My coworkers here (not at my company, but in the office where I work) seem to be very cool people. So far, 2 of them have traveled overseas. And 2 of them have brought back chocolate. To share. With everyone.
The last chocolate was an assortment of British Cadbury's varieties that you just don't get in the US. Today I got a Kinder Surprise. What is a Kinder Surprise, you ask? Handily, I have documented the event in photos.
As you can see here, it appears to be a standard chocolate egg. However, if you were to shake it, you would hear a rattling noise. Also notice just to the lower left of the word Surprise the international symbol for No? Inside there is a picture of a very unhappy baby and "0-3". I'm guessing they're saying don't give it to 0-3 year olds, but it could just be a political statement about how kids should be born older. Jury's out. Regardless, I've never had chocolate with a suggested age limit before, so I was stoked. Now, to investigate that rattle....
The egg splits open easily, revealing...a cartridge of some sort. Notice also that the egg itself is milk chocolate lined with white chocolate. Whoever dreamed this up was genius. Genius I tell you! Now. What's inside that capsule?
What have we here? A Monkey-man soccer player! (Or perhaps, as this is from Germany I should say Futbal - with an umlaut over the u.) There is also a cool "soccer ball" that is actually a magnet. And the base of Monkey-man is a magnet...and they're poled correctly so that you can "kick" the ball by moving Monkey-man close. Mmmm...magnet-y fun! I do see one small issue though that might have to do with the 0-3 warning mentioned previously:
Monkey-man has serious plumber's crack issues.
LOL! :-) Where did you find this??? It looks like something from a German Archie McPhee's. I really, really want some of those!
ReplyDeleteOops, I just read the first part of your post. Jumped straight away to the pictures without advantage of the intro. Now I know where it came from. 8-}
ReplyDeleteHee! I wish I could tell you more specifically than "my coworker" but I have no idea even where he went - I think France, though it's German chocolate.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check the German bakery near here - they have all kinds of German chocolates (and yummy marzipan figures at Eastertime). Maybe I can collect up a whole soccer team. :)
When I was growing up in France, I used to love eating those! They've been around forever. They're sooo yummy! Unfortunately they're banned in the US, it seems, because the toys contained in the eggs present a choking hazard to small children. Pah!
ReplyDeleteHm. That's kind of silly, to ban candy because you shouldn't let a small child swallow the toy inside. What about the stuff in cracker jack? Isn't that a choking hazard? Weird. But cool to know they've been around a long time!
ReplyDeleteSometimes you just gotta Google.
ReplyDeleteYou have found America's Favorite Source for Kinder Surprise Eggs The Year 2006 Series is shipping now. Click here to see this years featured toy - Motocoyotes
Note they say We Do Not Ship Worldwide - USA Customers Only Please!
Moto-coyotes! yi yi yi...
ReplyDeleteThat is totally cool and yet funny at the same time. My son would love that!
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that you guys don't have them! We do!!! I'll have to bring a supply to the States when I come and fed ex them or something haha!
ReplyDeleteDane seems to have found a US source (Yay Dane...and Google....is there anything Google doesn't know or can't find out?! :) )
ReplyDeleteIt was a lot of fun though!
Kinder Eggs have LONG been a favorite in my house, however, as you may have guessed they are ILLEGAL in the US because they 1) have a non-food product packaged in food and 2) present a choking hazard.
ReplyDeleteThat's why many of these internet businesses will only ship to the US, as it doesn't make sense for them to pay to ship elsewhere where the eggs are easily available...
Southern Season in Chapel Hill used to sell them whenever they could get their hands on them, and they went like hotcakes. We used to buy them by the flat and keep them in the freezer :)
here's the wiki page if you're interested. Lots of links!
I think I will order a couple dozen or so for the kids on my church bus route. It should make a great promotion for our VBS in June.
ReplyDeleteDane, that's a neat idea. :) Just don't let them get too warm, with the thin chocolate they melt pretty quickly/easily.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the wiki page link, CTG! :)
Re: Cadbury chocolate - there's a tea shop west of Chantilly that imports Cadbury chocolate - The British Pantry. And they serve a wonderful tea, too.
ReplyDeleteAlso, check World Market - they carry a lot of Cadbury chocolates.