Haribo Soda Twists Zing (Cost Cutter in Texaco Petrol Station) By @SpectreUK

I picked up these Haribo Soda Twists Zing at a petrol station on the way back from our favourite smokehouse restaurant. As I was running out of calories, I foolishly offered to share them. I know, I try not to let it happen often, but I exercise a huge amount and count my calories every day to rehabilitate from various operations and injuries I've picked up along my way.

These Haribo Soda Twists Zing looked amazing. The bottles were giant, so I believed they should be big and tasty. I was loving the size of them and I reckoned they could be the the reason for going to back to that shop to pick these up pretty often. Soft in texture and sour by nature, I had astronomical hopes for these Soda Twists Zing to be my favourite Haribo of all time.

There were three different flavours of Haribo Soda Twists Zing sour sugar coated bottles. Pink and green bottle colour was Strawberry Appleade. There was a definite apple taste, then soft strawberry, then sharper apple. I really liked that one, sour but sweet. These were so good, I could have eaten a whole bag of them.

Next up was the red and brown coloured bottle, which of course was Cherry Cola. Now I don't like cherries, and I don't like cherry sweets. I'm not particularly a fan of Coca Cola either. Well except for Fizzy Cola Bottles, especially the really super fizzy ones that seem hard to come by. These big and soft and sour Haribo Cherry Cola Bottles had the same effect on me. Very sour cola in flavour, pretty much like my favourite Fizzy Cola Bottles, and then a good sour hit of cherries with it. In fact these are one of the best Cherry Cola sour sweets I've ever had.

Last up was the pink and yellow coloured bottles, which was Rhubarb Lemonade. I love rhubarb, so these shouldn't be a problem. And they didn't disappoint. Packed full of flavour, almost rhubarb and custard, these bottles were pretty sour, in fact they caught the back of my throat. Not so much lemon, but plenty of rhubarb and certainly a bucket full of tartness.

These Haribo Soda Twists Zing were pure delight. They were lovely and soft, and I really liked the texture. I'm never keen on rubbery gummies you really have to chew through. I am pleased to say I was right too. These are my favourite bag of Haribo sweets ever. I could quite happily eat an entire bag of each flavour and more. I have to get more of these. How have I only just found these now in my life?

Information on the packet; The 160g bag contains 349kcal per 100g. Please see photograph for further information.

Banoffee Pie Drinking Chocolate (Hotel Chocolat) By @Cinabar

I have no idea why we are getting so many new interesting hot chocolate flavours in spring compared to the winter offerings, but I’m all for it. Hot chocolate is not just for Christmas. I spotted this Banoffee Pie Drinking Chocolate in Hotel Chocolat and just couldn’t wait to give it a try.

Banana is a bit of a Marmite flavour; some people really hate it, but thankfully I like the stuff; I like real bananas, and I like banana flavour like you find in milkshakes. You can bring it all on. I heated some milk in my hot chocolate maker, added a sachet of Banoffee Pie Drinking Chocolate, and waited for it to finish mixing. You can make it on the hob too with some hot milk; I just can’t resist a kitchen gadget.

The drink smelled yummy, with loads of chocolate, sweetness, and banana. I gave it a sip, and the flavour was super soothing. There is plenty of caramel and banana, but it still wasn’t too sweet, and chocolate shone through too. It was an impressive mix, and despite the milkshake-like flavour,  it was actually quite a grown-up but fun drink. I can’t wait for my next cup. 

Cadbury Triple Decker Mint Edition (CandyMail) By @Cinabar

I think I have to start by saying, I bought green chocolate! Mint and chocolate are a fairly common combination (think Mint Twirl, After Eight, etc.), but actually making the chocolate a green colour is a braver choice. This Triple Decker Mint Edition bar is from Cadbury, but it is imported from Australia; perhaps they are braver with coloured chocolate there. 

Inside the pack is a large sharing bar, and the green shines through, but there are actually three layers: milk chocolate, green mint chocolate, and a topping of white chocolate. 

I gave the bar a try and really loved it. The texture is that of solid chocolate, but when I bit, it seemed to split into the three pieces a little bit. The mint is lovely and strong, and my senses were filled with sweet peppermint, followed by the creamy white chocolate that seemed to be dominant in the flavour. This gave the bar a nice, soothing, refreshing feel, and I had to remember that it was meant for sharing and not to accidentally eat the whole thing while watching Netflix. What a delight this Cadbury Triple Decker Mint Edition is! I wish they would bring it out in the UK, and I even forgive the green colour. 

Rana Sicilian Style Caponata [@NLi10]

 It's Rana time! We are definitely part of the Rana family and love picking up the new versions as they come out.

This one is an odd one - aubergines, tomatoes, onions & capers. All quite strong flavours and ones that I like.

It says to add tomatoes too - but we didn't spot that and were just having them as a late snack.

Always cook for the indicated time so that it's neither runny or hard inside - like eggs I guess.

And here we see them, with a little balsamic thrown on top for added pizzaz.

The usual 'chopped not blended' Rana ingredients really benefit here - there is great textures and deep flavours here.  I do think that the sweetness of the sun-dried tomatoes would have been a bonus and it'd work better in a full meal but I'm sure we will keep buying this one as it's a nice side dish.

Titanic Iceberg American Pale Ale (Morrisons) By @SpectreUK

I'd say I was going with a theme tonight by having a salad with Iceberg Lettuce in it with my steak and chips, but it looks like I've got vegetables instead. This 4.1% in volume Iceberg American Pale Ale was first produced by Titanic Brewery in 1993. Heavy on the wheat, it was one of the first UK beers to use American hop varieties in its production.

The Royal Mail Ship (RMS) Titanic was a British ocean liner, owned by the White Star Line. It sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15th April 1912, after it hit an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. It's one of the most famous ship accidents in history, with great loss of life, and many movies both good and bad.

Titanic Iceberg ale was produced with Maris Otter and also Pearl malted barley, as well as wheat, with Herkules and Cascade hops. There should be a citrus, zesty and floral aroma, with flavours of grapefruit and citrus bitterness from the hops. So on opening the bottle there certainly was a zesty citrus smell with a slightly floral aroma from this bright golden American Pale Ale.

Titanic's Iceberg ale started with a sharp bitterness reminiscent of grapefruit, as well as knife like citrus with underlying sweetness of malted barley trying to batter off oodles of wheatiness. This was a very refreshing Spring feeling pale ale, with lashings of citrus bitterness and sweetness of malts and wheat into the aftertaste. It was scrumptious washing down my steak and chips.