Thailand's Khao Shong Espresso Instant Coffee Review

I was in Phuket about a year back and of course I had to try the instant coffees there too. The only one that I brought back is this Khao Shong brand coffee cos it's got 5 coffees in one!

I tried the Espresso one first.

5 different coffees in one! So many to try!

Much text and colours. All Thai which I do not understand. It could say rat for all I know!

Interestingly the instructions are slightly different. Add 120ml not 180ml of water.

Thailand's Khao Shong Espresso Instant Coffee 

It's quite obvious that there is much less coffee powder in this one

But it still turns out nice and dark. Colour looks darker than usual though

Taste Review

Aroma - 5/10

Quite a normal coffee caramel aroma. It... smells pretty normal.

Taste - 7/10

It actually has a pretty good balance of sweet and bitter. Both sweet and bitter seem to play together nicely. The sweetness seems to be a sort of condensed milk sweetness. Not to coy either. There is a slight bit of acidity lurking in the back too which is not unpleasant and is something I don't taste in the instant coffees back home. It also has a clean after taste.

Cost - NA

Cos I forgot how much I paid for it. LOL

Tasting Notes

Nothing much more to add actually. It's easily found in convenient stores and mini marts in Phuket so I'm guessing it's easily found in Thailand. Just remember to use less water when brewing.

TLDR version
A pretty good cuppa from Thailand!

Calbee Granola Review

Following the last few extremely disappointing Japanese snacks from Calbee+, I did find a gem from Calbee except its not from Calbee+. This is from a Don Quixote store instead. 

Calbee Granola Snack

Calbee Granola! This is a multi fruit one

Multi fruit as the picture says

Oooh lots of different fruits and grains. I'm liking this already

Very nice colours and mix

Stays nice and crunchy even after a short soak in full cream milk

I used some cheap ass UHT milk from Phoon Huat

Taste Review

Taste - 10/10

This is one of the BEST granola mixes I've had! There's a good variety of grains and different dried fruit bits that you can actually get a different taste in each bite as you chomp down on the granola. The taste of the grains dominate, followed by nutty bits of pumpkin seeds and then nice refreshing apple and raisin bits. Full marks!

Texture - 10/10

This is also superb in the texture department. The soft fruit bits add a nice chewiness and pops of flavor while the different grains and seeds add different different distinct crunch and pops with each bite. The granola also stays crunchy after a short soak in full cream milk. The different grains also means you will still be munching on them, abated a bit goat like, after the initial crunchiness has passed. 

Cost - 2/10

Good things are not friendly on the wallet. You can actually get this granola in Singapore at Asanoya in Queen Street except is bloody expensive. It costs SGD$19.80. That's a crazy price to pay for cereal. Unless you bring it back from Japan which then it only cost about... SGD$10 which is comparable to other premium granolas on the market.

This is daylight robbery

Tasting Notes

There's nothing else to add! This is gold!

TLDR version
If you have good friends travelling to Japan, get them to buy this back for you. 

Calbee Roasted Green Tea Shrimp Snack Review

So I was in Japan in December for a holiday and managed to net try out the famous Calbee+ experience where you get to taste freshly fried potato chips and raid their amazingly well stocked and marketed snack store. First up is this roasted green tea potato stick thing that came free with every purchase. That's got my alarm bells ringing but hey, I dug in.

Calbee Roasted Green Tea Shrimp Snack

Got this free for any purchase at Calbee+ in Tokyo

Taste Review

Taste - 0.5/10

First of all, it's supposed to be a shrimp snack. My bad. BUT this did not taste anything like shrimp. In fact, there was no shrimp taste. None. Zilch. The shrimp image they had on the packaging is a lie.
Furthermore, this is sweet, a very unexpected sharp sweet. Then there is an intense green tea taste that just screams artificial! I'm all artificial!

Texture - 6/10

It's a shrimp snack and is supposed to be crunchy and it is competently so. Though it had a hard crusty surface that felt like a sugar glaze. Not exactly what one should find on a shrimp snack.

Cost - 0/10

It's free. But seriously if I had known how it tastes, I would not have wanted it. It's basically dead weight once you know how it tastes.

Tasting Notes

This is an abomination. A pox on whoever made this. This is like a restaurant serving you the best dinner you ever had, then gifting you a dead rat as a parting gift.

TLDR version
It's horrid. Don't eat this. Ever.

Calbee Assorted Potato Snacks Review

Next up is a mix of potato snacks that can be grabbed separately.

Calbee Assorted Potato Snacks

I think this is mentaiko

Very erm straight stick

I think this is some vegetable. Maybe seaweed? Someone help me out here

I think that definitely looks like seaweed

Taste Review

Taste - 5/10

The mentaiko one tasted like Maggi's curry noodles except in stick form. Not great to be honest. The vegetable version was a tad nicer.It was a bit saltier (yeah how can something be saltier than mentaiko) and has a slight sour kick too which was great.

Texture - 4/10

Very dry and crispy but in a tough hard way. Not in a good potato stick way. It feels like you're biting into rabbit food. 

Cost - 2/10

It was expensive. I think it came up to about ~SGD1 a packet or something.

Tasting Notes

Calbee+ bring home merchandise is a con job. The marketing looks superb and it all looked pretty appetizing. All promised interesting tastes and all disappointed!

TLDR version
Eat the freshly fried chips in the Calbee+ store. Don't buy any of its packaged merchandise out to bring home.

Kettle Chips Baked Camembert & Oak Smoked Garlic Review

Presenting another atas potato chip review. 

I bought this together with the Bacon & Maple Syrup flavor (review here).

Kettle Chips Baked Camembert & Oak Smoked Garlic

It always sounds nicer when you over play the ingredients and cooking methods

Taste Review

Taste - 8/10

As with all cheese flavored snacks, a strong cheesy aroma attacks my nose when I opened the bag. That's pretty typical but the smell is actually distinctively different from the usual cheddar flavorings used in most chips. This smells... well kinda similar to... surprise surprise! Baked camembert. The taste was good. The smoky garlic taste comes through quite well, followed by a pleasant sweet cheesiness followed by a creaminess finish. Certainly a very happy ending to each crispy bite.

Texture - 9/10

Solid thick chunky signature Kettle chips texture. QC pass.

Cost - 2/10

Same damage of $5.95 per bag like the bag of broken dreams that is the Bacon & Maple Syrup except this actually tastes like what it promises. Camembert happiness.

Tasting Notes

It's definitely a unique potato chip for an occasional indulgence though it lacks a certain kick that keeps it moreish like its more common cousin, the Honey Dijon. That's why I gave it an 8/10 for taste. I'd buy it for parties to be a talking point but I won't stock up on it at home.

TLDR version
Good for a passionate fling once in awhile but not a keeper. 

Kettle Chips Crispy Bacon & Maple Syrup Review

Some days you just want to have a bit of atas (high class) potato chips so I made a detour to Meidi-ya at Liang Court to browse their chips selection. I'm glad to say I found a couple that I deem fit to stuff my face silly with. 

This is one of those coveted special flavor Kettle chips that just calls out to potato chip collectors like me. What's a potato chip collector you say... well it's nut cases who die-die must try (absolutely have to eat) all potato chip flavors they see. 

Kettle Chips Crispy Bacon & Maple Syrup (with bacon from Norfolk)

Why pink?!

Taste Review

Taste - 3/10

It starts off well enough with a good hit of smokey bacon-y goodness followed by a faint whiff of maple syrup when I opened the bag. Then the taste... oh the taste... OMFG why... the chips had a bad burnt bitter taste with a slight hint of bacon. These tasted like burnt Marmite flavored chips! And not in a good way!

Texture - 9/10

At least this had the solid thick chunky signature Kettle chips texture. No fault here. 

Cost - 2/10

This was a freaking $5.95 for a bag of disappointment and wasted dreams of pink porkiness.

Tasting Notes

If you know how Marmite tastes like, burnt Marmite is just ridiculous. And I like Marmite! This is just bad. I think they overdid the smokiness to try to evoke the feel of bacon-y goodness and forgot to follow through with actual bacon flavors. No no no no!

TLDR version
Save yourself the money and heartache. Just get regular Kettle chips.