Luxury chocolate bars by Barnaby

Stumbled upon this sign saying Test Kitchen so went closer to have a look expecting cooked food but it turns out to be lots of chocolate bars.

As a curious foodie, I asked what they were and was told it was freshly made waffles covered in chocolate.
I'm not a fan of waffles but decided to give it a try.
There were a few flavours that day: red velvet cream, tiramisu, cookies dough, hazelnut pretzel so I went for the red velvet.
The pricing was confusing as there were classics and creams which isn't clearly labelled but it seems they have different flavours everyday to test the market.
It turns out the red velvet was a cream so I paid 4 pounds for it.
Taking a bite, I was impressed and glad it wasn't for the bin.
The chocolate was thick that it cracked like a big Easter egg and it was a nice chocolate as well which was smooth and rich.
Inside there was chewy red layers of red velvet waffles which I am not sure was meant to be chewy or crisp but chewy is better in my opinion.
There was the dreamy white chocolate cream in between which was heaven.
Although they are described as chocolate covered waffles, I felt that they were like posh chocolate bars to the next level.

Visited a few days later to get some for my friend so got to try their hot chocolate which was indulgent.

I managed to chat to the guy and they said they will have choc ices for the summer which I simply can't wait.

Returned again for the Matchstick bar which has marshmallow inside.

They are really popular now that all the bars were sold out so I got a freshly made one.

It wasn't that cold today and because the bar was freshly made I didn't expect it to have that satisfying crack which I was right and the marshmallow was a bit soft.

Knowing that I put the other one in the fridge and it was so much nicer as the marshmallow became more chewy and the chocolate had a nice snap to it.

Again, I really liked this new Matchstick bar because it was like chocolate teacake in a bar.

Will be back if they have anymore interesting flavours and the summer for the ice cream bars which I can foresee being like a tasty snickers/mars ice cream bar.

Address: 2, 4 Upper St Martin's Ln, London WC2H 9EA

Lidl Sugar Cronut

I have been looking for the special guest Lidl sugar cronut but not many stores have it.

Finally found one that stocks it but it must have been a bad batch because all of them looked dry and just like huge puffed vol au vonts.
It was like a messed up soft donut shaped mille feuille and nothing like the hybrid croissant/doughnut textures you are supposed to get eg soft with a chew and a bit doughnutty.
They definitely looked wrong to begin like a puff pastry but dense.

#ssglidl 

M&S Air nuts and Cheese clouds

Air nuts, popped cheese and snacks are a game changer because they are light yet flavourful however they were only available from a few brands so you have to buy them online or visit a place that stocks them.
The good news is that trendsetter M&S now stock them in their own brand making them readily available nationally and possibly at their overseas stores.
I remember buying the popped cheese online but had trouble getting the air nuts so I grabbed myself a bag of air nuts to try.

The cheese clouds are moreish and taste exactly like cheese but in crispy form similar to the burnt cheese you find after baking it in the oven or on top of cheese rolls that have been baked.

It also feels like eating freeze dried meringue but with a hard crunch.

The best thing is that they don't feel heavy because they are dry and popped while your fingers don't get greasy.

As for the peanuts, they were just the same as eating peanuts but in a different shape like pumice stones except a little lighter and airy flavoured with salt and pepper.

If you like peanuts I definitely recommend them but personally I prefer cheese clouds.

Other brands of cheese clouds out there are cheesies and cheese O's while the air nuts can also be found by Real handful.

Yo! Dim sum selection

It is interesting that Yo! a restaurant that specializes in Japanese has frozen Chinese dim sum!

They were reduced to £2 at Iceland so I thought I'd give them a try.

Inside the box there are 9 pieces, 3 of each for vegetable gyozas, chicken siu mai and the prawn hakao.

Overall, they were not bad and the sui mai was my favourite.

Unbelievably beefy Juicy Marbles : plant based beef steak alternative

I love trying plant based food because it is always fun to appreciate and see how it compares with meat and seafood.
Juicy Marbles is another stunning plant based meat which looks literally like a piece of steak so I had to compare to Redefine the 3D printed steak which was a sad disappointment with all that media about it.

To my surprise, Juicy Marbles does not come from US or UK but SLOVENIA!!!!!

The price tag is a hefty £9 for two pieces.

You can also get a whole loin version according to the internet but I feel that the thick cut filets are the best due to its scallop like structure which pulls apart so if you had a loin, you would probably have stringy meat!

Thankfully, they were on promotion at Tescos for £6.75 which had to be tried considering some countries are deprived of imports.

When I took it out, there was a steak smell already.

The instructions are simple, sprinkle some salt and pan fry it.

I felt that it didn't really need the salt as it was already seasoned.

When it was cooked, the meat was a bit like beef cheek/beef belly/pulled beef and it actually tasted like bovril.

It definitely had that meat mouthfeel and reminded me of tinned chunks of beef.

Again, I was just surprised how good it was because I kept eating more rather than throwing it away.

It also reminded me of the faux beef in the M&S no beef ready meals but with more flavour.

To summarize, this is my favourite plant based beef so far and much better than Redefine.