Wat-U-See Foods

Wat-U-See Foods is a manufacture that makes snacks.  Healthy snacks.  Not usually my thing, but, you know I like to try basically anything, and I am an avid snacker after all ...

Their product line is called "chickpeatos", which might give you an indication of what they are made from.

Chickpeatos

"Our Chickpeatos are tasty and powerful snacks to make everyday better. They crunch like a pretzel, snack like a potato chip, and fuel you like nothing else!"

Yes, I love snacks.  I love to munch on things.  But you know what I don't like?  Legumes.  Beans.  CHICKPEAS.

And yet I tried Chickpeatos.  Bear with me on this one.

Chickpeatos come in three forms: crispy (roasted in olive oil), popped, and, uh, as breadcrumbs.

The crispy style looked the least interesting, as they stayed true to chickpea form, but, they did have some interesting flavors (including ... "cinnamon toast"?)

Popped Chickpeatos

"Baked green peas and chickpeas come together to make a smart, craveable snack for everyone. These all natural puffs are packed with protein and popped full of so much bold flavor you'll almost forget that they're good for you!"

I however went with the popped variety.  They are available in three varieties: simple salted, zesty ranch, and sweet caramel sea salt.

Zesty Ranch.

"You'll want to savor the flavor of Zesty Ranch to keep your tastes buds dancing and the party going strong."

I went for the Zesty Range first, assuming the ranch would be most likely to mask the flavor of chickpea.  Shutter.

And it did.

I was pleasantly surprised.

The shape was a bit funny, not quite balls like cheese balls, but not long like cheese puffs either.  Somewhere in the middle.  But the texture?  Totally exactly like your favorite orange colored snack food.  Light, airy.  Very snackable, indeed.

The base, the chickpea and green pea, really didn't taste like peas or chickpeas.  At all.  It was just light and airy, just like a rice or wheat based snack.  You'd never know they were made from chickpeas.

The balls were all well coated too, in what was indeed zesty ranch flavor, herby, I think onion-y, and pretty tasty.  Very herb forward.

It appears that I found a fairly healthy snack that I kinda like ... that said, I didn't exactly crave more of these.

Caramel Sea Salt.

"Enjoy all of the sweet, sticky goodness of indulgent Caramel Sea Salt without any of the guilt."

Next I went for the sweet offering, caramel sea salt, although, again, I was skeptical about the chickpea qualities.

These had promise.  I have a serious caramel popcorn problem, and I'd be thrilled to find a healthier alternative.  And the Zesty Ranch weren't *that* bad ...

But ... a big no to these.  These were not successful.

Not only were they about as far from "sweet, sticky goodness" as you can get, in that, well, they weren't sticky, they weren't well coated, and they weren't even really that sweet, but they also tasted like chickpea/green peas this time around.  They were not only not indulgent, they were also just not tasty.

No, no, no.

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Rice Workshop, Sydney

I eat a lot of ice cream in normal life, but, my ice cream consumption increases pretty dramatically, even for me, when I'm in Sydney.  My breakfast usually includes gelato (its not my fault its part of the buffet!), lunch concludes with ice cream novelties from the office ice cream freezer, and evenings are filled with adventures seeking out more ice cream.

The beautiful warm weather inspires it.  The high quality ice cream everywhere inspires it.  The unique flavors inspire it.  I have no choice.  So be it premium gelato from Messina, novelty ice creams from Streets  or the long slew of excellent soft serve ice cream places offering unique flavors (Aqua S, Oh Matcha/Chanoma Cafe, Good Times Artisan Ice Cream, etc), I find myself eating a lot of ice cream.

And sometimes it comes from unexpected places.  Like, the mall food court.

Rice Workshop is a Japanese fast casual chain with a location in the Westfield Mall, right near the hotel I frequently stay.  People seem to like the rice bowls, the curry bowls, the ramen.  The lineup of fried snacks looks pretty good too.

Cones.

But I was there for one thing only: soft serve ice cream, available in matcha or black sesame.  One size only.  Cup, cake cone, or waffle cone ($0.50 extra, matcha or black sesame flavors).  No toppings available.  Also, um, only $2.

So, yes, I sought out Rice Workshop, even though only a few blocks away are Aqua S and Oh Matcha, both known for their soft serve.  Why?  Well, I had Oh Matcha's black sesame soft serve my first day in Sydney, and although it was good, I found myself craving black sesame soft serve ever since.  And I happened to walk by Rice Workshop earlier in the week and see the sign that they offer soft serve ...

Black Sesame Soft Serve in Black Sesame Cone. $2.50.

For a $2 ice cream (+$0.50 for the black sesame cone), this was actually an impressive treat.

Only one size available, but it was a very reasonable size - big enough to enjoy, not feel like it was too small, but not a monster like the soft serve places where I grew up.  I liked the size.

The ice cream was rich, creamy, and intensely black sesame flavored.  Some nuttiness to it.  I think the flavor was better than that at Oh Matcha, although the Oh Matcha texture might have been slightly better, creamier.  I did also try a sample of the matcha, but didn't care for it, it was fairly grainy.

I'll give credit to the beautiful looking swirl as well.  My server looked like she could care less, and when I asked if the cones were just colored or actually flavored she had no idea and seemed like she'd never served an ice cream before, but, she clearly knew how to make a nice looking cone.

Speaking of the cone, I picked the black cone because I was worried the green one was matcha and might have caffeine.  I didn't really taste any distinct flavor, but, it was a fresh waffle cone, not too sweet.

Since Rice Workshop didn't have toppings, I brought my own sprinkles, which I applied using a lid from their ramen bowls, and rolling my cone in sprinkles on it.  It looked far less pretty after this, but, I loved having the crunch from sprinkles.

Overall, I was pleased.  For the price, it was incredible.  But even not considering the bargain price, the flavor was great, texture good, and very convenient.  I'd return again without hesitation, although I think the lack of flavor variety or toppings will keep it from being a regular for me.

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Bar Pulpo by Movida, Melbourne Airport

Bar Pulpo by Movida.  It sounds fancy right?  And it might actually be, although it is a tapas bar in the Melbourne International Airport (Terminal 2, after security near gate 4 and 6), so, airport standards are in full effect.

Dine In Menu.

Bar Pulpo is mostly a dine-in establishment, with what looks like a legit line up of tapas, beer, and wine.

"Busy, bustling and popular for its rambling Spanish and Australian wine list and extraordinary tapas, Bar Pulpo is the ideal airport dining experience."

But, I didn't dine-in, nor have tapas.

Bar Pulpo also has a little cafe counter with grab and go baked goods and sandwiches.  I opted to just grab something to take on my flight, but, if I had more time in the Melbourne Airport, and I *didn't* have Qantas First Class lounge access (review coming soon! thank you random seatmate who granted me access!), I'd check it out.  Or maybe I'd just stop by for churros with dipping sauces?

Display Case.

The muffins actually looked decent.  They had four kinds - one savory, two sweet, one healthy-ish - and they all looked fairly good.  So, I got them all.  $5.20 each.  The cashier asked if I'd like them heated, which I declined.

I brought them on my flight to consume rather than the in-flight meals, as the timing of the meals was going to be odd, and I know that I often just crave baked goods.   I hoped these would be better than those served on board.

Savoury - Spinach & Feta.

I started with the savory muffin, spinach and feta.  It was dry.  Very dry.

The base had no flavor.  I didn't find much spinach.  Eh to huge chunks of feta, salty, and just not a flavor I enjoy.

This was not a good muffin.

Blueberry.

The blueberry was slightly better.  Big juicy berries to give a bit of flavor and moisture to the otherwise still pretty dry, hard topped muffin.

Eh.

Raspberry & White Chocolate.

Next, the raspberry and white chocolate.

It also was not a very good muffin.  Very, dry.

The berries were fine, very fruity, and gave it some flavor.  It was a bit sweet too, but mostly just pain "vanilla" cake.

Eh.  Not worth getting.

Apple & Muesli.

And finally, the "healthy" option, a muesli muffin.  This one I got mostly because at that point I wanted to round out the selection, and I suspected something slightly hearty and not too sweet would be nice in the "morning" on my flight, when I was supposed to be transitioning into afternoon or evening.

It was a decent muffin.  Again a fairly dry muffin, hard top.  The base had a bit of flavor to it, a slight heartiness.  It had some oats in it too.  I expected fruit and nuts inside, but, they seemed to mostly just be on top, a few little bits of dried apple and raisins.  That said, I did kinda like the flavor to it, and didn't really mind not having lots of mix-ins.

I think that warmed up, and with butter, this could actually be an very good muffin.  Still, I enjoyed it in the morning.

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