TopMunch Review August 2017

TopMunch is a food subscription box that allows you to experience the world one country at a time with exotic food, music recommendations, travel recommendations and more. They kindly sent us this box for review.

We have reviewed TopMunch a few months now and have always been impressed with it!  My two favourite things are traveling and food, so it really doesn’t get much better than this!  I have to admit too, I’ve been a little jealous with Sarah’s reviews of TopMunch, as they have all looked so delicious!  I somehow won the review this month for TopMunch and can’t wait to show you what’s inside!

This month, Magalie from the French Grocery Store (based out of San Diego, CA) took Patrik and Karthik on a sumptuous tour through the various treats France has to offer.

St Michel French Mini Madeleine

The Madeleine is a traditional small cake from Commercy and Liverdun, two communes of the Lorraine region in north-eastern France.  Madeleines are very small sponge cakes with a distinctive shell-like shape and are great with your morning coffee or even as a dessert item along with your favourite fruit with a spot of icecream to top it off.  This traditional French snack and this bag of mini madeleines by St Michel come out fresh with a hint of butter in every bite.

Yum!  These sound so yummy!  I was just chatting with a friend on the weekend about traveling and how the best part of travel is the morning coffee.  I’ll have to make a special event of my morning coffee soon to try these out and transplant me back to France!

Carambar Candy Mixed Fruits

Every adult remembers that one candy they used to gorge on when they were kids.  If I were to pose that question to most French nationals this candy would be the one they would remember.  In 1954, Mr. Fauchille, director of the Delespaul-Hazard company, and Mr. Gallois, and employee, had a surplus of cocoa and decided to create a new original recipe to use it up.  The legend says that one of the machines in the factory was malfunctioning, making the long bars that still exist today.  This chewy sweet, in the form of a bar, was named Caram’ bar.  We have included the fruit version of the famous Carambar in this box and are certain that this delicious French treat will delight both children and adults!

Delight indeed!  I ate them all while writing this review.  It’s a good thing the photos turned out, because if I had to reshoot them there would be no Carambar to shoot.  It also so happens that lemon is my favourite flavour for sweets!

Delices Du Luberon French Black Olive Tapenade

Traditionally, tapenade is made from the small, black olives (from the region of Province).  The story goes that, in ancient times, olives would have been preserved in amphoras of olive oil, to re-emerge, when required, as a full-flavoured mash – the origins of the modern tapenade.  The tapenade can be served as an hors d’oeuvre, in a small bowl, surrounded with tiny toasted bread slices or crackers, but this Provencal favourite is the perfect accompaniment to a glass of French wine.

I am not huge on olives, but my man is!  So I think he will really like this.  We are going to a friend’s place for appies this week and I think this little gem is going to make my contribution look way fancier than it really is.

Brioche Pasquier French Mini-Toasts

These are delicious crunchy little toasts you can eat with just about anything.  We recommend them be used as appetizers, in soups or as quick snack bites.  The Pasquier Mini Toasts are ideal matches for servings of foie gras, smoked salmon, cheese, etc. But we highly recommend pairing it with the tapenade, especially black olive tapenade (which as luck would have it, is what we included in our box for you!

Perfect!  I’m for sure going to have the fanciest plate at appie night.  I’m going to look so posh!

St Michel Galettes

“Everything began with the little secret recipe of Joseph Grellier, pastry chef at the Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef, in the 1900s.  He cooked round and golden patties in his wood burning oven which he baptized – Galettes St. Michel. One fine morning his wife Constance had the idea of going around on his cariole and offer these patties to the beautiful ladies of Paris who came to dip on the beaches of the coast.”  The idea was born and it succeeded over the past century to bring it to be a French favourite, appreciated for its delicate buttery taste and crispiness.  If you look closely you will see that each galette is imprinted with the figure of the archangel St. Michel.

Wow, these cookies sound super fancy.  I love trying new things and I’ve never heard of this item.

Oui Love it Langues de Chat Cookies

Based on the ingredients and the cooking technique used to create these divine cookies, it is believed that the very first Langues de Chat came out of a French oven in the 17th century!  The literal French translation of the “Langues De Chat” is “Cat’s Tongue” and true to that the shape of each cookie does resemble the shape of a cat’s tongue.  So if the advertising is to be taken true, this popular tea-time snack will make you “purrr…..”

These are definitely tea time biscuits.  I love a good cup of tea and with summer working its way into a wind down, tea season is coming!

TopMunch August 2017 – Final Thoughts

Wow!  What a fun box.  I really enjoyed unboxing this and reviewing it and I think I will enjoy partaking in the snacks even more!  I like that all these items could be put out together and essentially enjoyed at the same time.  I didn’t really photograph or mention the product card, but I was super impressed with it!  There were different little articles to read and even language lessons!  I highly enjoy any box that turns your unboxing into an event.  I also like the idea of subscribing to a box like this and throwing a monthly party with a few friends themed around the country highlighted.  I think it would make a pretty fun club!

-Shonah

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