Monday Muffin Munching

It's Sunday evening and no one likes the thought of going to work the next day. Thankfully the pain will be eased a little knowing that there will be free muffins to go around at work tomorrow. With flavours from Sicilian Lemon to Triple Chocolate I'll have a tough time deciding what to go for. The truth is I'd be delighted if I could have one of each. In true junk food fashion it does makes perfect sense to go for a triple chocolate though.

We've already had a "Fruity Friday" at work but fellow junk food connoisseurs will probably agree that the mention of the word "fruit" alone in this blog is pure blasphemy. However, it's not so bad if combined with the word tart or cake so always bear that in mind. Other suggestions that have been going around the office have been Meaty Monday, Chewy (Chiuy) Tuesday and my favourite, Fry-Up Friday. Alright, I'll be honest, these have been the ideas going around my head.

For my colleagues that are reading this, don't forget to grab your muffin before Snack Hitler gets there first!

Sweaty Juice!

Continuing with the oriental theme from my previous post I thought I'd mention one particular drink I'm fond of from the Far East. It doesn't have the most appealing name given to it. After all it is a Japanese based drink and they're renowned for their grasp of the Engrish language. The beverage in question is called Pocari Sweat and contrary to the name it does not contain human sweat or sweat of any living organism, not that this would be any more acceptable. I'm pretty certain that Lucozade or Powerade wouldn't be so popular had they been appended with the word sweat to their products.

Pocari Sweat itself is actually a sports drink and the name is derived from the notion of supplying the drinker with the nutrients and electrolytes lost from sweating. Despite it's unappealing name it's quite a pleasant drink with a distinct taste. On visits to Hong Kong, I often purchase this is powder form that I can add water to which I drink before and after exercise.

Pocari Sweat has been around for three decades now and they don't appear to have branched out into other flavours or products. I'm sure a Pocari Urine and Pocari Faeces would add some dimension to the range.

Tastes of the Orient

As a person of Chinese origin it's only right that I mention a snack from my country of origin. Last weekend I was in the Chinatown area and popped into one of the many Chinese supermarkets. With time to kill whilst waiting for a friend I browsed the aisles and reminisced with sweets and snacks I happily indulged in as a child. We're quite fortunate that in Manchester the Chinatown isn't just a handful of shops on one street and there are multiple restaurants and bakeries offering some delightful delicacies.

One of the items that I purchased this weekend is a sweet snack called Sachima from the supermarket. The Wikipedia definition states that Sachima is "a common Chinese pastry found in many Chinese-speaking regions". It wasn't until they were handed out to my colleagues that I realised I wasn't aware of the English name given to a snack that I've eaten from young age. It maybe of interest to some of you to know that using Google Translate, one of the many the Chinese names given to them (馬仔) actually translates to "Cowboys".

If you're interested in sampling some Sachima, just head down to your local Chinese supermarket where they are available in egg and sesame seed flavour. So put down that Mars bar and try something different.

One too many?

Have you ever purchased something from the shops and hoped that the packaging contained more than the number specified on the label? Perhaps you had ten Chicken McNuggets from McDonalds rather than the nine you asked for. After all, most the staff there probably don't have basic numeracy skills. Regardless of what item you've purchased, it's always a pleasant feeling to get more than what you paid for. This is always the case with a pack of 10 pork cocktail sausages from Marks & Spencers.

Today I purchased a pack of 10 pork cocktail sausages to accompany my chicken, bacon and sweet corn pasta from Marks & Spencers for my lunch. The pasta is never quite enough for my lunch and I always like to push the boat out and make it a three meat pasta lunch. Despite the fact that Government scientists have recently warned us to eat less red meat I will not be persuaded to cut down. Some would question how much meat these sausages actually contain.

Anyway, back to my original point. My packet yet again contained 11 pork cocktail sausages. It's some what become an expectation of mine and I will be disappointed when the day comes that the number on the packaging matches the number of items within it.

Initially I thought this anomaly was an isolated problem with Marks & Spencers but one of my colleagues purchased the product from Boots today with the same problem. It does make me wonder how much revenue is lost because of such a minor discrepancy.

So if you're feeling like you want a little extra, pop out and grab yourself a pack of 10 11 pork cocktail sausages from Marks & Spencers or Boots.

Monster Cuppage

It's been quite a while since I've posted and several people have been reminding me of this recently. Don't fret though fellow junkers, I haven't committed to a new healthy regime since the new year. If anything I've been eating out a considerable amount over the last few weeks and I'm sure those who have seen me have noticed a fuller rounder figure lately.

On to the important stuff, last weekend I enjoyed a casual dinner party hosted at my cousin's. We were all invited to prepare a dish for the occasion and as well as cooking a Carbonara I brought along a selection of muppet cup cakes that I purchased. I'd like to highlight that I haven't been asked to plug the site in any way nor do I expect any freebies in return. However, more information can be found at There For The Baking. If they do require a guinea pig, I am always available at short notice.

Anyway, that's enough plugging. Below is a an image of the cup cakes purchased, I'd opted for the muppets themed cup cakes over the more traditional looking cup cakes. It was a big hit with all the "big" kids including myself. Although they were heavy on icing, surprisingly they didn't taste sickly at all. The icing wasn't overly sweet and had a pleasant buttery texture to it. The cake themselves were still very soft despite being made three days earlier.

Overall they were a nice touch to a pleasant dinner and were a big hit. After all cup cakes have been the "in" thing recently. Move over doughnuts, they're for fat police officers.

The important question now is, what to order next time?

Cuppa Soup

Having recently moved into a new office at work we've been treated to free cuppa soup from two of the vending machines. Word got around the office pretty quickly and when I was made aware of this generous offering I had to sample it for myself. The two flavours available are Chicken soup and Vegetable soup, alternatively as has been suggested by many already, combine them both for Chicken and Vegetable soup.

I'm personally not a big fan of cuppa soup but as with Mcdonalds, there are odd occasions when I will fuel my body with such artificial products. The most annoying thing about cuppa soups though, isn't the taste. As you sip away at your mug, towards the end you notice lumps of powder that haven't dissolved. No matter how much you stir it you're always left with a little blob at the bottom.

I've already stopped using the machines at work, it's probably best to stick to Heinz.

Crispy Chicken

It occurred to me last week that there are a lot of people out there who aren't aware that Nando's produce crisps. Yes, that's the very same Nando's who brought you Peri-Peri chicken and all the cheesy phrases on their napkins. The sauces and marinades have been available in supermarkets for some time but there's always that feeling that it never tastes quite the same when you cook it yourself.

The crisps are currently available in 3 flavours; Hot Peri-Peri, Smokey BBQ Peri-Peri and Peri-Peri Chicken. My personal favourite is probably the Smokey BBQ flavour as it's surprisingly not sweet. I do enjoy all the flavours and the Hot flavour has a pleasant kick to it if you can handle the hot stuff.

Now I've made you aware of them, go out and try them. A word of warning though, they are difficult to find and not particularly cheap either.