Jul 10 2012

Kashi Banana Chocolate Chip Soft n’ Chewy Bar review

Having been a fan of many Kashi products over the years, and always enjoying a wonderful slice of homemade banana bread, I purchased the new Banana Chocolate Chip Soft n’ Chewy bars. Though the product doesn’t seem to get many positive reviews on the Kashi site or on other sites like Amazon, I thought that people just weren’t used to type of product that the brand often releases–a health-concious alternative to a typical treat.

Kashi Banana Chocolate Chip Soft n' Chewy Bar box

I tend to like to have such a snack a little bit before going to bed (I know, I know; there are probably better times to have a snack than right before bedtime, but that’s when I like something sweet). I was excited to try these seemingly tasty morsels for myself, so I poured a small glass of milk, and grabbed one of them out of the box. The first bite was interesting, as it didn’t really remind me of banana bread at all, but rather of something like the pumpkin spiced breads from Thanksgiving time. Looking at the ingredients list, that taste made more sense to me:

Kashi Banana Chocolate Chip Soft n' Chewy Bar nutrition

As you may notice, the first hint of something banana (banana purée) doesn’t show up until quite far down the list. In fact, “dried pumpkin” shows up before it! In any case, the bars are pretty good, all things considered, but I don’t know that I would describe them as Banana Chocolate Chip bars. Though they have those ingredients, it seems to me that Kashi is trying to say that they taste like banana bread. To me, they don’t really have a taste that I can readily compare to anything else; they have a unique flavour. The texture is somewhere in between a soft cookie and a cereal bar. Many reviewers said that they were dry, but I didn’t find them to be that bad. Actually, I think that they were significantly more moist than some of the other Kashi products that I’ve had in the past.

Though they aren’t the absolutely best tasting snack bars that I have ever had, I find them to be quite enjoyable, especially seeing as they only have 3g total fat (0.5 saturated) and 140 calories. I also like that they 4g of dietary fibre and have a half-serving of both fruits and vegetables. Overall, not a bad little snack, but I will disagree with Kashi’s suggestion that they are “kid friendly.” I don’t think that many kids would find them tasty.

Cheers,
Zach

Jul 09 2012

Review of Pixar’s La Luna short

A couple weeks ago, I went with a friend of mine to see Disney / Pixar’s Brave in the theatre. It was a wonderful feature film, and you can read my review of it by clicking that link. Before the feature started, however, there was a new Pixar short called La Luna, which is an animation written and directed by Enrico Casarosa. The short revolved around a young boy, Bambino, who goes on a night-time row boat ride with his father and grandfather. Papa and the boy’s grandfather disagree on many seemingly trivial happenings regarding Bambino, such as how he should wear his cap. The boy seems torn between following his father’s lead and that of his grandpa, but eventually finds a happy medium between the two, and maintaining his own autonomous stance.

I don’t want to go into too much detail about the film, or the fantastical event that occurs whilst the three are on their boat. Rather, I want you to go see the short in some way, and I would highly recommend it on the large projection screen at the theatre. Needless to say, in the laconic (yes, the double entendre was intentional ;)) 6’53” running time, this film captures a beautiful coming-of-age story in such a remarkable manner that I’m still thinking about it weeks later.

Disney Pixar's La Luna - Bambino looks in wonder
Click to enlarge

Not only is the story incredibly touching, the animation is simply stunning (and Bambino reminded me a bit of a of one of the Precious Moments boys [likely because of the big, anime-esque eyes]). It is smooth, flowing, and vibrantly colourful without being overly saturated.

Anyway, Mr. Casarosa announced in an interview that the short will be featured in Pixar’s next collection release on DVD and Blu-Ray (which will definitely warrant the full 1080p Blu-Ray); I can’t wait! Until then, though, you can see it in the theatres, and pick up the marvellously illustrated book.

Cheers,
Zach

Jul 08 2012

Bangkok 54, Durham, NC

Last night, I decided to try a different Thai restaurant in Durham, NC. Bangkok 54 is technically in Chapel Hill, NC, but it is so close to interstate 40 that it is really six or one-half dozen. The first thing that I immediately noticed when I went inside is that they didn’t have the air conditioning on. Yesterday, it was approximately 38°C (~100°F), so walking into a restaurant that was only slightly cooler than it was outside really didn’t help the appetite. Anyway, though, the restaurant is a bit on the small side, with about twelve tables or so, the front bar (which didn’t offer seating), and the kitchen behind it.

I went to Bangkok 54 because I was really craving Pad see ew (ผัดซีอิ๊ว in Thai, also known as Phat si io), which is a noodle dish that is heavily influenced by Chinese cuisine. It literally means “Fried soy sauce,” but the soy sauce is not the typical thin sauce typically produced by companies like Kikkoman and found in bottles in just about every Asian restaurant globally. Instead, the sauce used in Pad see ew is called Kecap Manis (pronounced KEH-chup MAH-nees), where Kecap simply means sauce. It is a thicker glaze that has the consistency of molasses, and a sweeter taste than the other soy sauces. In with the broad rice noodles and Kecap Manis, they mixed Chinese broccoli, egg, and (in this case) chicken (I know it’s strange that I didn’t go for tofu, but they deep-fry theirs, which is a big turn-off to me).

Pad see ew
A typical plate of Pad see ew
(Unfortunately mine wasn’t as elegant)

Anyway, the dish was decent at best. The noodles were cooked for slightly too long, (which resulted in the infamous noodle blob), and the chicken was a little tough (also indicating too long of contact with the wok). The worst part, in my opinion, was that they used far too much oil in the dish. Granted, one needs to use some oil in order to get the correct consistency, but this was bordering on greasy. The portion size was pretty big, but not for the price of nearly $11.00 USD. I would have expected a little more refined of a dish, especially for the price and the reputation of the restaurant. Though I was glad that I found a place serving one of my favourite Thai dishes, I don’t think that I can recommend it due to the atmosphere (incredibly hot), the somewhat small portion for the price, and the quality of the preparation.

Cheers,
Zach