REVIEW: KFC Mac & Cheese Bowl

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KFC Mac Cheese Bowl

Ask any small child and they’ll tell you that KFC has not only always had mac and cheese on the menu, but has always had mac and cheese with bits of chicken cut up and tossed around in the bowl. It’s a hand-mixed taste sensation that’s usually left half-eaten and thrown away by a mom tired of fighting with a child that won’t cooperate with a lunchtime meal.

From these literal mouths of children comes Kentucky Fried Chicken’s latest bowl du jour, the Mac & Cheese Bowl, an easy-enough concoction that brings the famous side to the forefront and makes it a blessed entrée for any adult that needs their food in a somewhat compact form, available in both original and, of course, spicy.

KFC Mac Cheese Bowl Top

Despite the trouble ordering just the bowl at my area franchise — my server told me it’s only available as a “fill up” and I did not feel like arguing — when it arrived quickly on my tray, I immediately noticed it looked far less plump than the advertisements hung all around the store made it seem. While the pictures depict the bowl as a heightened foodscape of chicken and cheese dreams, in real life, it is just a low-lying valley of flat nuggets and buried cheddar.

Popping the plastic top and letting the scented heat waft upwards though, the smell was a peppy delight of warm Nashville hot sauce and melty cheddar cheese. There was a decent enough ratio of chicken to macaroni, always a plus. The spicy chicken popcorn nuggets seemed to cover the top, my fork gently stirring the mac and cheese from the bottom, like a perverted variation of yogurt.

KFC Mac Cheese Bowl Mixed

While the spicy Nashville flavor of the chicken overpowered the well-meaning mac and cheese, it still worked here. The underlying cheesy taste is a heavenly layer of yellow deliciousness that manages to break through the thick wall of clucky goodness. It’s a taste that combines very well and, honestly, probably something that many of us already did before this even came out.

KFC Mac Cheese Bowl Closeup

Sadly, as tasty as this is, I don’t think it makes a better combination than the typically perfect chicken and mashed potato Famous Bowl, which seems like more of a natural dish, one that has a sprinkling of cheese on it already, along with a few bits of corn. Still, if you’re ordering a Mac & Cheese Bowl, you know what you’re getting and, in that case, you’re going be mighty happy.

But, you know, if this meal doesn’t make you happy, chances are you’re just a fussy four-year-old with great reading skills.

Purchased Price: $5.00 (Fill Up Meal)
Size: N/A
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Unavailable at post time.

REVIEW: Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew

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Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew

What is the Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew?

A cousin to the beloved Pumpkin Spice Latte, the new Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew features Starbucks’ tried-and-true Cold Brew with vanilla sweet cream and a pumpkin-flavored cold foam with pumpkin spice on top.

How is it?

I fully embrace pumpkin spice season, even when it makes its debut in August. And OH MY GOSH, you guys, this Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew is a real winner. I *might* even break up with the PSL this year and stick with the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew. It’s that good.

Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew 2

The biggest takeaway from the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew is that it’s not as sweet as the PSL. It tasted like a piece of pumpkin pie – just enough of a hint of flavor without an artificial taste. The Cold Brew itself, sweetened with vanilla syrup, is smooth and easy to drink. And while I typically have to be in the mood for Cold Foam, I LOVED this one. I liked that it stayed nicely as the top layer without sinking too much into the Cold Brew.

One thing to note, I tried this drink twice. Once I got it with the straw-less lid. The second day, my Starbucks was out of those, so I got lid and straw. While it didn’t affect the flavor too much, I do prefer drinking it out of the straw-less lid because you get equal parts Cold Brew and Cold Foam.

A grande packs a decent caffeine punch at roughly 185 milligrams, so it got me through my day, both productive and excited about wearing scarves again soon.

Is there anything else I need to know?

Points to my mom for doing the recon on this one: The Cold Brew already has the vanilla syrup added in, so you can’t customize with sugar-free vanilla. Embrace the full sugar, my friends – it’s worth it.

Conclusion:

When can I go back and get another?

Purchased Price: $4.45
Size: Grande
Purchased at: Starbucks
Rating: 10 out of 10
Nutrition Facts:: (Grande) 250 calories, 12 grams of total fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 55 milligrams of sodium, 31 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 31 grams of total sugars, 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Oreo China Six Flavors

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1 Oreo Six Flavors

I’ve never been to China, but I feel like I’ve eaten enough of their Oreo flavors to be named Ambassador. Hot Chicken Wing and Wasabi, Seaweed, Strawberry, Blueberry, Orange-Mango, Grape-Peach and now – Six Flavors. Is “Cookie Ambassador” a thing? Can I be that?

A collaboration with the Palace Museum in Beijing, Oreo Six Flavors are inspired by traditional foods eaten by Chinese royalty at The Forbidden City. I took to eBay recently to track them down, since they haven’t been released here in the U.S.

2 Oreo Six Flavors Wrappers

The Six Flavors are: Green Tea Cake, Red Bean Cake, Lychee Rose Cake, Vintage Haw, Chaoshan-style BBQ Pork Pastry, and Spicy Pepper Pastry. They sounded both delicious and challenging.

3 Oreo Six Flavors Boxart

4 Oreo Six Flavors Boxart

The packaging on this collection is fantastic. The box was telling me an epic story, and each flavor had a unique wrapper with a gorgeous design. There were five cookies per flavor – a perfect size to sample and share. China – KILLING IT on Oreo beauty and practicality.

5 Oreo Six Flavors Green Tea

I’ll get right to the flavors. First up was Green Tea Cake. I wasn’t sure about this one – sometimes green tea tastes like dirt to me. But here, it was really nice. Earthy but low-key, it worked really well with the slightly-less-sweet chocolate cookie that I notice all the Chinese Oreo have in common.

The Red Bean Cake Oreo was also earthy, but not as sweet as other red bean desserts I’ve had. My first reaction was “interesting, but not awesome,” but they grew on me the more bites I took.

6 Oreo Six Flavors LycheeRose

Next up – Lychee Rose Cake. Now, Rose is a very tricky flavor. One molecule too much, and it tastes like the smell of a Granny’s bathroom. It was surprisingly well done here, though – definitely present and dominant, but not annoying. The lychee was more of a background fruit taste, but it did a lot to keep the rose in its place. I really enjoyed these.

I didn’t know what Vintage Haw flavor was, but I wanted to taste it blind. It was sweet and flowery – something in the neighborhood of strawberry, grape and a gorgeous tropical bloom. These were my favorite of the six – I could eat a whole bag. Afterwards, Google told me that Hawthorn (Haw) is a Chinese berry. I’m on board the Haw train after these Oreo cookies!

7 Oreo Six Flavors Pepper

I left the savory flavors for last. Spicy Pepper Pastry Oreo smelled a lot like black pepper, but on first taste, it was very subtle. But when I tried the creme filling alone, it was quite strong – the chocolate cookies cut the spice on it considerably. They weren’t terrible, but I wouldn’t buy them again.

And lastly, Chaoshan-Style BBQ Pork Pastry. This flavor worked a lot better than the Hot Chicken Wing Oreo – less salty, meatier, very BBQ’y (a little sweet, a little tangy). Still not a flavor I need more than one shot at, but not totally disgusting!

8 Oreo Six Flavors Cookies

These were the most fragile Oreos I’d ever handled. Some had broken in transit, which I expected, but even the intact cookies seemed to crumble when I tried to twist them open.

I really enjoyed this collection of flavors and the presentation. They were well worth the money and the wait for overseas shipping. I hope they get an official release here in America.

Purchased Price: $17.99 + free shipping
Size: 291g box (30 cookies)
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Green Tea Cake)
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Red Bean Cake)
Rating: 9 out of 10 (Lychee Rose Cake)
Rating: 10 out of 10 (Vintage Haw)
Rating: 5 out of 10 (Spicy Pepper Pastry)
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Chaoshan-Style BBQ Pork Pastry)
Nutrition Facts: (per 100g) 489 calories, 21.5 grams of fat, 480 milligrams of sodium, 67.5 grams of carbohydrates, and 5.3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Mtn Dew VooDEW Mystery Flavor

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Mtn Dew VooDEW

Update: We also tried the 2020 version! Click here to read our review.

What is Mtn Dew VooDEW?

With traditions that date to back to classical New Orleans and their love of that old religious practice of Vodou, the cursed folks at Mtn Dew have supposedly captured the sugar-filled gris-gris and poured it carefully into their recyclable bottles and shipped it to modern stores just in time for Halloween.

How is it?

It’s described as a “mystery flavor,” probably to add to the pulse-pounding fear when guzzling the brew. Upon the first swallow, I’m picking up a hint of not the decrepit walking dead that has so very often been in tales of voodoo, but instead the taste of a decidedly non-spooky fall carnival, in liquidic form: swirls of cotton candy and candy corn and sticky creamsicles abound about.

Mtn Dew VooDEW 2

Sadly, a little goes as looong way. Sweeter than Marie Laveau on an October night, after about one-third of the bottle, I could feel those sugary jitters crawl up my spine as I wrote this with only a mere five minutes to midnight. I could already tell I’ll be roused for a few coming hours now, so I capped the bottle and stored it away for a sleepy mid-day treat. The mixture of high fructose corn syrup, ester of rosin, and sucrose acetate isobutyrate is a wakeful mix.

Is there anything else you need to know?

While we may find out just what the mystery flavor of VooDEW is in a few of weeks, the true mysteries of Louisiana voodoo are not be trifled with, despite what the tourism banners in the French Quarter might tempt you with.

Conclusion:

Albeit a tad early for the autumn festivities that it was obviously designed for, the VooDEW moniker is a tad misleading, delivering a sugary soda that, like a diabolical voodoo doll, hits all the main sweet spots and then a few of the not-so-sweet ones. Down a bottle at your own risk!

Purchased Price: $1.89
Size: 20 oz. bottle
Purchased at: Crest Supermarkets
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (20 oz.) 270 calories, 0 grams of fat, 90 milligrams of sodium, 73 grams of carbohydrates, 73 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Hostess Limited Edition Moonberry Twinkies

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Hostess Limited Edition Moonberry Twinkies

What are Hostess Limited Edition Moonberry Twinkies?

Just in time for the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon, Buzz Aldrin’s second steps, and Michael Collins achieving humanity’s greatest dream of getting as far away from other people as possible, Hostess has released Moonberry Twinkies.

How are they?

Hostess Limited Edition Moonberry Twinkies Cake

Everyone wants to know what a moonberry is and, more importantly, what do they taste like? I open the single-serving package and give the dark blue cake a sniff. It has a fruity scent, and as I bite into the Twinkie, it tastes vaguely red. They’re good because red candies are always my favorite. Be it Starbursts, gummies, or those strawberry-shaped hard candies; red candies are always the best.

Hostess Limited Edition Moonberry Twinkies Filling

The filling isn’t colored but seems to be where the fruit flavor is located. On the other hand, the colored cake seems to be the same vanilla cake as regular Twinkies.

There’s not a huge difference between these and standard-issue Twinkies. They’re good, but not, if you’ll excuse me, “out of this world.”

Is there anything else you need to know?

It seems like Hostess is stretching a bit to brand these with a moon theme. They say the dark blue color is supposed to look like the night sky, but I don’t buy it. Twinkie the Kid is not equipped for space travel. First, he’s a kid and so has not undergone the rigorous training needed to assure mission success. Second, he’s a pastry. I’ve gotten off track, but my point is Twinkies and the moon aren’t naturally associated with each other. So it’ll take more than a fictitious berry to convince me that Hostess isn’t simply trying to cash-in on the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 with as little work as possible. It’s a shame because there are some excellent moon-adjacent desserts out there ready to be Twinkified.

Here’s three of them:

  • Banana filled with vanilla coating (think Moon Pie)
  • Red Velvet with cream (moon)cheese filling
  • Blue Moon Ice Cream flavored

Those are free, Hostess. I just ask for a free box when you bring them to market. Make it two boxes if you decide to go with Blue Moon ice cream flavored one because that would be amazing.

Conclusion:

Moonberry Twinkies may be a lazily-themed quick cash grab, but they’re tasty if you’re looking for a fruity alternative to your usual filled snack cake.

Purchased Price: $2.50
Size: 2 cakes (77g)
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2 Twinkies) 270 calories, 9 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 370 milligrams of sodium, 47 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 31 grams of sugar (including 31 grams of added sugar), and 2 grams of protein.

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