Wizarding World of Harry Potter Butterbeer

Along with candy and chocolate, Harry Potter is another one of my great loves. Shortly before the fourth book was released in the summer of 2000, I was introduced to the series, and have been a rabid an avid fan ever since. When Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released in 2007, I was feeling bittersweet, but I remember thinking, at least I have the movies to look forward to.

With the recent release of the last movie, I thought it'd be a good time to post a little non-review of the Butterbeer served at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios Florida. My husband and I went there in June on vacation, and it was like a dream. Even though my husband is not really a Potter enthusiast, he had a blast there as well.


After riding The Forbidden Journey (which was incredible) and the Dragon Challenge, we headed to the Hog's Head Pub to beat the heat. There's only one way to cool off in Hogsmeade, and that's with an ice cold Butterbeer. Only available in the Harry Potter section of the park, Butterbeer comes on ice or frozen, and both varieties are about $3 US.

The regular, on ice variety smelled of cream and mild soda. The bartender first dispensed the amber-colored soda, then topped it with a fascinating bit of magic in the form of a thick white cream. The soda tasted like mild cream soda with hints of butter and vanilla, but the topping was incredible. It was thick and frothy and reminded me of marshmallow fluff, only smoother. It had a lovely vanilla flavor with a hint of saltiness, and seemed to expand and bubble with the carbonated soda, so that there was soda and cream in every single sip.


Here's that magical topping in action!
Later that evening, we returned to the Harry Potter area to ride the Forbidden Journey again, and top off the night with a frozen Butterbeer and a Pumpkin Fizz. Again, the bartender first dispensed the Butterbeer, this time a frozen slurry, and then the magical topping. Because the topping comes out of the tap at around room temperature, it melted some of the frozen Butterbeer, dripping down the inside of the cup.

The frozen Butterbeer was much denser and thicker than the regular variety. If it was carbonated, I didn't notice, and the buttery flavor was much richer. While I really enjoyed it, neither my husband nor I could quite finish it, as it was a much more filling beverage.


I should also mention the Pumpkin Fizz; when I ordered Pumpkin Juice, the bartender recommended a Pumpkin Fizz instead - half juice and half club soda. Apparently, the Pumpkin Juice on its own is nearly unbearably sweet, and the soda cuts down on the sweetness. The Pumpkin Fizz was still sweet, but it was tasty and refreshing. The pumpkin pie spices were great: cinnamon and nutmeg were easily detected. It was much easier to finish than the frozen Butterbeer!

I expected Butterbeer to be more like a thick butterscotch than a fancy cream soda, but I wasn't disappointed at all. Harry and his friends drink it warm in the books, but that's not practical in the Florida heat. The Harry Potter-themed beverages were highly enjoyable and not terrible overpriced (for a theme park).

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is an absolute delight for fans of the books and movies, but anyone would have fun there. It's absolutely worth the admission price! If you made it this far, thanks for putting up with my fangirlish raving. Are any of you Harry Potter fans? The last movie was amazing, wasn't it?

Haribo Porsche Gummies

My brother-in-law works in the racing industry for Porsche (a seriously cool occupation), and just when I thought it couldn't get any cooler, Haribo was a Porsche sponsor last year. My brother-in-law kindly sent me some of the special Porsche gummies so that I could blog about them! I can't write much about racing, since I am woefully ignorant, but I do know gummies.

Haribo gummy bears were one of my favorite supermarket checkout treats as a child. Compared to most fruit snacks, Haribo was leagues ahead. The little bears looked like shiny gems, and I have fond memories of biting off the heads of different colored bears to make hybrids while watching Eureeka's Castle. To this day, eating Haribo gummies reminds me of that show.


Some of the gummies didn't survive the summer mail, but the ones that did were in the form of cute little shiny cars fancy Porsche racing cars. This was definitely a promotion I could get behind!

Of course, the gummies gad that nostalgic (and delicious) Haribo gummy bear taste. Haribo gummies like this fall on the firmer side of the gummy spectrum, and most of the flavors are pretty ambiguous. The apple stuck out in particular, but for example, clear just tasted like clear gummy bear (I think it's supposed to be pineapple). I was always partial to the orange, which was more sweet than tart. In short, Haribo gummies are just as good as they ever were, and the Porsche racing promotion certainly impressed me!

Haribo website

Camille Bloch Mousse Caramel

This is one of the more interesting chocolate bar configurations I've come across since I started reviewing candy in 2008. I purchased it from a Jewel Osco grocery store while visiting family in the Chicago suburbs.

The "bar" looked a bit like bubble wrap, and consisted of little chocolate pods full of caramel flavored mousse. According to the package, the chocolate was imported from Switzerland.


Now, I can't give this bar a real rating, since it's been almost a year since I tried it. I misplaced my tasting notes, but it seems a shame to waste the pictures, and to not talk about the few things I do remember about it.

The chocolate pod was milky and rich, and the caramel-flavored filling was sweet but very smooth and melted like a decadent ganache. I can definitely say I would love to try other products by Camille Bloch, but I haven't been able to find anything since.

If you're interested, check out better reviews of Camille Bloch products at Chocablog, Candy Addict, and Candy Gurus.

Camille Bloch website

Trident Layers Contest Reminder

This is just a quick reminder that my Trident Layers Cool Mint & Melon Fresco gum giveaway ends Wendesday, January 12 at 9:00 PM. Thanks to everyone who has entered so far!

Click here to enter!

For those who have already entered, if you have your Blogger profile set to private or don't have a profile set up, I can't get to your email address. Please send it to me (ebidebby@gmail.com) if you haven't. I think this only applies to 1 person, actually.

Here's a modern conversation heart to get everyone in the mood for Valentine's Day candy.

End of the Year Trident Layers Giveaway

This giveaway is now closed! Winners are being notified.

Where I work, everyone gets a gift certificate for a fancy ham at the end of the year. It's just a nice little bonus that makes a holiday meal a little easier. For my readers, here's a little end of the year bonus giveaway - but it's not a ham - this bonus is paid in gum!


You guessed it, it's Trident Layers! Thanks to a kind PR representative, I've got 4 sealed boxes, each filled with 12 packs of Trident Layers Cool Mint + Melon Fresco gum to give away to 4 lucky readers! It was definitely one of my favorite gum flavors of 2010.

Entering the contest is simple: just comment on this post about the best candy you had this year. Also, be sure you leave an email address for me to contact you if you're not a Blogger/Google member. I apologize, I know Blogger's comment system isn't the best for this. If you would rather not leave an email address publicly, you can send it to me at ebidebby@gmail.com and let me know which comment goes with it.

From the comments, 4 winners will be selected at random to each receive a sealed box of 12 packs of Trident Layers Gum! The contest is open to all readers (as allowed by your state or country’s laws).

The deadline for entries is 9:00 PM EST on Wednesday, January 12, 2011, at which point the winners will be randomly selected and notified. I will make periodic reminder posts up to the deadline, and post again when all winners have responded.

Thanks for reading, and Happy New Year!

Las Vegas Treats - Payard

While on our long weekend in Las Vegas, my husband and I were determined to stop in at the Payard Patisserie inside Caesar's Palace. Last year, we went there for the first time after reading Cybele's enticing review on her Candy Blog. This year, I was definitely looking forward to visiting Payard again.

The gigantic clock in the picture above spits out a chocolate sample every 15 minutes - my husband snagged one last year, but we were not so lucky this time. Still, I was there for the pastries rather than the chocolate.


This photo is from last year, by the way.
The dessert case is a wonderful collection of delightfully decorated miniature cakes, tarts, and pies, costing around $7 each. They definitely fall into the almost-too-pretty-to-eat category, and although they are a bit pricey, it's Las Vegas. At least when you spend that $7 on a cake, you've got a guaranteed win.

I selected the gorgeous Manjari Berry Tart (shown below) because it was such a glossy, sexy red, and it reminded me of topsy-turvy designer cakes. The edible gold leaf topping didn't hurt, either. The cashier served it up on a plastic dish for me and my husband, and we sat at a table just outside the boutique, overlooking the slot machines. One of my favorite touches at Payard is that the plastic cutlery looks like silverware. It's very cute.


"Chocolate Almond Sponge layered with Berry Curd and
Manjari Chocolate Mousse topped with an Almond Macaron"
The gold leaf was a gorgeous, luxurious touch, and the French macaron was a fun, crispy topping. Apparently, Payard serves gorgeous full size macarons, but I guess I've been so distracted by the dessert case that I've missed them both times. Anyhow, the mousse and sponge were delightfully bitter, providing a rich contrast to the tartness of the berry curd.


The texture play inside the tart was quite fun, with sponge cake, mousse, gel, and a cookie-like bottom. Keeping the chocolate in the airier components of the cake gave it a delicate feel, and the intense berry curd flavor was just right. In short, the Manjari Berry Tart was decadent without being heavy, and the contrasting flavors were interesting and delicious.


Finally, this is the lovely Chestnut Tart I sampled last fall. Underneath the glossy orange coating, the texture of the filling was meaty and tender like a chestnut, but the flavor was more like pumpkin (which must have been intentional, since the description mentioned pumpkin). Still, it was quite tasty and again, not heavy.

To sum it up, these small luxuries are certainly worth it. If you happen to be on the Las Vegas strip, Payard is definitely worth a visit. They also have a beautiful sorbet and gelato display and a chocolate shop. Everything looks delicious, but I've really only tried the pastries.

Snack Nostalgia (Linked Article)

Do you ever miss snacks from your childhood? Here's a fun list mainly geared at for Generation Yers (like myself), but I think older and younger readers might get a kick out of it, too. Collegecrunch.org compiled a 20 Discontinued Snacks We Wish Would Come Back list, complete with classic commercials.

Personally, I'm pretty happy with the current snack selection, but there are a few things I miss. On the Collegecrunch list, I fondly remember the palate-slicing French Toast Crunch cereal and, of course, that a classy little party beverage called Ecto Cooler.

Off the list, I've already mentioned the brief American appearance of Koala Yummies, and every now and then, I get a craving for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Pies. How about you?

Meiji 100% Chocolate Cafe (part 2)

The main attraction at Meiji 100% Chocolate Cafe is their 56 varieties of chocolate. In the previous post, you can see them all together at the counter. The chocolates are hailed for their attractive, eye-catching package designs. Many are based on the country of origin for the cocoa beans, but there are also several flavors like rose hip, soy milk, and cheese.

After seeing pictures online, I assumed these chocolates were small, like the chocolate of the day. Actually, they were much bigger than I anticipated, and they were also much more expensive than I anticipated. I suppose I could have just checked the website, but 4 of these will cost you 900 yen (about $9 US). We ended up getting Royal Milk Tea and Maple. It was a hot day, so they packed them with ice for us to take home.


This picture is of the Royal Milk Tea. It smelled like milk tea, and it was sweet and floral. The silky texture of the chocolate was much better than the normal Meiji fare, and the flavor was complex and delicious. If I have one complaint, it's that it was a little too sweet.

The Maple was interesting, because it wasn't maple flavored but sweetened with maple (syrup, I presume). It melted right on the tongue and had the perfect sweetness for me. The milk chocolate was again much better than normal Meiji chocolate, and there was the slightest hint of maple in the flavor.

Both chocolates were delicious and worth the price for me. If you are in the Tokyo area, it's definitely worth stopping in at the Meiji 100% Chocolate Cafe. The decor is beautiful - be sure to look up at the ceiling and see what it reminds you of. I also suggest going earlier in the day so you can have your first choice of the treats.

Meiji 100% Chocolate Cafe

Meiji 100% Chocolate Cafe

My recent trip to Japan included a visit to the Meiji 100% Chocolate Cafe, a place I've wanted to visit for a couple years. It is located right next to the Meiji corporate headquarters in Tokyo, about a 10 minute walk from Tokyo station. My husband and I met some friends there for a snack.


I wanted to get a small cake and a drink, but they were out of the cakes (and I can't even remember the name), so I just got the drink. It was called ショコラスクワッシュ (chocolate squash), and it was quite tasty. Basically, it was a bittersweet chocolate soda. It was a nice, delicate balance of sweet and savory, and it was a pleasure to sip.


It also came with the chocolate of the day. The most exciting thing about the cafe is that they have a special, unique flavor for every day of the year. This one (Sansho, or Japanese pepper) wasn't as peppery as I was hoping. It was very good dark chocolate with a slight taste of black pepper and a gritty texture.

I also bought a couple of the chocolates that they have in stock every day, numbers 20 and 48, specifically. I will post a review of those soon.

Meiji 100% Chocolate Cafe