Crispy Seaweed Tao Kae Noi review

sorry for the blurriness of this photo

When I first saw the name, I thought it was Jao Kae Noi (excuse my Thai >.<) after doing research, I realized it was actually called Tai Kae Noi... Typography issues.... so if anyone happens to make the same mistake as me (I hope I'm not the only one) know that it is TAO and not JAO.

Back to the review, I have always loved seaweed snacks... I also love the lingering aftertaste... so when my friends introduced these Thai seaweed snacks to me... I was very excited.

lots of info

Ingredients List:
Seaweed, Palm Oil, Salt, Pepper, Disodium guanyiate*, Disodium inosinate**

*salt
**salt food additive, also found in Instant Noodles, Chips and snacks

The ingredients look quite safe.

Nutrition Facts:

Amount Per Serving

Calories from Fat 40

Calories 70

% Daily Value^*

7%

Total Fat 4.5g

5%

Saturated Fat 1g

4%

Sodium 100mg

1%

Total Carbohydrates 3g

Protein 4g

All other values were 0%
source: https://www.nutritionix.com/tao-kae-noi/original-flavor-crispy-seaweed


Taste & Observations:
Having had seaweed snacks ever since I was a toddler, my automatic response to this seaweed was the obvious dryness to it. There is absolutely no grease or sugar layer... it was all seaweed. This is both good and bad... good: healthy! bad: tastes bland.

close up of seaweed

pros:

• no greasiness
• cheap
• tasty
• healthy to indulge (safe ingredients & good nutrition value)

cons:

• a bit dry
• not crispy
• no saltiness (despite having salt ingredients! rip off! >.<)
• I did not notice the pepper taste
• leaves seaweed bits to teeth (beware!)

Verdict:
I think it would take some time to learn to appreciate the dryness and texture of this seaweed snack but I think I am looking to try these again... I love how "nutritious" it is and no guilty feelings to eating these in large amounts! (What a great snack!)

By the way, I was told that their wasabi flavour is good... so I'm definitely going to give these a try

Score: 8/10
Website: no website

HadaLabo Gokujyun alpha Rohto Super Hyaluronic 3D Acid Moisturizing Lotion review

3D HadaLabo Gokujyun

This is the enhanced version of the normal Hada Labo Moisturizing Lotion. On top of their famous Hyaluronic Acid, it also contains Collagen and Retinol. It is categorized as their Anti Aging product.

Description:

amount: 170ml

HADA LABO Goku-jyun Alpha skin care products with Super Hyaluronic Acid provide deep moisturization, while Collagen and vitamin A and an exclusive peptide help smooth fine lines and wrinkles and improve skin’s elasticity, giving skin a firmer look.

HADA LABO Goku-jyun Alpha Lotion

Firm and smooth the look of your skin as you moisturize. HADA LABO Goku-jyun Alpha Lotion should be used after washing and serves as the foundation to your skin care routine. It helps prepare your skin for better absorption of other HADA LABO Goku-jyun Alpha products. The HADA LABO Goku-jyun Alpha Lotion can be used as a standalone moisturizer. Or, if you feel your skin needs additional moisture after it has absorbed the HADA LABO Goku-jyun Alpha Lotion, follow it with the HADA LABO Goku-jyun Alpha Serum, HADA LABO Goku-jyun Alpha Milk, or HADA LABO Goku-jyun Alpha Cream—or a combination of all three, depending on the level of your moisturizing needs.

• New 3D retinol technology lifts and firms skin.
• Contains Hyaluronic Acid to hydrate intensely, keeping skin soft & supple.
• It is free of fragrances mineral oil, alcohol & colorant.
• Skin pH balanced.
• Low irritation.
• It keeps on moisturising and softening skin, meanwhile enhancing skin's water-binding ability, leaving skin supple, smooth and radiant.- Hadalabo

Hyaluronic Acid Benefits:

• provides moisture, plumpness, firmness and suppleness to the skin

Collagen Benefits:

• Strengthens our skin and provides elasticity
• provides our skin with firmness and "bounce"
• prevents wrinkles (due to aging of skin)

Retinol Benefits:

Retinol is another name for Vitamin A

• "tells" skin cells to behave 
• an antixoidant (prevent skin from acting and looking older)
• effective fixing acne
• improve discoloration

*keep in mind that you cannot continuously use Retinol for more than 2 months!!

back of container

Directions 

(To be use after cleansing)

1. Put some in palm or use cotton pad and saturate it with the product. 
2. Gently pat on the skin until it is absorbed. 
3. Use moisturizer afterwards for a complete protection. 

Instructions (modified on Hada Labo website)

After removing your makeup and cleansing with HADA LABO Goku-jyun Face Wash, pour a nickel-size amount of the lotion into your palm and rub between your hands to warm. Using the HADA LABO patting technique, gently pat onto your face and neck until it is thoroughly absorbed. Wait until the product is fully absorbed to apply any additional moisturizers or to apply makeup. Use twice daily after washing face.

how product looks

Impressions:

• Very sticky
• Takes more time to dry
• A little goes a long way
• Noticed skin's enhanced texture
• do not use for more than 2 months (switch to the regular)

I like this product, but I prefer their original version more... while I notice it's additional benefits, I found it extremely frustrating waiting for my skin to absorb all of the product up... I think this is more suitable during the cold/dry winter months as the additional ingredients really help enhance the condition of your skin.

Score: 8/10
Website: http://hadalabousa.com/products/anti-aging/


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QQ Green Apple candy review

packet of QQ Green Apple Candy

Apologies for the delay in posting this review... this week has been extremely hectic for me... I kept forgetting what day of the week it was (e.g. on Monday I thought it was Thursday, on Tuesday, I thought it was Friday... get the gist?)... I hope the busyness is FINALLY over (I keep hoping but I doubt that's the case T___T)... promise I will be on time next week :D

For those who know me... I am a big fan of apple flavoured stuff... anything from Green Apple Green Tea to... well... Apple Candy. When my friend gave me these... I couldn't help but immediately fall in love with these... it's something about artificial green apple that makes me fall in love with them.

impressions

• lovely green apple flavour
• nice and chewy
• small amounts
• good amount of vitamin C

back side

I was quite impressed with the ingredients (no harmful ingredients... I can pronounce and know all of the ingredients!)

The Nutrition Facts is per pack... other than sugar (which is 22g) it seems like a healthy snack... if you look at other candy packs... there is definitely more sugar content (e.g. 36-50 per pack).

 There is also 30% of your daily needed amount of Vitamin C in each pack! (no... this isn't an excuse to eat these in large amounts... but seriously, if you are eating snacks... why not choose ones that benefit you?)

These are extremely cute, these green apple candies were shaped as green looking apples. The taste is very sweet. I think the green apple they used was Granny Smith... but obviously enhancing the sweetness.

This candy is quite chewy... more chewier than gummy bears!

piece of Green Apple Candy

I will definitely be buying more of these!

score: 10/10
website: http://www.want-want.com/en/products/Leisurecontent_215-2.aspx

Poutine @Costco (Canada) review

Costco's Poutine $4.39 + tax

Coldness is the season of being fat... It forces us to make unwise choices... But what can we do? We need to stay warm and we need comfort food like Poutine to help us...

I made my unwise choice at Costco earlier last week... I ordered Poutine... After all... I AM Canadian... And when people think of Canada, winter and food...? Poutine comes to mind...

However. As unwise as it may seem.. It was surely a delicious one =9 

receipt... I didn't get the Ice Cream... I just got my share of the hot dog though :P

Impressions

• Lots of cheese curds
• Freshly crispy fries
• Gravy was a little too thick

Costco is one of the best places to eat at after a long shop at their warehouse... The food items are extremely affordable and they are very tasty.

Their Poutine was no different. The Poutine was freshly made, the fries were crispy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside. The cheese curds were a perfect consistency, some where melted so that when you pulled out a fry the cheese would stretch, the cheese curds were also very chewy. I was slightly disappointed with the gravy as 1. Too thick and 2. There wasn't much taste to it...

It would be a really good Poutine if they "fixed" their gravy.

I will be getting this again... Hopefully not too soon though ;)

Score: 9.5/10

Website: no website

Fish soup Supreme (一品魚湯) at Silver Star review

partial special menu

The Chinese name is  一品魚湯. This place is located at the south end of the plaza.

It has been years since I have been to this place... their special is their noodles in fish soup. I got that a few years ago but I felt it was slightly pricey... this time, I was forced to come here... but to my surprise... I was quite impress with the quality and quantity... they have significantly improved.

As their name is "Fish Soup Supreme" you would already have known that their speciality is making fish soup... my friend always comes to this place... so once, she decided to get their chicken broth (don't do it) instead of their fish soup/broth and it tasted like soup made from Knorr Chicken Stock... so please just stick with their fish soup.

Service:

Like most Asian places in Toronto, there is hardly any service... I would say service at this place is neither good or bad... very average.

Atmosphere:

The atmosphere is very casual... most customers are very quiet and well mannered.

#406 Rice in Soup with fish fillets, pork liver & century egg $6.95

#406: Rice in Soup with Fish Fillets, Pork Liver & Century Egg $6.95

I always like fish soup... so I was eager to get this... my friends suggested I get food from their special menu since their normal menu portions are quite big.

When my rice in soup order came... I was shocked... it was a huge bowl. I gave my friend "the eye". He was equally as shocked... and thought I ordered from their normal menu... (I highly recommend this menu item).

Impressions:

• big quantity
• loaded with fresh ingredients
• pork liver was very well made
• soup was delicious

I was absolutely impressed! Everything about it was great... the fish soup was fresh and extremely creamy. The pork liver was very well made... despite it sitting in the soup, the chef was able to cook it to a perfection... (I wish there was more pork liver though...). The combination of ingredients were perfectly paired with the soup. Because the quantity was so huge... I ended up not finishing this and took half of it home.

Verdict:

After this experience, I would definitely be going back to this place again... I really like their fish soup and I am looking forward to finding more jewels here...

Score: 8.5/10

website: no website

Address: 633 Silver Star Boulevard #125, Scarborough, ON M1V 5N1

Phone:(416) 609-2888

Meiji Almond Chocolates review

Meiji Almond Chocolate package (please excuse the background)

For those who have been following my blog for a while, you might have noticed what a huge Meiji fan I am... I found these at a local grocery store and decided to try them out... I find there is something magical about almonds and chocolate... they always go together so well!

Impressions

• Chocolate is dry
• Hint of coffee
• Almond tasted quite good

nutrition information and ingredients

I was quite happy that there wasn't too much chemicals...

how the packaging looks

There isn't a lot... but considering these were $1.50/pack... it is... "ok"

sorry for the blurriness of this picture

I had high expectations for this product... unfortunately, I have to say I was a bit disappointed... 

1. I didn't really like the coffee taste...  I normally like coffee... but adding coffee to this chocolate made everything taste weird... the coffee taste didn't even blend well with the almond.
2. The chocolate was extremely dry... nearly powder-ish.... even the warmth of my mouth couldn't properly melt it... it was simply too dry...

Thankfully, the almonds were fresh...  I don't think I would be purchasing these again...

score: 5/10
website: http://catalog-p.meiji.co.jp/products/sweets/chocolate/010102/20168.html

Bendale diner Restaurant review

Bendale Restaurant

This place is extremely nostalgic for me... when I was still in Middle School (grade 6-8) my friends and I would go out for lunch and head to this small plaza close to my school. We would usually go the convenient store in this plaza to get candy, magazines and go to Bendale to get Fries and Gravy.

Fries and Gravy was comfort food for us, especially during the winter, each fry was perfectly coated with an appropriate amount of gravy, some were literally drenched in gravy while other fries maintained a nice crunchiness underneath the gravy.

one of my childhood memories Fries and Gravy $2.50

If you order the take out version, it is only $2.00 but if you want to eat in it is $2.50. There are a lot more fries in the eat in version... so if you aren't in a hurry... it is best to get the eat in version instead. However, that being said, I still like the take out version... since that's what I got when I was a kid...

I have searched hi and low, I cannot find another place in the world that can make better or even equivalent quality of fries and gravy. The gravy is super delicious, there is hint of mushrooms. It is not too thick or thin, just the perfect consistency.

Ham and Toast special $7.99

Since we were a party of 2, we did not want to settle for the same food, so we got a breakfast special. I found the ham to be a bit too salty/savoury... but the hashbrown and toast was delicious.

The hashbrowns were slightly oily, but they were very potato-y because they were not thoroughly fried.

Service

Since it is a diner, do not expect good tentative service... the servers were extremely friendly though! 

Atmosphere

As you would expect that of a diner, 1950s style diner with a bar table and booths surrounding.

score: 10/10

website: no website

thinaddictives - Cranberry Almond review

thinaddictives!

This year it's all about being healthy... so I will start off with a healthy snack that I came across a few months ago. These are light tasting crackers filled with Craisins (dried Cranberries) and Almonds. I found these at Costco, but I think they are available at certain grocery stores.

What I can say first is these are absolutely delicious! Beware... these are quite addictive.

side panel

impressions:

• light
• Craisins are sweet
• Cracker part is extremely crunchy
• Very tasty
• filling

nutrition information

it is a very healthy snack, look at the nutrition value! (sorry for the blurriness of this image).

These are extremely addictive... the crunchiess and the chewiness of Craisins make them fun to eat.

I think these make a perfect snack because they are healthy (check the nutrition values) but they can be quite filling.

close up of thin

Craisin

source of dietary fiber, antioxidants, vitamin A and Vitamin C

Almond
source of  VitaminE, copper, magnesium, and high quality protein.

packet of Thins

score: 9/10
website: http://www.thinaddictives.com/

QR code for anyone who wants it (sorry for the side view)