Blueberries, Butts & Bubblegum

Lotte Fruity Bubble Gum Dispensers - Asian Food Markets 

Sometimes it's the subtle things that win me over. Sure this has cool packaging, but one little detail is all it took for me to toss this into my cart. Notice anything different between these two flavors?  

On the right, we have little gum-ghosts blowing bubbles shaped like blueberries, which just so happens to match the flavor of the candy inside. The peach gum-ghosts? They're blowing normal balloon-shaped bubbles. Why is that? Because if they were blowing up peaches it'd look like they were blowing up pink-hued bubble-butts...or worse. Part of me wishes they hadn't of caught that (the evil part), but my graphic design background wants to commend their design-team and their foresight. 

As it turns out, everything about this packaging is incredibly thoughtful. 

My FAVORITE Oreo of 2018! (& Why I Love Oreo Thins)

Pistachio Oreo Thins - Shop Rite $2.50 ea.

I am kicking myself. I have a jar filled with real pistachios sitting right on my kitchen counter that would have made these photos look fantastic...but I completely forgot about them until I was editing this post. I flirted with the idea of re-shooting just to satisfy my perfectionist nature....but we both know I barely blog as it is. If I buy another brand new unopened package just to re-shoot these pics...this is never getting written up. 

So, for my sake, imagine delicious pistachios, both shelled and un-shelled, sprinkled about these photos making me look like a domestic foodie goddess I aspire to be, not the frazzled sometimes-foodie I actually am. (Really living up to the name the past 2 years...)

With today's review, the title completely gives my opinion away, so there's no use dancing around it now. These are the best Oreo I have eaten all year.

Carbonated Matcha Soda?

Matcha Ramune - Rocket Fizz

We went to brunch the other day (which is the preppiest white-girl thing I have probably ever typed), and right next-door to our hipster brunch-oasis was a Rocket Fizz. In case you don't have them in your area, Rocket Fizz is a quirky candy and novelty product franchise that has all kinds of sodas, sweets, and squirrel underpants? Yeah, it's like the Spencer's gifts of snacks. All those crazy Chicken Wing flavored sodas and stuff you'd seen the guys on Wreckless Eating and Cult Moo drink? (Which are two of my favorite Youtube-foodie channels.) They've got it!

I wasn't too adventurous with my selections, so if you want to see some gross sodas, check out these videos, but I did pick up this matcha ramune. I've had tons of match flavored sweets over the years, but I've never had a matcha soda. This could be interesting...

Espresso vs. Mint: Crunchy M&M Showdown? (Not Really Though)

Crunchy Mint & Espresso m&m's - Walgreens

I've been out of the blogging game for a while...so I completely missed the chance to review these before the contest ended and the winner was announced.

If' you're like me, and completely out of the loop, m&m's ran a flavor contest with 3 variations of crunchy m&ms. The contenders were: Crunchy Mint, Crunchy Espresso, and Crunchy Raspberry. The winner would become a permanent flavor. 

Since the contest ended (in August), and new packaging would be hitting the shelves, all three flavors were on clearance at our local Walgreens. I could have gotten all three, but I knew the raspberry ones were going to be a flop in our household, so I bought the two I knew we would enjoy. Would we like the same flavor as the one that won the contest? Let's hope so!

A Candy Farewell Toast! - Goodbye to My Beloved Asian Food Markets

Tokachi Wine Candy - Asian Food Markets 

Two weeks ago, the Asian Food Markets, arguably, the best Asian grocery store in South Jersey, broke my heart by closing it's doors. 

According to articles online, their lease was up and they are currently looking for a new location, but as of now, they haven't found one. I'm a little nervous that this could be goodbye forever...

(Before I get too dramatic, these are a chain and there are other locations, but there are none within reasonable driving distance of my home.)

I couldn't let my favorite store disappear without one last hurrah, so the day before they closed, I stopped by and took advantage of their 30% off everything sale. Normally I stick to a simple hand cart, but if this was (potentially) a "good bye forever" situation, I was going to go out with a BANG. I grabbed a full-size cart and filled it with all kinds of goodies. We're talking candies, tons of tea, snacks, curry cubes, wasabi tubes, and tons of cooking ingredients. Pretty much I grabbed everything I had always wanted to try and knew I couldn't buy at H-Mart or the other Asian markets here in South Jersey. 

When I got to the check-out, my cart was pretty heavy and practically overflowing with stuff, and the total? Only $109.76 for 50 items! The frugal part of me was stoked, but it ultimately a bitter sweet victory. 

To celebrate my love for the oddly pluralized "Asian Food Markets," (and to get my butt back into blogging semi-regularly) I'll be reviewing a bunch of the stuff I purchased there, starting off this these wine flavored candies. 

A crunchy candy farewell toast!

Well, shake it up baby now! Twist and...meh? - Lemonhead Twists

Lemonhead Twists - Walmart 

While running errands I had a craving for some tangy candy. Instead of reaching for an old faithful, I decided to try something new. Was it worth the risk? We shall see...