Hands Off (Asda Caramel Bites)

Member Name: MI9to5

Product:	Asda Caramel Bites
Date:	14/10/09 (75 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb taste

Disadvantages: Garish packaging - but who really cares

After trying Asda's Whirly Bites a couple of weeks ago I decided that it might be worth trying out a couple more of their own brand mini chocolate bars 'bites' and therefore Asda's Caramel Bites found their way into by basket and dually tested out last night. These are slightly more expensive than the whirly bites because although they still only cost £1, you only get bars in the pack rather than 10. Either way I still think it's a pretty good deal.

Asda Caramel Bites are basically mini Mars Bars but of course Asda's variety and much cheaper. They come individually wrapped in a garishly bright yellow/orange wrapper and then the eight bars are wrapped together in a large packet of the same colour. The main packet then has a picture of the product itself in the middle with a cartoon character chomping away on it. 'Hands Off My Caramel Bite' is then written or more honestly scrawled in black next to it. The colour of the packet really does make the product catch your eye on the shelf but it does have a slightly tacky feel and is definitely aimed towards children. All in all though the packaging doesn't really matter because it does its purpose and delivers the product to you in great condition.

The 'Caramel Bites' like I have said are roughly like mini Mars Bars and resemble them in many ways. Each 'bite' is rectangular in shape, about 9cm x 3cm x 2cm and therefore just the right size therefore for a quick snack and perfectly suitable for the small hands of children. Each one also has the cross hatched sort of pattern on top making them again not too dissimilar from the popular Mars Bar. On first glance all you can see is a milk chocolate rectangle but when you bite into it and look at it end on you can then see that beneath the decent layer of chocolate is an equally decent layer of thick caramel and then an equally generous layer of thick whipped nougat.

It is also at this point that you realise how nice the lovely Caramel Bite you are peering out tastes. The whipped nougat is thick, sticky and sweet. Absolutely delicious in my opinion and being topped by a stringy layer of sweet caramel makes it so tasty. The chocolate in contrast is definitely not as sweet but still as superb. It has a rather creamy taste and has a much more solid texture in comparison to the 'bites' other components.

For all you that like to know the calorie values of food products I have reproduced the values per bar below:
Calories - 181
Protein - 1.7g
Carbohydrate - 26.1g
Of which sugars - 23.1g
Fat - 7.8g
Of which saturates - 4.5g
Fibre - 0.5g
Sodium - 0.08g
It is also worth noting here that 'Caramel Bites' are suitable for Vegetarians and are free from artificial colours and flavours. They do however contain soya, eggs and milk and may contain nuts.

Like with the Whirly Bites I can't really fault these sweets and they certainly proved a hit in my house with both my parents and my younger brother giving them the thumbs up. The packaging may be a little bright and garish but it certainly catches your eye and to be honest why worry about the packaging when the product inside it tastes fantastic and costs little in comparison to the branded varieties. These will certainly feature in our family shopping again.

Summary: A cheap and cheerful little chocolate bar