I was browsing a local discount shop, and happened to stroll across the food and snack isle by coincidence (
), when I saw that the shop also sold instant noodles. Since I'm a big fan of ramen I decided to take a peek. I suddenly noticed that they also sold instant spaghetti for only 75 cents. I decided to pick one up and give it a go.
Upon opening I found the usual stuff.. a pack of dried noodles and a small pack with seasoning powder. This package, however, also included a little plastic fork; how nice! I usually prefer to eat my noodles with chopsticks, but in this case I decided to go for the little plastic fork instead.
First you put the noodles in the cup and fill it up about halfway with ordinary tap water. Then you put it in the microwave for about 5 minutes until the noodles look nice and cooked. Then you add the powder and stir it well, the result is what you see below. Now tell me, doesn't that just look delicious as it is ? 
But wait, there's more!
Because the stuff was so incredibly hot, I left it to stand and cool for about a minute or two. I noticed that the sauce had gotten really thick and creamy; just like real pasta sauce, which made it ever better!
This instant spaghetti is without doubt the tastiest noodle-snack that I've ever had, and I will definitely buy it more often. Yum!
Having tried a Burn energy shot yesterday, which tasted a bit like coughing syrup; I got curious about what other energy shots would taste like. I went out and bought an energy shot from a company called Go Fast!
Where the Burn energy shot tasted like coughing syrup; I would say that the Go Fast! energy shot also tastes like coughing syrup, but then the stuff one would use for kids. Its not as harsh as the Burn energy shot, but it has a bit of an orange-like taste to it. To keep it short and simple it smells and tastes a bit like a normal energy drink, but less sweetened and more concentrated (stronger taste).
Another note-worthy thing to mention is that the Go Fast! energy shot had a warning label which basically said Do not take more than 1 of these per day. The Burn energy shot had a label that warned not to take more than 2 per day. So either this stuff is stronger, or is the manufacturer afraid that someone will take too many of the energy shots and completely freak out? 
burn; new intense energy drink. Control your energy., said the advertisement, and being a big fan of energy drinks, of course I had to try it. Initially I regretted the decision, but now that the rush is gone, I feel that I can make a proper judgment.
Im talking about Burn, an energy shot-drink produced by the Coca-cola company. It comes in a small plastic bottle (c.a. 50ml), which clearly states that an adult person shouldnt take more than 2 of these drinks per day. I wonder how they measured that; since humans can vary anywhere between 1.5m and 2.5m (roughly). Logically you would assume that the larger person would be able to handle more drugs in his/her system.
Upon opening the bottle, I noted that it smells a bit like strawberries. The taste, however, was far from similar to strawberries. The first thing that sprung to my mind, when trying to find something to compare the flavor with was coughing syrup. Yes, I kid you not; this stuff tastes like coughing syrup. Not what youd expect from an energy drink. As expected from a shot-drink, its a one-chug deal.
I can understand why they called it Burn, and why they placed the 2-serving warning on the bottle, because the effect was noticeable quite fast. Normally it takes a while for the taurine and caffeine to kick in, but with this drink it was pretty much instant boost. All in all, it wasnt that bad; but its not even remotely close to the superior flavor of the green Monster energy drink. But I must admit that it's near to impossible to defeat the green Monster.
Imo its not worth getting for the taste; theres much better ones out there. Since its a one-chug deal, its not really a good thirst quencher either. I probably would try it again sometime, but only if I need an immediate boost.
A dual review this week! The weather was hot, so I was a bit thirstier than normal. This week I will be discussing Mizo Guava Juice and Mizo Ace, produced by the Arrow Juice Factory which is based in Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Both are shipped in a large-capped 1.5 liter bottles and set me back € 1,99 a piece at the Anadolu supermarket in sHertogenbosch.
Guava juice.
Starting off with the Guava Juice, whos main ingredient is, as you may have guessed, Guava (whoa, what a surprise!) The Guava is a fruit with a rather high Pectin level, which means that Guava juice is usually a bit on the creamy side. Normally Im not a big fan of creamy fruit juices, but in this case its actually rather nice. The juice is sweet and well filtered, which is also a big plus for me. Due to the Guavas fruit flesh texture, there are usually small harder bits in Guava juices, but in this case there were hardly any. Id recommend this juice to any fruit-juice lover, and reward it with a 4 out of 5 rating.
Ace juice.
Ace juice is a combination of oranges, carrot and sometimes lemons, and is a popular drink to use with fresh sandwiches on a pick nick. The Arrow Juice Factory decided to leave the lemons out which, in my opinion, was a very smart move. Sometimes Ace juice is a bit on the sour side, which gives me stomach ache after a while. This juice, however, was not sour at all! You can really taste the oranges and carrots, but neither of them is dominant. In other words, a very good mix. The juice is sweet, but not too sweet, and fluid but not watery. Im really starting to like these Mizo juices a lot, due to their good quality. Their Ace juice deserves a firm 5 out of 5 rating in my opinion, and I will definitely recommend it to anyone.
No, youre wrong! Its not a typo on my behalf. The bottle actually says cocktial. Anyway... this week Ill be discussing Faragello - Natural Cocktail Nectar, a drink that is produced by The Egyptian Company for Food Development in Alexandria, Egypt; and comes in small glass bottles of 250 milliliter.
This drink is pricy! Holy shit! It set me back a whopping € 1,25 at the Anadolu supermarket in sHertogenbosch. Considering most drinks are about € 1,75 for 1.5 liters, and this one is € 1,25 for 0.25 liters; it is reasonably safe to say that this drink is heavily overpriced. This is most likely due to import costs.
The drink is a mixture of guava, apricot and peach; though, as with most of these drinks, the guava is predominant. The drink is extremely mellow and smooth, and leaning towards the creamy side. Remarkably enough, though, the drink is not heavy. Its very easy to drink, almost frictionless. This is both its best feature, but also its biggest disadvantage.
Because the drink is so pricy, and easy to swallow; it will burn through your wallet in no time. In this case I will split my final verdict into two categories: the drink itself is a good 4 out of 5, but the price is a meager 1 out of 5. I would definitely recommend the drink if it was cheaper.
Another week went by, time for another review!This week I will be discussing Mizo - Mixed Fruits, produced by the Arrow Juice Factory which is based in Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Shipped in a large-capped 1.5 liter bottle with a large label, this bright red drink quickly catches the eye on a store shelf. The bottle set me back € 1,85 at the Marmaris supermarket in s-Hertogenbosch, which is about average for an exotic fruits drink.
Per 100 ml were looking at approximately 59.2 kilo calories and 14 grams of sugar, which is about average as well. So all in all, its an average drink? Wrong! This stuff is delicious. Even though the bottle says that it also contains lime, banana, guava, apple, orange, pineapple and apricot; the drink has a rather dominant mixture of passion fruit, mango and banana to it. The other fruits are noticeable, but this trio definitely has the upper hand on things.
In contrast to last weeks drink, which was kind of creamy, the Mizo mixed fruit drink is more fluid and soft. This is both a big plus, but also one of the two main disadvantages of this stuff. Because its so fluid and soft, you drink it much faster than you would do with more creamy drinks; and this stuff is kind of addictive.
My final verdict? A solid 4 out of 5. *slurp*
This week I will be discussing a drink Ive been enjoying for a few months now: Star Mixed fruits by International Beverage & Filling Industries which is based in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. The drink comes in a small capped PET bottle of 1.5 liters, which costs € 1,85 at the Marmaris supermarket in s-Hertogenbosch; so its average priced.
The label mentions that the drink consists of 9 different fruits: apple, orange, pineapple, passion fruit, apricot, guava, banana, mango and lemon. The banana, mango and orange are the dominant three though, which gives the drink a very nice sweet and mellow flavor. Combined with the soft feeling of the drink, this makes for a killer combination. The drink is soft and smooth, comparable to sports drinks like Gatorade, AA-drink and Extran; which means its really easy to chug down.
The ease of drinking it, combined with a very distinct taste makes this drink my favorite so far. The only downside is that the stuff is maybe too easy to drink. Without doubt a big fat 5 out of 5 rating!
On a side-note... the drink is even better if you combine it with these Turkish chocolate, cream filled cookies which are similar to Oreos, but are a lot cheaper and tastier. The cookies are € 2,25 for 10 packs of 12 cookies each. So thats € 2,25 for 120 cookies!
This is the first episode of a whole new series called What are you drinking ?!?! The Netherlands has a lot of immigrants, most of which come from Africa or the Middle East. To serve these people, a lot of small supermarkets exist in The Netherlands that, in Dutch street language, are often called a Turkenwinkeltje. I like these stores for 3 major reasons: First of all, I like Middle Eastern and African food. It suits my taste. Secondly, these shops usually have good products at very fair price (especially the fruits and vegetables). And thirdly, they are a great source for getting fruit juice.
In this first episode I will be discussing Original Mixed Fruit Natural, which is produced by a company called Gulf Union Foods in Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The orange-red drink comes in large-capped bottles of 1.5 liters, and it cost me € 1,75 at a small Asian supermarket in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. It tastes pretty decent and modest. With some drinks you can taste the added sugars really well, but thats not the case with this drink. Its not a watery drink, but it has a bit of a creamy feeling to it. This, without doubt, comes from the very clear presence of Guava. I can also taste some mango, pine apple and maybe even a tiny hint of peach.
I like the modesty of the flavor, but the creamy feeling makes the drink a bit on the heavy side. Though overall its still a very decent drink that deserves a 3.5/5 rating from my side.
Im an audiophile, I admit
and specifically I like a deep, warm and lush bass. Unfortunately, most consumer headphones (wont drop names, but you know which brands I speak of 
) either have no bass at all, or have deep lows but absolutely no midrange bass. I found a solution for that in the Beyer DT 770 PRO, but walking on the street with a full-sized studio headphone looks kind of wonky, so I decided to look for something more compact for outdoor use.
The search led me to the V-Moda vibe, a pair of aluminum ear buds. Ive been using them for about two months now, and think they deserve to be mentioned.
The sound is just amazing. The highs are crystal clear, the mids are lush and alive and the bass is just all there. So far Ive only discovered one negative aspect about them: if your MP3 file is poorly encoded, you will notice it. The ear buds are unforgiving and relentless when it comes to poorly encoded MP3s, but that is a good thing as well. It means the ear buds dont add any bullshit to your signal, but just give you exactly what youre supposed to hear.
Theyre pricy (85,- Euro), but they are worth every cent of that. They deliver what they promise and look stylish while doing it. In short: 100% kickass.
Ive always been a big gadget junkie. I love electronic toys (no not that kind, you pervert), so when one of the sales guys at work had two mini laptops (ACER Aspire One and MSI Wind U100) on demo for a customer, I couldnt help drooling a bit.
Speed: They both have the same CPU, but the ACER definitely has some more speed in it. This is most likely due to the fact that the ACER runs a trimmed down Linux distribution, and the MSI runs a fully fledged Windows XP.
Sound: Both are quite soft, but thats no surprise. After all you cant stuff big speakers into a small laptop. But overall, I think the MSI has slightly better sound.
Webcam: The ACER wins here, without doubt. The webcam on the MSI was too bright for my taste, which resulted in an off-colored image. I looked more like a zombie than a human being, and as far as I know thats not the case ( yet).
Screen: The MSI has approximately 1 inch more screen surface, but has the same resolution as the ACER (1024 x 600). The MSI has a matte non-glare screen, where the ACER does have a glossy screen. The MSI has a much brighter screen, as you can see on the photo, but still the ACER wins as far as Im concerned. The screen is less bright, but due to the glossy coating and the smaller size, it just looks sharper somehow.
zOMG how cute!-Factor: Without doubt, the ACER wins here simply due to the fact that its also available in baby pink; and thats indisputable.
Extra features: The ACER has a built-in 3G modem, which means you can get a mobile internet subscription and stuff the simcard right into the laptop. No USB plugs, no Bluetooth receivers... you just stuff the card into the laptop and you got high speed mobile internet just about anywhere.
All in all, I liked the ACER more than the MSI, due to its features and finish. Im not too sure I like the Linux distribution too much. For most users it does its work perfectly but Im not a normal user, Im a geek. So I want somewhat more functinality. Fortunately, the ACER also comes in a version with 1GB memory and a 120GB hard disk with Windows XP on it. Im very curious about that one.