Happy Hippo Biscuits

First of all, I love Kinder.  I love their wonderful little eggs with toys because deep inside (okay maybe not that deep), I'm still a kid.  If only other kids would only stop choking on them.  I guess the Europeans win again.  We are stuck in the US with only those stupid paper toy abominations in Cracker Jacks. 

In any case, being deprived of chocolate eggs filled with toys, I saw this. 

It looks like a wonderful little cookie, but really, it seems the selling point is the ability to take a bite out of a hippo's ass. 

I mean, seriously? Did they have to do that?  And not only that, there's another poor hippo right next to it who has to LOOK at the butchered bottom of his friend.  And, I'm fairly certain I don't have to mention that what is inside the creamy cross-section of this halved hippo's hiney?  That's right... chocolate. 

This lovely little box comes with individually wrapped hippos.

And yes... they are delicious.  

Oh, delicious creamy chocolate hippo...  The cookie part tastes kind of like the outside of a Nutter Butter cream patty and the inside tastes like Nutella.  There's some chocolate sprinkle type things around the outside too so that you make sure to make a crumby mess when you eat it.  Perfect. :)

Organic Mungbean CHIPS

I forgot about this last bag from my boyfriend's Amsterdam trip.  These are crunchy, mildly satisfying, right amount of salty.  Boyfriend's first comment? "Beany." I have to agree.  Kinda weird, that something called mungbean chips would taste like beans, huh?

Probably wouldn't buy these again.  But, if you have celiac disease, you need a crunchy snack, and like things that taste beany, this is the snack for you!

Peach Hi-Chew

You got me.  I totally bought this, not only because I love hi-chew candy, but because it looks like it's butt-flavored.

Yes, yes, I know, you can see from the title, I acknowledge it's peach, but come on... it totally looks like a butt.

I know it's going to be good because it's Hi-Chew. 

I have no idea how they get these amazing flavors in there.  I think the grape one has to be the most amazing.  This one was also delicious and peachy.  Yummy.  :)

Boy Bawang Cornick: Lechon Manock Flavor

Let's see, I don't even know where to start with the naming of this product since I bought it in a San Francisco Walgreens - the one across the street from the Caltrain station if you are looking for your own cornicks. 

Also, I thought I'd mention that 2006 was a good year for Boy Bawang.  They were given the Superbrands award in the Philippines that year.

I don't know what the Superbrands award is for, but maybe it's given to the snack that most tastes like salty chicken flavored stuffing shaped like corn nuts.  Because that's what these taste like.

The sad part is, they don't have the crunch of corn nuts.  They sort of have the crunch of croutons.  At least they have an awesome spokesman like Exploding Garlic Man to roast their chickens for flavoring and promote their product.  Perhaps this is Boy Bawang, himself?

Corn Cho

I have a fondness for Japanese dollar stores like Ichiban Kan.  This weekend I stopped by in one and found this little gem.

Don't worry, it's not any imitation or variation.  It is the ORIGINAL 26-yr-old Corn Cho, unchanged since 1985.  I have proof.

 My boyfriend describes these as tasting like chocolate cheetos.

I turned some of these over for the picture so you could see the chocolate, but I gotta tell you, after watching M. Night Shyamalan's Devil movie, I was a little concerned that they were all ending up chocolate-side down.

But, then I remembered what my dad used to tell me when I was a little kid and would watch horror movies ("It's only a movie, it's only a movie..."), and just ate one instead of being scared of chocolate-side down occurrences. 

Had to agree. Non-cheesy chocolate cheetos.  Next...

Voor jou!

The last, and most eccentric item from the Amsterdam stash... Voor jou... mooie babes... van Belgische chocolade!

Okay, so they're busty female torsos in dark, milk and white chocolate.  Ah, the Dutch.  Although, go to the right store here in SF and I'm sure you can find chocolate shaped anything.  Speaking with my confectioner hat on, I know any mold you could want is definitely out there.

Some of them lost their heads, but these three ladies made it out unscathed (aside from some scratches) for your viewing pleasure.

Ah, weird candy... that's the stuff.

Cote D'Or: Noir Noisettes / Puur Hazelnoten

Since I took French, I know "noir noisettes" means black hazelnuts.  Something must get lost in translation.  Noir probably also means dark chocolate. In any case, let's get to unwrapping this bad boy from Amsterdam.

Inside the little box...

And, it's time to undress.  Don't fight it. You'll just get all dented.

These little elephants taste pretty good.  The chocolate didn't seem to have the snap that is characteristic of high quality chocolate, but the hazelnuts were fairly crunchy and the chocolate didn't leave an aftertaste, which is always good. 

Who am I kidding? I eat Twix bars and Kit Kats.  That said, don't look for an aftertaste after eating Hershey bars or they will be ruined for you forever.  Thanks a lot, Scharffen Berger factory tour / tasting.  I hope you're proud of yourself.  Also, I miss you terribly, and I think Hershey's is puur evil for shutting down your wonderful Berkeley factory. 

Werther's Originals: Chocolade specialiteit

I'm a big fan of the Werther's Originals they sell in the US, even though I always want to chew them which causes them to stick to my teeth.  Hooray for the chocolate, non-stick-to-your-teeth version from Amsterdam.  I wonder what the 4 out of 5 dentists would say about these versus the US version.

Pretty packaging, pretty chocolates.

Pretty much just taste like milk chocolate though.

Kanjers

You know what there's never enough of in cookies?  Grote.  Thank goodness in Kanjers from Amsterdam there is Extra Grote in these Choco Caramelwafels. 

There are six of these lovely cookies in this package, one stuk in each individually wrapped package.

They are crunchy, caramelly, and covered in milk chocolate.  A bit sweet, but I'm not going to lie, I didn't stop at half a cookie.  I pretty much demolished the whole thing in a single sitting.

Mmm... caramel and cookie innards...

Choco Moments

Sometimes when life is stressful... you need to take some time out for chocolate.  You have to have yourself a Choco Moment.  Choco Moments: Puur Chocolade Wafels from Amsterdam.

There are six of these lovely little cookies in this package.  

These are really good.  Dark chocolate on the outside, crunchy wafers and some sort of cream filling.  Not too sweet.

And a nice cut shot.

These are my kind of moments.

Gummy Pile

Mmm... pile of gummies... ::drool::

Boyfriend loves the smurfs best.  He is debating buying the 2 lb tub.  But, he won't.  He's too disciplined.

I like the pigs.

They are like chewy-fruity-marshmallows.  So yummy.  

Their monkey counterparts taste like banana.  Hahahah... because monkeys are made of bananas.

Boyfriend thinks these are gross.  But I like them because they have a gritty creamy center.  Outside is chewy stick to your teeth goodness.

I think these are wine gums.  They have a nice flavor, but I think I'd prefer to rename them whine gums because that's what I do when they stick to my teeth and gums. 

These taste kind of like soft citrusy gummy frogs. But they're hearts.

Boyfriend says these taste like gross licorice.  I have to agree.  I have no idea why they don't taste like honey. If I'm using the monkey head theory, is it because bees are made of anise?  I'm stumped.  

Fruit Biscuit

Another treat from Amsterdam.  Albert Heijn Fruit Biscuit - Appel: Met natuurlijke geur-, kleur- en smaaktstoffen.

These are little crunchy biscuits that taste like they have raisins in them, but they're probably dried apples since that makes more sense.  Boyfriend said that when he ate them there, they were a little softer so we didn't know which ones were actually stale.  Crunchy tastes good. :)

Engelese Fudge vanille-choco

Boyfriend brought these back from Amsterdam as well. Engelse Fudge vanille-choco from La Bonbonnerie - Ambachtelijk gemaakte Belgische bonbons.

They are really good fudges.  Not too sweet at all.  Most American fudges hurt my teeth and throat due to the sweetness.  These are a bit chewy and really delicious.

Schilfertruffels

Boyfriend brought these back from Amsterdam. Schilfertruffels from La Bonbonnerie - Ambachtelijk gemaakte Belgische bonbons.

They are delicious and taste a little like UNO bars in the middle.  Light and creamy.  Yummy.