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Confirmed sighting: KFC Coffee Krush'ems
Posted: 20:35 Sat 19-Jun-2010. Price: £1.79. Location: KFC opposite Gloucester Road tube station, London. Nutritional unusualness: Contains "a shot of espresso".
Snackspot reports: I've long lamented the UK's lack of proper coffee slushie drinks - in the US, for instance, McDonald's iced coffee appears to be so irresistible that newsreaders always like to have one handy. Anyway, the Gloucester Road KFC are running a trial where they follow the normal procedure for a Caramel Crunch Krush'em but add an espresso shot (from the coffee machine?) at some point - which I suspect would be delicious, apart from the fact that it's full of gritty butterscotchy pieces. With any luck these'll get a wider rollout (as seems to be currently happening with KFC breakfasts), and we'll all get a chance to try them - though "without bits" would be my serving suggestion.

...McDonald's UK, meanwhile, is stealthily celebrating its "official restaurant of the 2010 FIFA World Cup" status by joining forces with an official England sponsor to create - a milkshake that tastes a bit like a Mars bar. In other cold comforts: Baskin-Robbins "is introducing its four top-selling lines into Morrisons across the UK" (ie, Cookies and Cream, Hokey Pokey, Mint Choc Chip, and Praline and Cream, £3.99/500ml); deep in this article is the detail that this summer's new Carte D'Or tubs are Raspberry Cheesecake and Coconut, in addition to the TV-advertised Rum And Raisin; and I've seen (but not tried) Snickers Dark Crunch ice cream bars starting to appear in supermarkets, while the Black Cherry variant is the suprising highlight of Muller's Greek-style yoghurt corners (£2/6 in Asda, also in Summer Fruits and Honeyed Apricot, though I think they missed a trick in not naming the flavours after different kinds of Euro debt crisis or something).

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Confirmed sighting: Wagamama Breakfast menu
Posted: 23:48 Sun 13-Jun-2010. Price: From £2.55 (Coconut Porridge). Location: Heathrow Terminal 5. Sub-flavours: See below.
Snackspot reports: Regular readers will know my caution when "the media monkeys and the junket junkies [...] invite you to their plastic pantomime" - but, at the same time, I also consider breakfast to be the most important snack of the day (and apparently the only place in the UK you can get Wagamama Breakfast now is once you're through security in Heathrow Terminal 5). So I accepted a PR invite and got to sample their really-quite substantial Wagamama Kedgeree (sticky rice with haddock, egg and curry sauce) and Okonomiyaki (traditional Japanese-style pancake - similar to the ones Londoners can also try in Abeno or around Spitalfields market). As you can see from more of the menu, they also offer traditional breakfast fare, plus a mild-but-pleasant Coconut Porridge with apple and chilli jam - like an idiot, I didn't try the Breakfast Yaki Soba noodles with bacon, egg, mushroom and tomato, but if anyone's flying from Terminal 5 in future, I'd love to hear what you make of it.

...In other heatable eatables: Pork Farms' jelly-free Bowyers Recipe pork pies are a bit boring compared to the company's previous innovations, though I have higher hopes for Batchelors' Saucy Super Noodles (in Chicken with Tomato and Herb Sauce, Beef with BBQ Sauce, Chow Mein with Chinese Sauce, and Curry with Mango Sauce), and Ginsters' fiery cheese wrap, BBQ beef wrap, sweet chilli bar and meat feast slice. And is it just me, but is there a faint hint of press release surrounding "Meateater's" submission on Wicked Pig pork snacks (in Firecracker Chilli, Hog Roast, Sweet and Sour and Southern Fried), as follows..? "Just spotted a new meat snack in my local Tesco chiller cabinet. Looks similar to Fridge Raiders, but pork instead of chicken. Bought a few bags to try out (one of each flavour - they were on offer) and they're very good. Unlike Fridge Raiders, you can enjoy these bad boys hot by popping the bag in the microwave for around a minute."

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Confirmed sighting: McVitie's Medley bars
Posted: 20:34 Sat 05-Jun-2010. Price: £1/6 x 30g. Location: Asda, Colindale. Sub-flavours: Hobnobs with Raisins and a layer of Milk Chocolate; Digestives with Hazelnuts and a layer of Milk Chocolate; HobNobs with Peanuts and Milk Chocolate Chips.
Snackspot reports: For some reason I expected these to be like a big Hobnob (or Digestive) biscuit, with extra fruit and/or nuts plus a chocolate coating - they're actually a bit less solid than that, like a broken-biscuit cereal bar stuck together with glucose syrup (which is the first or second item in the ingredients on the two varieties I've tried). The chocolate isn't particularly noticeable, and the Digestives with Hazelnuts one was a bit more interesting than the Hobnobs with Raisins, though neither were as revelatory as Kellogg's Dark Chocolate and Almond Fibre Plus bar.

...Just a quick update today as I'll probably be "saving" these Cadbury Shoots (also £1 from Asda) for some sort of World Cup round-up next week. In other chocolate combinations: currently at £2/480ml, Asda's Loaded Black Forest ice cream is a surprisingly credible Ben-and-Jerry-beater that makes me want to try the rest of the range; Foodstuff Finds has a lower-calorie alternative in the form of Le Whif breathable chocolate (via Amazon); and "Lynne" has snagged one of the current offers on Galaxy Counters (ie, £1.50 in Sainsburys, Braehead, Glasgow), calculating: "They are two bags for £3. Basically Minstrels minus their little crispy shells: like the naked Minstrels you get in Revels. I believe they used to be available in the old days so I guess many of you will be happy to see them back."

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Confirmed sighting: Starburst Tongue Tangles
Posted: 09:01 Sun 30-May-2010. Price: 65p/135g (introductory offer). Location: Tesco, Covent Garden. Sub-flavours: Banana with Mango centre; Blueberry with Lemon; Apricot with Cherry. Nutritional unusualness: Contains "carotenes, vegetable carbon".
Snackspot reports: I don't know who makes up the product names at Starburst (or should that be "Opal Fruits"?) HQ, but it's a bold move not to refer to either of the obvious predecessors of these "Sweet Chewz [with] Sour Ooze" - Starburst Smoothies and Starburst Choozers. Unless of course they're going to be replacing one or both of the earlier brands, in which case Tongue Tangles isn't much more self-explanatory, and could lead to potential confusion when offering them around to people: "Anyone for a... Tongue Tangle?"

...Also on offer in Tesco were these surprisingly non sugar-free Wrigley's Extra Chewy Mints (in authentic Wrigley's Peppermint, Spearmint, Sweetmint and Coolmint, about 50p/38g bag), and I think I've glimpsed something like Mentos Pure Gum in Morrissons, in addition to the Mentos Sugarfree Gum available in Spearmint and probably the other traditional varieties that the all-natural Peppersmith team have come up with so far.

Elsewhere, Foodstuff Finds has been foraging for XXX Mints with a Kick of Chilli - and, back with fruitier infusions, the likes of: England-themed cherry and orange Tic Tac Fruity Limited Edition; Burton's Jammie Dodgers Lively Lemon (a belated followup to 2006's Cheeky Mango?); plus Mr Kipling's Raspberry Ripple Slices and Tuttie Frutti Pies, part of a range that includes Neapolitan Bakewells and replaces the Carrot Cake Slice and Toffee Apple Bakewell, apparently.

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Confirmed sighting: Pringles Great British Flavours
Posted: 21:59 Sun 23-May-2010. Price: 95p/165g. Location: Tesco, Peterborough. Sub-flavours: Kebab; Sea salt and black pepper; Smokey bacon; Curry. Nutritional unusualness: Kebab flavour contains smoke flavouring, beef extract.
"Jj lucia-wright" reports: I found them in Tesco today, I wish they did more different flavours like this. We cannot find any information about these Pringles, I have not seen them anywhere else or even online - there is no mention of them on the Pringles website.

...First-time spotter "Jj" here confirms earlier comments from "Magnetic Ham Sandwich" - I haven't tried the Pringles myself, but McCoy's Sausage Striker is more than a match for Walkers' whole World Cup squad put together (and Foodstuff Finds is similarly over the moon about their Chicken Winger).

In other barbecue-style bites: Pork Farms' Peperami Spicy Hit sausage rolls are the highlight of their current tie-ins, especially when hot; Rustlers are fielding a Chicken, Bacon and Cheese Club Hot Sub against Subway's new Peri Peri Chicken Sub (which is "being used to educate consumers on how to chew their food correctly"); and McDonald's 2010 Taste Of America lineup revives selected variations from previous years - as if you'll be able to tell, as the first four all basically taste of bacon.

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Confirmed sighting: Cadbury Crunchie Rocks
Posted: 19:44 Sat 15-May-2010. Price: £1.95/145g. Location: Somerfield, Kentish Town. Nutritional unusualness: Clusters of milk chocolate with honeycombed pieces (16%) and cornflakes (16%).
Snackspot reports: "Share the Friday feeling," suggests the packet, and these are ideal for that purpose - if your working week typically concludes with you handing out unappetising-looking chunks of confectionery. We went over the non-Dairy Milk chocolate issue last time Cadbury produced something like this, but these don't even seem like particularly high-grade cornflakes - and, inexplicably, they've dodged making them part of the Clusters family and gone for something that sounds more like an ultra-addictive freebase "crack" version of Crunchie.

...There's more of me talking about them at 11:10 and 25:30 in this free podcast (along with Lee Maguire's possibly-imported Twix Topix and these Lindt Excellence Caramelised Hazelnuts and Roasted Almond bars, currently £1 in Sainsbury's - it's the Hazelnut one that tastes more like Toblerone, though only when it's cold for some reason). Anyway, in other refrigerated creativity: there's now a Cadbury Chocolate Cheesecake with Buttons (full price £3.49 in Tesco) in a range of other chilled desserts to confuse with last year's Flake-based frozen one; while Jim's Chocolate Mission continues to rage against the disappointments of Cadbury Dream/ Bournville Fingers plus a dark chocolate version of Burton's Cadbury-branded Jaffa Cakes (I think 45p/pack is almost certainly a half-price introductory offer, though it's not clear whether paying more would have made him even angrier?)

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Confirmed sighting: Mountain Dew Energy
Posted: 10:32 Sun 09-May-2010. Price: £1.49/500ml. Location: BP Connect North End, East Grinstead. Nutritional unusualness: 18mg/100ml caffeine.
"It tastes very like the one in the USA, Mountain Dew is going to be rolling out through the UK in the coming weeks," reported "ryan", but the pic comes from "Andrew D", who assesses: "The return of Mountain Dew to the UK. Tastes fantastic, as close to the US version as we're gonna get. A serious caffeine kick at 18mg/100ml. Not as bright yellow as it used to be, due to the removal of Yellow 5, which can only be a good thing."

...Thanks guys - and not to argue this point, but that's "only" about 90mg of caffeine per bottle, compared to more than 100mg in those little Starbucks drinks. Anyway, time will tell whether this is an acceptable replacement to whatever "william smith" was buying from Maroc Deli on Oxford's Cowley Road - other would-be purchasers can refer to Facebook's list of possible stockists (in short: Sainsbury's Local and Sainsbury's large stores "in the next few weeks", Martin McColl's, plus petrol forecourts and motorway service stations with particular focus on BP Garages, which makes a change from BP's other news coverage recently).

Also conceivably "coming home" this week: Frijj's World Cup-themed Thick and Smooth Caramel Cheer is probably just 2007's Toffee Caramel/ 2003's Mount Caramel again; I was half-way through this bottle of reduced-for-Passover Kedem Grape Juice before I spotted it's For Sacramental Purposes Only, but no Raiders Of The Lost Ark-style side-effects so far; and "Sean" says he saw Jones' American Soda at £1.09/555ml) in Quinton, Birmingham, speculating: "I believe this was only previously available imported from the US, but going by the good price (it's usually around £1.20 a can!) I'm thinking whether this could be a new UK version? Hopefully it'll appear in most supermarkets soon as the Strawberry Lime flavour is IMO probably the best American soda bar Mountain Dew/Vanilla Coke available!"

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Confirmed sighting: Warburtons Chippidy DooDaa Chilli Jack Pitta Chips
Posted: 11:10 Mon 03-May-2010. Price: £0.64. Location: Preston. Sub-flavours: Mature Cheese and Spring Onion; Sea Salt and Malt Vinegar; Sea Salt and Black Pepper (?). Nutritional unusualness: 0.5g sat fat, 2.4g sugar, 0.8g salt per 40g bag.
"Voodoo" reports: A new snack by the famous bread makers, Warburtons... The chilli flavour, and the unusual pitta-style crisp bought me. Not really spicy, just a cheeky hint, but they do possess a more authentic warm chilli taste compared to most snacks. Not tried the other flavours as they do not appeal to me.

...And well done to first-time spotter "Voodoo" for today's Bank Holiday sighting of this oddly elusive product (apparently available online, and accompanied by Snack A Doodle wholegrain snacks in Sweet Chilli or Cheddar Cheese and Onion, 53p). In other belated updates: McCoy's Sausage Striker and Chicken Winger World Cup Limited Editions should be in shops by now; it says "Made with Doritos" on Subway's new Melted Cheese Nachos (in accordance with Snackspot prophecy), but I didn't expect to see them tipped out of a scrunched-up Doritos bag in front of me; and they should have a bit on Antiques Roadshow for people like West Fife's "john mellon", who inquires: "I have a packet of Tudor Savoury Straws with a best before date of 05 OCT 85, twenty five years old. They are in excellent condition, just very dusty on the packet!! Any suggestions what I should do with them?"

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Confirmed sighting: Starbucks Discoveries Cold Milk Drinks
Posted: 10:33 Sun 25-Apr-2010. Price: Currently £1/220ml introductory offer. Location: Sainsbury's, Finchley Road. Sub-flavours: Seattle Latte; Aztlan Mocha Latte Chocolate Flavour; Qandi Latte Caramel Flavour; Doubleshot Espresso and Milk. Nutritional unusualness: High caffeine content (47mg/100ml).
Snackspot reports: It's only taken Starbucks 5 years or so to respond to Emmi's Caffe Latte with these "Short" servings of assorted flavours, now available in supermarket chiller cabinets for about a quid. All the three Latte flavours I've tried so far are a bit more convincing than the Emmi ones - the Mocha one is probably the most bitter, but the Caramel variety also does a good job of covering up the taste of the UHT milk. Obviously they're not huge portions, but even at full price (around £1.50?), they'll still be a bargain compared with anything from an actual Starbucks - and, along with their recent bid to revolutionise the way we drink instant coffee, suggests the company may soon be moving into the long-anticipated 'Phase Two' of their operation.

...Obviously real energy drink fans are just counting the seconds before the official UK return of New Mountain Dew in May, but until then you can keep your spirits up with Lucozade Sport Lite, Reverend Berriman's Cola with a hint of chilli, or the seven-strong Neuro range of vitamin and mineral-based drinks (in NeuroAqua, NeuroGasm, NeuroTrim, NeuroSonic, NeuroSleep, NeuroSport or NeuroBliss). Alternatively, those above legal drinking age can welcome the warmer weather with Bulmers Apple and Pear Summer Blend, (recently £1.69/568ml, or "3 for £5" - thanks, Sainsbury's), the alarmingly blackcurrant-bouqueted Gaymers Pear Cider with Berry Fruits (£3/4 x 330ml, Morrissons), St Helier's Real Shandy, or Brothers Tutti Frutti Cider, allegedly inspired by "revellers who mixed the company's strawberry, lemon and toffee apple ciders into its regular pear cider" at Glastonbury last year.

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Confirmed sighting: Cadbury Cookies Chunky - Choc and Fruit
Posted: 10:17 Sun 18-Apr-2010. Price: £1.49. Location: Tesco, Rutherglen, Scotland. Sub-flavours: Milk, white or plain choc. Nutritional unusualness: Milk chocolate 18%, plain choc chunks 11%.
Zeddy reports: There was a time, an age of innocence when McVitie's once made Boasters with raisins (sultanas?) and chocolate. All was right with the world way back when. Then, like all deluded manufacturers, they felt that they had to concentrate on chocolate and nut variety and introduce white choc and cranberry. What for!? The incontinent old geriatrics who hoover up this tat on the supermarket aisles? Have you seen them? Wouldn't touch junk food like chocolate bars but by God, do they fill their baskets with pack after pack of biscuits? Oh, and a little bit of fish for tea, as food's too pricey these days.

Getting back to these cookies. Yes, the title looks somewhat mislabelled but I am only printing what it says on the pack. Don't get me started on the demise of the English language. Where these differ from the Boaster variety is that they have a slathering (I really like that word) of chocolate on their top and chunks included within the biccie too. Not as nice a biscuit as a Boaster texture-wise but still very palatable just the same. I see they are another Burton's Foods product. The fruit incidentally is currants. PS: I miss Nice Cup Of Tea and a Sit Down. They never update their site. They would have reviewed these far better than I.

...Oh I doubt that Zeddy - NiceCupOfTea doesn't even seem to mention the possible 2005 predecessor, Cadbury Cookies. Elsewhere, Foodstuff Finds and Chocolate Mission have been getting stuck into Galaxy Counters, Jaffa Cakes Lemon Cake Bars and Cadbury's plans for a chocolate-themed cafe chain - but only Zeddy braved B and M Bargains, Hamilton, Scotland to try this Nestle Bros bar, resisting the temptation to tell the till-operator: "I owe you nothing, nothing at all! These are Aero-type bars that come from Holland. Similar in size to a small Aero but with 5 rounded top pieces joined together, it has the same bubble design inside as an Aero. They taste very bland, however. It is as if they forgot to include any cocoa in the ingredients. As a result they are sweet and sort of milky but that's it. Not a favourite but I was glad to find some foreign chocolate close to hand. I've broadened my horizons to now be able to say I don't like Dutch chocolate. How's that for a sweeping statement? Definitely not some of the 'good schtuff'."

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