Pascall Mallow Bites Chocs Mint

Pascall's Mallow Bites Chocs range has seen a new flavour join the family. Last year's launch included both Vanilla and Honeycomb, and now we have Mint as well. As with the existing flavours, these new ones are also made in New Zealand, rather than in the good old land of Oz.

The foil bag is only 130g but feels rather hefty in the handy. While the bag did a poor job of protecting the bites - mine are scuffed worse than a pair of kid's school shoes - it does keep them nice and fresh. The scent is well-contained too, and with good reason - it's quite strong! With the addition of the Cadbury milk chocolate, the bag smells like a box of after dinner mints. Not a bad comparison if you ask me.

So our bites are scuffed, with broken chocolate and bare sections of marshmallow visible as well. At least marshmallows are otherwise robust! And boy, did Pascall really lay on the colouring for these! The interior is far brighter than what you can see on the picture, or even the product image on the front of the bag. Think of the colour of a green clinker - that's around the degree of colour we have here. Other than that, the marshmallow is lovely and bouncy with a good pull. It feels a little frothy too, as if it's full of tiny air bubbles. The thin chocolate layer also provides a nice texture as well, otherwise it may feel like a mouthful of froth.

The flavour in the marshmallow is nowhere near as strong as the initial scent would suggest. It's rather like mint choc chip ice cream - creamy and sweet but not very strong. Only a few of these are needed for me to feel satisfied. Despite the artificial flavour, it's rather refreshing!

(That's a Mentos there for a size comparison.)

Five bites are one serve (25g), the product contains milk and soy, and they may contain traces of peanuts and tree nuts.

Pascall Mallow Bites Choc

You might be forgiven for thinking that Pascall is a standalone Aussie brand. It's only recently that they packaging has embraced its Cadbury ownership, even going so far as to place the famous Cadbury purple logo on the packaging of their newest product, Mallow Bites Choc.

Pascall is mostly known for their Pineapple Lumps, Clinkers, and regular Marshmallows (which used to come in a plain vanilla variety as well, but that's been recently discontinued). Their new product, Mallow Bites Choc, have been out for a month or two now, and they come in two flavour varieties: Vanilla and Honeycomb. Each bag holds 130g, but as with many marshmallow products, there's a lot of product for the weight.

Out of the matte-foil packaging, the bite-size pieces look rather sorry for themselves. They're scuffed and scratched, and some pieces even have small sections of chocolate missing. The bag has done a good job of keeping the bites nice and fresh through. Next to each other on the table, it's impossible to tell the flavours apart, although if you don't mind having a good ol' sniff before biting, the Crunchie-like scent of the honeycomb bite is strong.

Each bite is a hair under 3cm wide, and about 2.5cm tall. They are a good size to nibble on; one is a comfortable amount, though you could take two at once if you felt so inclined. The outer chocolate layer is fairly thin, but doesn't crack easily to pressure. The real surprise is the pull of the marshmallow inside. I don't eat a whole lot of marshmallow, but the texture on these seems different to what I have experienced in the past. If you don't bite all the way through (if not eating a whole one at once), there's a definite resistance there. It's a little hard to explain. It doesn't effect the chewing experience though. The chocolate layer provides a nice soft crunch to complement the fluffy marshmallow centre.

The vanilla bite is lovely and not overwhelming. The chocolate layer does provide most of the flavour though, which if you like Cadbury's sweet chocolate will work in your favour. The vanilla centre is fairly tasteless on its own, although sweet, but that's not necessarily a negative. The bite is not a sugar hit, and would probably work nicely if added to a cup of unsweetened hot chocolate. These make it easy to eat more than a couple at a time.

Honeycomb, on the other hand, is a flavour punch. It's very bold and sweet, and lingers long after you've finished the bite. It's like a soft version of a Crunchie bar. I do notice that the marshmallow is a little grainy too. It's not present in all the pieces, but it is in quite a few. They are fulfilling, and a couple of pieces is plenty for me.

Five bites are one serve (25g), the product contains milk and soy, and they may contain traces of peanuts and tree nuts. These are also made in NZ.