real food for real people. snack food reviews, recipes and blog.
If you’ve ever been “glomped” at a con, then you probably don’t need an introduction to Pocky. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then this review is for you!
Pocky is a ridiculously popular Japanese snack from Glico. You can find them in Asian markets, comic book stores, anime conventions and even at some Walmarts! They’re usually a dollar or two a box, unless you’re being overcharged at a convention. They’re nifty little biscuit sticks dipped into sweet flavored coatings. It’s really less of a biscuit and more of naked pretzel stick. The most popular flavors are chocolate and strawberry, but they come in a seemingly infinite variety of flavors. While I’m sure that the future holds many reviews of the other flavors, today we’ll focus on chocolate and strawberry.
Opening the Pocky is half the fun! The boxes are made to somewhat act as a display for your sweet sticks. Once you pop open the box, you’ll find a sealed pouch(or 2 if you got a large box) keeping your confection fresh.
The Pocky is a sweet crunchy treat. The stick is crisp and slightly salty while the coating counters with a sweet flavor. I definitely like the chocolate flavor better myself but the strawberry is nothing to sneeze at either(because that’d be kinda gross). I was constantly surprised at how chocolaty each bite was.
Some notes about Pocky:
Don’t leave Pocky in a hot car, unless you want one giant Pocky bar… which actually sounds pretty good. On second thought, DO leave Pocky in the car.
Don’t let the clerk drop your Pocky. Half of our strawberry Pocky were broken because the clerk dropped the box. Still tasty though!
Pocky is considered a form of currency at anime conventions. Though prostitution is not technically allowed at these conventions, you’ll be surprised at what a box of Pocky can get you. Think of it as a fangirl Klondike bar.
A&W’s my favorite root beer so I was excited to try their new ready-made ice cream float! I picked up a bottle at a convenience store nearby. It was unexpectedly creamy and tastes like they bottled it after all the ice cream melted. Which actually would make sense because at that point the pop would’ve lost most of it’s carbonation and the bottled stuff tastes only lightly carbonated.
It was definitely tasty, but I don’t think they quite hit the “just like the real thing” meter. I think it was the “artificial ice cream flavor”, which I’m pretty sure is just vanilla extract laid on thickly. There’s also an after taste, that’s some mix of vanilla extract and cream. I bet that’s supposed to be the foam from a real float, but then again it also reminds me of Yoo-Hoo which is a step in a random direction.
Overall I call it a yummy, creamy drink in it’s own right, but it really isn’t very float-like.
Well, I better like these or find some friends who do. The only way it I could find to buy it was in a bag of 20. Luckily, it only cost me $2.50. And also lucky for me, they taste good too!
Ok, so I call these Wishtree Chicken flavored crackers but that’s mostly because those are just about the only English words I can find on the package. I picked these up at my local Hong Kong supermarket and they come in this cute little fried chicken takeout bag with a handle. As an added bonus, you get a little cartoon chicken mascot that appears to be saying “Please eat me. I’m tasty!”
Each package contains 10 very thin crackers. They taste a little buttery and do really have a light chicken taste. If you’ve ever had “Chicken in a Biscuit” crackers, same idea. If not, think Ritz crackers with a salty chickeny flavor. Unlike these crackers though, these are really tin, crispier and a little toastier. I was hoping for a little more flavor, but they are great little snacks. Add a little cheese and they’re awesome!
Now who wants to come over to my place for a chicken cracker party?
This is comfort food to me. My parents always used to makes this dish. It’s cheap, filling and tastes great! We usually have some meat in it: sliced beef or pork, even ground meat, but I decided to go without today(see this post if you want to know why). If you want to include the meat, add it to the pan before step 5 and brown the meat, seasoning with half a packet of noodle seasoning. We use MAMA brand Pork noodles(available at any Asian grocer), but feel free to use your favorite brand and flavor. It’s great with your favorite hot sauce!
Recipe for Stir Fried Ramen Noodles
Ingredients:
3 packs of MAMA pork flavored noodles
2 large eggs, beaten
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup of onions, diced
1/2 cup of frozen peas and carrots
Cooking spray and/or vegetable oil
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil with enough water to cover the noodles.
2. Remove the noodle from the packages and put the seasonings and oil to the side. These packets contain oil, seasonings and chili powder. Break each noodle brick into quarters and put into boiling water with 1 packet of included oil.
3. Boil on HIGH until al dente, or about 1 minute. You don’t want the noodles to be soggy and these noodles cook very quickly. Strain the noodles. Do not rinse.
4. Spray a pan or wok with some nonstick spray. Heat on MEDIUM. Add 1 tsp. of oil(optional). Add onions(I used frozen chopped onions) and garlic. Cook until garlic is lightly browned.
5. Add beaten eggs to the pan. Sprinkle eggs with half of a seasoning packet. Scramble the eggs until halfway cooked. You want the eggs a little runny so they stick to the noodles.
6. Add drained noodles back to the pan. Add 2 of the seasoning packets(chili powder optional). Add the frozen peas and carrots. Stir until the seasoning is even, eggs are cooked and peas and carrots are warm.
Serves 2-3
Arlington, TX- the place I call home- has been picked by Men’s Fitness magazine as the second fattest city in the US. We’re second only to the all-you-can-eat steak-and-lobster-bisque capital, Las Vegas. I knew there was a reason I loved it here! This is an annual study they do of the 50 largest cities in the US. And by large, I mean population not girth. The list studies all sorts of factors like number of gyms and usage, accessibility to junk food, alcohol consumption, and city initiatives to curb obesity.
If you live in Texas, fear not! You’re most likely included in the list too! Of the top 10 fattest cities in the US, 6 in Texas. Insert obligatory “every thing’s bigger” joke here.
Here’s a list of the Top 10 Fattest cities in the US, with Texas cities highlighted:
Here’s a couple interesting facts about Arlington:
Arlington has the 3rd highest number of donut shops per capita in our survey.
Congratulations Texas, we won! I think this calls for a barbecue!
From Men’s Fitness
Another twist on our previous post about the spice gun… flavored bullets! Season Shot is company that’s apparently looking to save a little time in hunting and cooking your game. Why waste time and meat with removing shot? Throw the whole bird in the oven! These bullets contain tightly packed flavor pellets that melt into the meat of the bird. And best of all, it’s eco-friendly!
The product appears to still be under development so you can’t walk into your local Williams-Sonoma store or Academy and buy the ammo just yet. But here’s to hoping this doesn’t end up as vapor ware!
Check out their website at http://www.seasonshot.com/
Today we’re trying out Full Throttle Mother, just in time for this semester’s first round of exams! This is the latest in the Full Throttle energy drink lineup from Coca-Cola. The drink is Acai Berry flavored and boasts “Energy from Natural Sources”. A quick run through the ingredients shows its got Ginseng extract, Caffeine and Guarana extract along with vitamins b3, b6, b12 and E. Pretty stereotypical energy drink ingredients. The difference here is Coca-Cola uses 40% fruit juice(apple, pear and blueberry).
Ok, for some reason, I bought this without reading the actual flavor of the drink. Regular Full Throttle and Full Throttle Fury don’t have flavors. From their names, I guess they’re supposed to taste like angry car parts. Well, after drinking half of it, I finally noticed the small silver print at the bottom denoting the Acai Berry Flavor. Acai is the latest new product of the antioxidant craze. The only other Acai Berry flavored anything I’ve had was Emergen-C and I hated it. Think blueberry flavoring but more tart. Now turn that into a syrup and use a little too much of it. It’s a bit too overpowering for my tastes.
Acai aside, the fruit juices make FT Mother much smoother than other energy drinks, even though it is carbonated. This is very welcome in my opinion. When I buy an energy drink, its usually because I’m ridiculously tired and it’s usually in the morning. I hate how most energy drinks burn the hell out of your throat with the carbonation. Especially when you’re trying to chug it on the run.
Overall- I think I’d like this much more if it wasn’t Acai Berry. I’d still probably drink it in a pinch because of the juice in it. Energy drinks are usually more for utility than taste anyways. Still, kind of disappointed it didn’t taste like moms…
Using ingredients like apple extract, cane sugar and coffee leaves, Pepsi is rolling out it’s newest product in select cities in Europe right now. This stuff is supposedly less fizzy, lighter in color and saves you about 10 calories. They’re going for a healthier soda, but at what cost?
From DailyMail UK
Hey, it DOES have something to do with food. Cheezburgers is a food! Get off my back!
Icanhascheezburger.com is user generate content at it’s best worst best! Take a picture of a cat, add a caption that makes it cute or funny(or in some cases, neither) and you’re an instant internet superstar! It’d look great on your resume!
Anyways, with 205 PAGES of lolcats, it’s a great time waster or pick-me-up when you’re feeling down. Most of them aren’t food related, but still definitely worth checking out if you haven’t already!
Check out this cool new way to spice your favorite food… you shoot it in the face! Zhu Fei from China unveiled it’s concept of the Spice Gun. All you need to do is pop it open, put in your favorite dry spices and pull the trigger. The Spice Gun actually shoots your seasonings out with a burst of air! Sounds cool and all, but how many drunk party related eye injuries do you think it’d take before there’s a lawsuit?
Via Engadget
Maybe I have the sense of humor of a 5 year old. Or maybe I’m hoping to draw misplaced and confused Johnny Depp fans to netfoodie.com. Whatever the reason, I chose to review Pirate’s Booty from Robert’s American Gourmet Snacks .
I picked up my Booty (teehee) from Whole Foods Store in their chip aisle. I’ve seen these all over the place though: campus stores, vending machines, grocery stores, etc. The company apparently has an entire line of Booty chips ranging from Fruity Booty to Veggie Booty. I picked up my 4oz bag for 2 bucks on sale. The bag is bigger than it sounds because these are actually pretty light. I’d say about the size of a bag of Doritos.
Pirate’s Booty are aged white cheddar flavored puffs of rice and corn. They’re somewhat healthy- 5g of fat, 180 calories- and boast to be all natural. They’re very light and airy, almost like packing peanuts. Unlike packing peanuts, however, they taste great! The actual booty are very randomly shaped nuggets. Personally, I think they could have gone with a little more flavoring on it, but I’m a huge fan of white cheddar. They’re filling enough to snack on and healthy enough to not feel too bad.
Check out the pictures of my all natural Booty!
Ooo! Yay! Another blog! How original! So what’s this one about, huh?
Glad you asked, voices in my head. This is, or rather, will become a blog about real food for real people. Yes, we all know that a $100 meal in a 5 star restaurant taste great. But how’s that new Arby’s sandwich taste? What about the newest flaming hot snack from Frito-lay? Or the newest Hot Pocket flavor? Or this weird green bag of something that I found at the local Asian supermarket? Or this strange fruit I found in my neighbor’s yard?
But why ruin your dinner trying something new, just to find out that it tastes like chicken broth and sawdust? Watch US ruin our dinners instead! YAY!
Here’s what I want this site to become:
So sit back, relax and count how many times we can give ourselves food poisoning!
