the sweet and heavy cream flavour of the cream. Sour is a flavour that's common in real dairy products, but as we know if a dairy product is too sour it just tastes rotten. I wouldn't say that this tastes rotten, but it felt like it was heading that direction.

Creatively this is really a great idea, as cookies and cream on toast or even some fruit is a great combination. With just a little less sour, this spread would at the very least be a close runner up to Nutella, but as it stands it's most certainly not better than Nutella.

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My Latest Thailand Discovery

 Over the last little while I've made a few stops in Thailand to enjoy some western delights (since I live in a country with very few western restaurants and shopping options) and to check out some great local Thai food too. I'm finding more and more that Thai food is having a similar identity crisis as Canadian food. While there are some sure fire Thai options out there, the food in Thailand (and in particular Bangkok) is starting to become more cosmopolitan. This basically means that I feel like in Bangkok you'll have an easier time finding something that isn't Thai than something that is. 

Even the local dishes in Bangkok are starting to get international twists. It's a tough argument as to weather or not this is a good or bad thing. If you love authenticity than it might be a bad thing, but if you love variety it's a good thing. Fortunately however, if you look hard enough you can really enjoy both. Since most of my travel to Bangkok is to enjoy some western treats, as well as the local favourites, for me it's perfect.

We can start this journey by looking at some of the imported places, and see how they're being handled in the Bangkok market. Some things appear to be pretty much exactly the same, but there might be an interesting twist. Take Taco Bell for example is fairly new to Bangkok, and most of the menu looks fairly similar to what you might find in North America. There is one difference however, every single Taco, Crunch Wrap Supreme, or quesadilla is spicy. It's not burn your mouth off spicy, but everything has a bit of a kick. This made it particularly challenging for me as I took an opportunity to have my first Crunch Wrap Supreme. I liked it, but it was a little spicy for my liking.

My beloved Tim Horton's, another new addition to Thailand, also has some twists on the classics. Recently I had a maple yuzu donut. Even stranger is the donut pictured above, and chocolate peanut butter donut. It's weird because I think this is an attempt to make a flavour of donut that appeals to foreigners, or at least what they feel foreigners would eat. The thing is, I've never seen a donut like this in Canada, so in fact it's not a donut we'd have. I'm not sure who these are made for, is it for locals who want to try a exotic flavour, or for expats that want a taste of home. Either way it's kind of inaccurate. 

They also have crazy custom boxes that I've never seen in Canada.

As well as overtly over Canadian merchandise.

One of the best examples of foods that have exploded in Thailand from other parts of the world is ice cream. I'm not sure how popular ice cream was before, but now I've seen lineups in malls just to get a soft serve ice cream cone. McDonalds ice cream is also really popular, but interestingly they've adapted some of the flavours for Thai tastes. Above is a mango, bubble tea flavoured sundae from McDonalds that's not only tasty but visually interesting.

Dairy Queen has also jumped in the crossover game with mango and durian sticky rice Blizzards. It's clever how they've managed to incorporate the rice on the top to make sure it keeps it's sticky texture.

Famous brands are even making special versions or packages to celebrate their Thai bonds. It's a little strange seeing a Nutella jar with a temple on it.

North America isn't the only place influencing Thai food culture. Other Asian countries are getting in on the act as well. Korea and Japan seem to be the heaviest influencers in Thai culture. K-Pop and J-Pop are everywhere, but so is the food. Overly decorated and super cute items are becoming the norm in Thailand, like these very realistic kitty cat ice creams wearing fruit helmets (thank you internet). While I can't confirm where these actually originated, it's a very Japanese idea to make something super cute and edible.

Street food is a really interesting place to see this crossover. After all, Thailand is famous for it, but it's even starting to get heavily influenced by outside sources.

This item was labelled as Cornyaki, a play on the Japanese Tayaki. Tayaki is a fish shaped cake filled with beans, cream, or chocolate. It's available all over Japan, and today it's available all over Thailand as well. This interesting version features a corn filling and a corn theme. It's another way that the Thai people have taken a twist on a foreign theme and made it their own.

The same night market also sold Tanghulu strawberries. This is a very popular Chinese street food that's also made its way to Thailand. If you're unfamiliar, it's fruit, covered in a candy coating that's super crunchy. As you can see from this video, when you bite into it, it crunches very loudly. Tasty and a good time for all.

I love visiting Bangkok, because it offers me so much. It offers me flavours and textures from all over the world, it offers me Thai flavours and textures, as well as hybrids of both. It's getting a little difficult to see what is authentically Thai and what's an import, but I kind of relate to that. As a Canadian, I come from a country made up of immigrants, people from all over the world. Each person, each culture and each tradition has place in my culture. Sometimes those traditions are changed to suit tastes and available ingredients and something else is born. Maybe this is why I like visiting Thailand so much. I can see things blending together, and cultures being enjoyed and celebrated in creative and beautiful ways.

Best of all, I can taste it all as well.

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Is This Cokokrem Better Than Nutella?

 I'm here once again to find out if another chocolate spread is better than Nutella. The more I've been writing these comparisons, the more I've realised that there are often times when chocolate or hazelnut spreads aren't trying to be better, just similar to Nutella. This particular spread is not the case as it's pretty similar to Nutella in taste and texture, however there's a twist. The twist is that this comes in a tube, and it's a fun tube at that. Since chocolate/hazelnut spread is a food product focused on kids, or at least the young at heart, it makes sense to put it in a fun package. This is probably the most entertaining package that I've ever had chocolate spread, in fact it might be the only attempt to make the packaging fun. It's also the easiest package I've ever found to dispense chocolate spread as it needs no knives or spoons to get it out. It takes seconds to apply this to your bread, and requires no cleanup at all.

Flavour wise I'll admit, it's not as good as Nutella. It is most certainly going for the chocolate and hazelnut flavour, but the flavours are just a little more subtle than Nutella. It's not much better for those who find Nutella to be too sweet, as this is also just as sweet. The chocolate hazelnut flavour is pretty close, but just a little more bland than Nutella. Having said that, if I was going camping or on a picnic, I might choose this Cokokrem instead. The application is so much easier, and the flavour is close enough that I'd be happy to eat this instead and the package would make eating it on the go so much easier.

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Is Choco Like, Like Better Than Nutella

I would say that curiosity was the reason I bought this jar of chocolate spread. I don't really understand the name, and most importantly I was curious if it actually contained any chocolate. The reason I wondered is because I wasn't sure if the word "like" meant that it was similar but not chocolate, or if it was just saying that it approved of chocolate. Considering it contains cocoa powder I'm guessing the latter. I probably could have answered that question in the grocery store by just looking at the package, but then I wouldn't have found out how it compares to Nutella. 

Of all of the spreads I've tried since starting this series of blogs, I would say that this spread is the closest to Nutella. Maybe not in quality or at the very least how much I like it, but as far as being a simple chocolate hazelnut spread. I feel like it's not as good as Nutella, but it's also not bad at all. In a pinch I would certainly recommend this if you're really craving some hazelnut spread and Nutella isn't available.

While the spread is just fine, the name is bold and a little weird, and I like that. Now that I know it contains cocoa, and is in fact made with chocolate like ingredients, I'll read the words "Choco Like" in a 1980s valley girl voice.

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Is A Chocolate Teapot... Better Than Nutella?

In my continuing effort to try all of the chocolate spreads I can find, and find out if they're better than Nutella, I present to you the most unconventional of all chocolate spreads, Teapot. Teapot is traditionally not chocolate flavoured, however they make a version that is chocolate, and I believer it's very popular. Teapot is actually something that many of us have been eating for years, but just didn't know that it works as a spread on toast, sweetened condensed milk.

To be fair, Chocolate Teapot is nothing like Nutella, other than the fact that you put it on toast (or other pancake/waffle like things) and it's chocolate. The texture of Teapot is much thinner, and the application is through a tube as opposed to using a knife. To be honest though, if Nutella came out with a tube version I'd be happy to give it a try.

The great thing about Teapot is the fact that it's very creamy. It doesn't have a any kind of nutty flavour either, but I'm fairly nonplused about that. I feel like it's fine being nut free, but I'd also be willing to try a hazelnut version if they ever came out with one. The biggest disadvantage of Teapot is the runny texture, as it tends to drip off the toast. I'll often just apply as I eat to avoid serious messes. Flavour wise I think it's actually fairly on par with Nutella, at least from a quality standpoint. It by no means tastes the same, but it's equally as good.

The one thing about Chocolate Teapot is that it actually has a better way to eat it on toast, and that's something known as Hong Kong toast. Basically you get your bread, put on a layer of peanut butter, then add a layer of Teapot. The traditional way to eat Hong Kong toast is with the regular Teapot flavour, however being a fan of chocolate and peanut butter together I feel as though this works just as well, maybe even a little better.

So is Teapot better than Nutella, maybe not. The big downfall being how messy it gets and how much better it is with peanut butter. If I was to compare Hong Kong Toast to Nutella that might be a different story, but on it's own it's just not as good, but pretty close.

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Nocilla Spread From Spain - Is It Better Than Nutella Part 2

 

This particular chocolate spread has lead me to a conclusion about chocolate spreads. Some people argue that Nutella is full of sugar, fillers, and generally non-healthy things. The argument is that it's basically icing being sold as a breakfast spread. While I don't disagree that one should probably limit the amount of any chocolate spread one eats particularly in the mornings, I'm starting to think that certain ingredients are key to make a great chocolate spread. I say this arguing that Nocilla is a fine spread, but it's not as good as Nutella. 

Here's what I think is better about Nutella, or at the very least the problems I have with Nocilla using Nutella as the example. First of all, Nocilla as many of the other spreads I've discovered, does not advertise as a hazelnut, or any other kind of nut spread. I'm starting to think that Hazelnuts are a key ingredient in chocolate spread, as if the cocoa powder needs something else to balance out. I don't totally feel that nuts are totally necessary, as my favourite spread in the world contains no nuts, I just think that you really have to have amazing quality chocolate to be able to pull of no nuts.

The second problem is the oil. I believe that choosing the right oil is key, and I feel like many of the secondary brands of chocolate spread that I taste do not pick the right oil or oil combination. I believe this come about because you want a certain texture when room temperature, and palm oil is great for creating that texture. Unfortunately palm oil is a faux pas today, so companies move instead towards coconut oil. Coconut oil has the perfect texture, but the flavour is overpowering. In particular it overpowers anything that doesn't have a strong flavour, even more so if you don't blend it with a nice nutty flavour.

What I'm saying is this spread is good, but I think it pushes the limitations of what can be done when excluding certain ingredients. While I feel many companies, including the fine people who make this spread, want to be different than Nutella, I just don't think it's as good. Maybe it's because I like icing, and I'm generally not fond of coconut oil except in very particular circumstances. Needless to say I do not believe this is better than Nutella, it's fine, but it's just not better.

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Airport and Airplane Food To Oman, Qatar and Back

How do I put this, the food I ate while traveling to and from the Middle East was both very interesting and not at the same time. To be clear, we flew business class. While it seems like we've been doing this a lot lately, it has more to do with the current situation with airlines than it does with us being particularly fancy. First of all we found a really good deal with these business class flights, like really good. Secondly we had one overnight flight and several long waits in airports. This means we would get comfortable sleeping arrangements on the flight and lounge access in the airports. So it almost became worth the small amount extra to get business class... well sort of.

Our first flight was actually not business class, that's because the flight we took was a pretty short haul (prop plane), and they didn't even offer business class. This was also the most "interesting" meal we ate the entire journey. The photo does not give it justice because it just looks like a nice plate of butter chicken. The problem is that it was cold. When I say it was cold I don't mean it was heated up and then it didn't stay warm once it was delivered to me. This butter chicken was delivered to me as if it was a salad. Is this a thing?

Once we landed in Thailand (our first stop) we headed straight to the lounge... no we didn't. We headed straight to McDonalds. We went to McDonalds because the current place we live does not have a McDonalds. We seem to have a gift for living in countries that do not have the Golden Arches. Some might consider that a blessing, but I find that when I live in a place that doesn't have a McDonalds, I crave McDonalds all the time. So the first thing we did when we landed in an airport with a McDonalds is stop and get burgers.

We did eventually get to the lounge as we had a long layover and I picked up these absolutely beautiful desserts. The rose shaped tart was a mango tart and it was amazing. The cup dessert was the most fancy apple crumble I've ever seen in my life. It had blueberries and gold leaf added, which are both equally weird additions to apple crumble for completely different reasons. I'm starting to believe that apple desserts are considered fancy in South East Asia, even the ones we consider in North America to be very simple.

Somehow, after our first layover all we ate on the rest of our flights was breakfast. I think it had something to do with the long flights and how we were crossing over time zones. I'll be honest it was all a bit of a blur. We got onto our second flight of this adventure and prepared to sleep, which I didn't because I can't sleep on planes. I will however say, in good Candy Critic style, all of the breakfasts I selected were pretty much just desserts. It started with what I thought would be a couple of slices of banana bread (my favourite of all breads). I thought it would be a nice little snack to wake up to, instead it was probably the most over the top banana bread I've ever seen in my life.

It also came with a puck of butter. When I say puck, I mean the most perfectly round slab of butter ever created. I believe mathematicians could use this puck to calibrate their instruments.

I have a curiosity when it comes to sweets, so before getting off this flight I saw on the menu that as a snack they offered chocolate. There was no description of what kind of chocolate and how it would be delivered. At some point in the middle of the night the flight attendant saw that I was awake and asked if I wanted anything. Bleary eyed and confused I remembered that I saw the words chocolate on the menu, so I said "chocolate". She brought me back these, and they were pretty good. I mention this because it will come up again in the future. I also should mention that even though I wasn't hungry I ate both of these chocolates and while they tasted good, I don't think it was doing much for my health.

The third and final flight of this leg I decided to order waffles... and they gave me pancakes. I'm not sure where this breakdown happened, but everyone on the flight who ordered this got the same thing. I think it might be a language barrier or a simple mistake on the menu. As always my carbs came with a side of carbs and plenty of syrup and jam. Needless to say I was not feeling great after this.

We finally arrived in Muscat Oman, and had a wonderful time (I'll be posting about that later). After that portion of our trip it was time to head to Doha Qatar. This was a fairly short flight, but there were two things worth mentioning food wise about this leg. First of all I tried something in the lounge at the airport that I never thought about before, pineapple and mint juice. Adding mint to juice is a big thing in Oman, and I drank plenty of iced tea with mint throughout our trip, but pineapple juice? It strangely worked, really well. I would actually recommend giving it a try, but don't be stingy with the mint.

The flight offered a nice fancy meal, but the dessert (that round puck in the upper left hand) was amazing. It was some kind of custard treat that I could have eaten for the rest of my life. We arrived in Doha and also had a wonderful time (and once again I'll have more about that in its own post). 

After our great stop in Qatar we headed home (two flights). We left Doha at 1 am, so we decided to get to the airport around 9 and have a late dinner. Frankly the dinner in the lounge was okay, but kind of complicated. It was most complicated when the wifi didn't work for us at the airport and it turns out that if you want to see the menu of items at the lounge you "have" to scan a QR code. Fortunately they had a buffet with a few less items but it suited us well enough. While the food was fine, they had a few special items for the Chinese New Year including this beautiful and tasty orange dessert. I asked the person manning the dessert table which was the best, he said the chocolate cake was the most popular, but these orange desserts where a special for the New Year. I decided to go special over popular and I was not disappointed.

Our first flight home was another overnight flight that offered some kind of dinner at 1 am and then breakfast... again. I skipped dinner as we had just eaten in the airport, but opted to have breakfast. I thought I should get something sensible until I saw that they had a Nutella donut available. The thing about this donut is the menu said it was a "freshly made donut". I immediately assumed that they had a deep fryer on the plane and would be making them piping hot. I also assumed it wouldn't be gigantic. I was wrong on both accounts. While it looks very fancy, it was pretty average and cold in the middle.

I should also mention, on our flight back home that I ordered the mystery chocolate again, and once again it had no description. I had fond memories of the other chocolate I got on the earlier flight and I thought I would maybe get it again. I also should mention that I wanted some popcorn thinking it would be made fresh for some reason. This time however they gave me a Dairymilk bar instead of their fancy chocolates. I'd like to believe it's because they ran out of their fancy chocolates, but it also could have been how dirty and tired I looked on this last leg of our trip and the flight attendant just thought I wasn't fancy enough. The popcorn was also in bags and not fresh, but I did get both salted and caramel corn.

Our last leg we ate something that I don't really remember and I didn't get a picture. I was way too tired and just looking forward to going into my own bed. All in all the food we got while traveling on this journey was very fancy and tasty. We also got a pair of pyjamas to take home which is both weird but also amazing.

CC