I didn’t plan on going to McDonald’s today.The day started with a glorious amber light, sifting through the netted windows of my bedroom . I made a cup of coffee and ate a hearty bowl of cereal with low-fat milk. I felt healthy and happy. It was all good.

At about lunch time, I decided to do a snack review. As I’ve started the day on a healthy note, a wholesome energy bar sounds like just the thing to continue my healthy streak. Little did I know that it was this decision that led to a total downward spiral to fast food.

Go Natural Yoghurt Almond & Apricot Snack Bar. The name sounds healthy and the tag line — “Tastes good, naturally” — convinced me that the product would score high on the taste department too. But health food usually taste like cardboard or sawdust so I proceeded with caution.

The yoghurt looks dry and crumbly and tastes like sugar frosting that had been standing in the open for a few hours. But that is not the bad part of this bar… nooo…

I don’t have a problem with coconuts. I love them in curries and biscuits and young coconut juice is a refreshing treat on a hot day. I don’t have a problem with coconuts provided I know that I’m going to eat coconuts. The wrapper on this say almonds & apricots in yoghurt, so I expected a fair amount of almonds, apricots and yogurt, maybe a touch of honey as energy bars are inclined to have. But what do I get when I bite this mother? Coconuts. Specifically desiccated coconuts, the worst form a coconut could exist as. What looked like apricots tasted like coconuts and what I supposed are almonds tasted like, you guessed it, coconuts. This tasted a lot like a Bounty bar, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, except for the fact that this is supposed to be a yoghurt-coated fruit and nut bar! For your information, coconut is NOT a nut. And it doesn’t end there – the coconuty after taste lasted even after I drank 2 cups of water and sucked on a Mentos. What will it take to drown this horrible taste?

Which brings us to McDonald’s. I’m sitting down in the cool air-conditioned comfort of this fast-foot outlet with a coke and large fries. My healthy day ruined by a health bar.

Photo: Go Natural

Apricot & Almond Yoghurt Bar? More like Desiccated Coconut in Sugar Frosting.

“It happened a long time ago in the little village of Werther: the confectioner Gustav Nebel, at the peak of his skills, created his finest sweet. He took fresh cream, real butter, white and brown sugars, a pinch of salt, and lots of time. And because the candies came out particularly well, they were called Werther’s Original.”

Ah, I love a good history even if it’s just an exaggeration of the truth or in some cases, purely fictional. It gives a product character and personality. I also love heart-warming ads, like the one featuring a loving grandpa and his angelic grandson sharing a Werther’s Originals.

True to its classic status, the candies come in an warm, but slightly oldish looking packaging. When you open the other wrapper a luscious caramel aroma hits you. Each golden brown candy is individually wrapped in clear cellophane. There’s a dent in the middle of the candy. I’m not too sure whether this is the result of the manufacturing process or an intended shape but it provides a niche for your tongue.

The candy is smooth, buttery and sweet as candies should be but what’s special about this particular sweet is its deliciousness. As far as caramel candies go, Werther’s Original is the bee’s knees. It is definitely not a run of the mill mediocre-tasting candy, no. I kid you not when I say you can almost taste the quality of the ingredients used once you pop one in your mouth. Storck website claims these are made “because you are someone very special!” and that the candies are “uncommonly good”. I don’t know about the first part but believe you me, these are indeed uncommonly good. I am not a hard candy lover but this gets a Perfect 10!

Candies are by nature, bad for you because, being nothing more than sugar, they rot your teeth and are full of empty calories. A candy without nutrition warning is worse because you’ll never know how much is too much. The lack of nutrition information seems to be a common characteristic of the few European products reviewed here so far. Am I missing something here? Do I care? Mmmm.. caramel candy…nyom nyom nyom…

Photo: Storck

As deliciously sweet as the Werther's Original boy.