Kiwi Snacks Haul from New Zealand
Monday, November 20, 2017My travels abroad aren’t complete without a little bit of shopping. And even though I wasn’t able to shop something for myself (like a souvenir shirt or hoodie) during my entire New Zealand trip (a first for me!), I managed to get a number of Kiwi snacks from Four Square and Countdown supermarkets.
Everything is expensive in New Zealand, like a regular MAC lipstick costs Php 390 more there or the cheapest microwave beef lasagna I found was NZ$ 5. But if there are two affordable items that are worth buying in NZ, these are milk and chocolates.
I didn’t go too crazy in my snacks shopping, but I did get myself 18 items. I was able to bring home most of them and consumed two snacks during my vacation. 80% of these are chocolates in different varieties and I’ve taste tested them in different days. I won’t blab much longer – here’s my Kiwi snacks haul straight from New Zealand!
1. Whittaker’s Peanut Slab (Original Milk Chocolate Bar and Bittersweet Dark Chocolate Bar)
The Whittaker’s brand is by J.H. Whittaker & Sons, Ltd. based in Porirua, New Zealand. It’s a family owned business specializing in chocolates, dating back to 1896 and it’s one of the most well-known brands in New Zealand and Australia. I first tasted the original Peanut Slab during a trip to Sydney in 2014 and I still like it until now. It’s your basic milk chocolate bar, but a tad bit sweeter.
Recently as I got older, I found interest in dark chocolates. Though the bittersweet version of Peanut Slab is made with 50% cocoa, I still find this concoction sweeter than any other dark chocolates I’ve tasted in the past (i.e. Hershey’s). To be honest, I prefer other dark chocolates than this version of Whittaker’s.
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| Whittaker's Bittersweet Peanut Butter Slab Dark Chocolate Bar, The Original Peanut Butter Slab Milk Chocolate Bar, and Fresh Roasted Almond Gold. NZ$ 1.69 each at Countdown. |
Almond Gold Milk Chocolate Bar is similar to the Original Peanut Slab, but this one has a more milky taste in my opinion. I think I like this a little bit better than the Peanut Slab.
3. Whittaker’s Peanut Slab Mini
These are just the mini version of the original Peanut Slab size. I bought the mini size to give some away to friends and family, and at the same time, I feel like this size is more economical to eat. For chocolate lovers, it’s easy to finish this in one go.
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| Whittaker's Peanut Slab Milk Chocolate Bar mini. NZ$ 5.49 / pack of 12 at Countdown. |
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| Mini version of Whittaker's Original Peanut Slab |
4. Whittaker’s Peppermint Mini
If there’s a chocolate combination that I love in the entire world, it’s chocolate with peppermint. Whether it’s milk or dark chocolate, as long as it’s infused with peppermint, I’ll have it! I love the overall texture and its minty taste, although I feel like it’s much sweeter than any other mint chocolates I’ve tasted (again with the Kiwi’s much love for overly sweet blends). Still, it’s worth buying because it’s individually wrapped which is great for sharing.
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| Whittaker's Peppermint Dark Chocolate Bar Mini. NZ$ 5.49 / pack of 12 at Countdown. |
5. Cadbury Pinky
Finally, something that’s not too sweet for my liking! Cadbury Pinky was recommended by a college friend and when I saw it at Countdown, I bought the minis as well. It’s called Pinky because it’s a pink marshmallow covered with thin milk chocolate coating. I would have loved it if there weren’t any caramel in it, but for those who adore caramel, this is a wonderful treat. To be honest, I prefer our local Wiggles over this.
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| Cadbury Pinky Mini. NZ$ 4.59 / pack of 12 at Countdown. |
6. Cadbury Flake
One of my favorite chocolates in the world is Cadbury Flake and again, my first time tasting it was back in Sydney. It has the right amount of sweetness and milky goodness, that I can easily finish three minis in one go. It’s called Flakes because of its swirling and folding, flaky texture. The only downside is that I always make a mess when eating it, because one bite makes the chocolate very crumbly! This leaves chocolate bits everywhere! Even removing the chocolate from the packaging makes the experience literally messy. But Flake is very rich and creamy and it definitely tastes light and good! If you ever find this here in Manila or in any parts of the Philippines, make sure to buy yourself one!
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| Cadbury Flake Mini. NZ$ 4.59 / pack of 12 at Countdown. |
7. Cadbury Twirl
Cadbury Twirl is another chocolate I tried for the first time, way back when I was in Sydney for vacation. It’s very similar to Cadbury Flake with its folding and swirling chocolate inside, but it’s not crumbly. It’s coated with a thin layer of chocolate so biting it won’t be too messy. To me, Twirl tastes much milkier than Flake.
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| Whittaker's Creamy Milk at NZ$ 1.69 at Four Square (original price). Cadbury Twirl at NZ$ 1.60 at Countdown . |
8. Whittaker’s Creamy Milk
I got this Whittaker’s Creamy Milk, milk chocolate bar at Four Square on promo at NZ$ 1. Not bad for a Php 36 chocolate bar. It’s like Peanut Slab, but without the peanuts. For people trying the Whittaker’s brand for the first time, this is a good start.
9. Whittaker’s Hazel Nut Chocolate Block
I got this Whittaker’s Hazel Nut Chocolate Block as a Kiwi treat for my in-laws, so I didn’t open it to have a taste test. It’s made with high quality milk chocolate, whole milk, and whole hazelnuts. It was originally priced at NZ$ 6 (I think) and I got it on a one-day promo for around NZ$ 4.50 at Four Square. For a huge chocolate block, this is already a steal.
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| Whittaker's Hazel Nut Milk Chocolate Block at around NZ$ 6 (original price) at Four Square. |
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| Back packaging of Whittaker's Milk Chocolate Block. Whittaker's is a family-owned company based in New Zealand. |
10. Whittaker’s Artisan Collection Nelson Pear and Manuka Honey
I’ve known about Whittaker’s Nelson Pear and Manuka Honey chocolate from watching TabiEats in YouTube. Manuka Honey is very popular in New Zealand and used in many food and skincare products. When it comes to packaging, the Artisan Collection is hands-down super creative. The design for packaging alone is perfect for gifting. Illustrations include the fern, kiwi bird, and Maori war mask to name a few, which I think is very New Zealand. This one has a gold and light brown packaging. Colors of the packaging vary depending on the variant.
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| Whittaker's Artisan Collection Nelson Pear and Manuka Honey Milk Chocolate. Around NZ$ 4.50 at Four Square. |
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| Packaging of Whittaker's Artisan Collection milk chocolate is very Kiwi. How many NZ symbols can you identify? |
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| Smooth and creamy milk chocolate from Whittaker's Artisan Collection. Easily melts in Manila's hot and humid weather. |
Compared to Whittaker’s block chocolates, this one is thin and there are more decorative details in the chocolate itself. This Nelson Pear and Manuka Honey variant is creamy, sweet, and easily melts because of the warmth of my fingers, but the added bits of pear make this chocolate different and a lot special. The pear bits stick to the teeth a little, but not as much as the almond nougat in Toblerone (Fact: I don’t eat Toblerone because of this). I didn’t like it at first, probably because I snacked on it instead of it being a dessert, but it grew on me and my husband liked it. I’m kicking myself for not getting other variants such as the one with plums and with seasalt.
11. M&M’s Minis
I was so happy when I saw M&M’s Minis at Four Square, only to find out that the same is already being sold here in Manila (at sa SM pa!). The price is almost the same and it’s your typical M&M’s, but only in the mini size.
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| M&M's Minis at around NZ$ 3.59 at Four Square. Cadbury Jaffas at NZ$ 3.99 at Countdown. |
12. Cadbury Jaffas
Cadbury Jaffas is similar to M&M’s, that it’s a candy coated chocolate, only Jaffas is rounder and made with dark chocolate center instead if milk chocolate. The candy coating of Jaffas is red-orange in color and the taste of its candy shell is like powdered orange juice. I don’t feel like I tasted the dark chocolate because the orange flavored candy stands out. Shinichi of TabiEats said Jaffas tastes better than M&M’s but I disagree.
13. Pascall Pineapple Lumps
Pineapple Lumps is probably the most popular Kiwi confectionery treat. These are made with pineapple flavored marshmallow chunks coated with chocolate. I watched some videos about Kiwi snacks and they said you either love or hate Pineapple Lumps. I kinda love it. Though the combination tastes weird, it actually works!
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| Pineapple Lumps. Around NZ$ 3.50 at Four Square. |
Upon opening the pack, Pineapple Lumps really smells like pineapples. But once I chewed a piece, it reminds me of chocolate and bubblegum. The only problem with this is when it gets exposed in cold weather for days, the chocolate coating cracks and the Pineapple Lumps stick together. There’s no way of putting the lumps in their original form, even though I sealed the pack inside a ziplock bag. I learned it the hard way as I was carrying this inside my backpack during our tours around New Zealand.
14. L&P Softdrinks
L&P or Lemon & Paeroa is a carbonated drink that’s widely available in New Zealand. It’s traditionally made with lemon juice and carbonated mineral water from the town of Paeroa (Hence, the name L&P). I never tasted anything like this before, but it’s like a weak version of Sprite but with more lemon juice, and a stronger version of sparkling water. The original L&P blend is housed in a brown bottle, but the color of the liquid itself is light and has a lemon tint to it. This was my go-to carbonated drink while I was in NZ and I felt so bad throwing the last bottle I had when we got to our layover in Bangkok.
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| First batch of food haul bought in Four Square at Queenstown. Clockwise from left: L&P, Whittaker's Nelson Pear and Manuka Honey, Maggi Onion Soup Mix, Nestle Reduced Cream, and Whittaker's Creamy Milk chocolate bar. L&P costs NZ$ 4 per 600ml bottle. |
15. Bluebird Ready Salted Original Cut Chips
Bluebird Ready Salted Original Cut Chips is similar to Ruffles, only Bluebird chips are thinner. I like Ruffles, so I can’t say no to this.
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| Bluebird Ready Salted Original Cut Chips. NZ$ 2 at Countdown. |
16. Nestle Reduced Cream and Maggi Onion Soup Mix
Out of all the snacks I bought in New Zealand, this is probably the combo I wished I took home plenty. The Original Kiwi Dip stamp holds true and I really love this dip! It’s like a mild sour cream and onion dip, but less the strong aftertaste of onion. Creating this dip is very simple. I just combined the cream, onion powder, and lemon juice (freshly squeezed from one piece of lemon) and chilled the dip for at least 30 minutes. My husband and I paired it with Bluebird chips and it was satisfying in every dip and every bite.
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| Ingredients for the original Kiwi dip. Nestle Reduced Cream at NZ $3.29 and Maggi Onion Soup Mix at $1.45, all from Countdown. A piece of lemon at Php 22 from SM Hypermarket. |
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| Mixing all ingredients to make the original Kiwi dip. |
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| Chilled Kiwi dip perfect with Bluebird chips. |
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| My food haul, mostly from Whittaker's and Cadbury. |
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