Tuesday, October 3, 2006

Dalandan & Juicy Ponkan Mentos

You thought Pink Grapefruit and Licorice Mentos were exotic? How about these flavors from the Philippines ... sent to me by Santos of Scent of Green Bananas. They’re both citrus flavors: Dalandan Fresh and Juicy Ponkan.

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Dalandan Fresh comes in green, yellow and blue wrappers, but the candy itself is a lovely sherbet orange. A dalandan is a citrus commonly known in the Philippines as the Sweet Orange. They’re likened to Valencia oranges, but the main difference is in the appearance. A ripe dalandan has a green peel (hence the wrapper is green).

The candy has a nice chew, of course, and a good sweet burst of orange essence with a bit of a tangerine or clementine note and maybe a little pomelo thrown in. It’s more sweet than tangy, but the flavor is pretty intense. I miss the sour notes that are in the Pink Grapefruit but this is much better than the plain orange available in the mixed fruit box.

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The Juicy Ponkan flavor comes in an intense orange wrapper but the candy inside is a soft orange. Like the dalandan, the ponkan is a citrus but this one is in the tangerine/mandarin family and has an orange rind that’s leathery and easy to peel. It’s a bit more tangy than the dalandan and has a more robust flavor with floral notes, tartness and a zesty essence that lingers.

I really liked this one, but they’re both a great change from plain old orange. Every once in a while one would have a slight minty or menthol taste, which made me wonder about the manufacturing process. Both varieties were manufactured in Indonesia for the Philippino market. (More about ponkan here.)

I know that it’s going to be hard for readers to go out and find these (I couldn’t even find a source online), so I’m happy to put together a prize package for Mentos Adventurers that will include an assortment of these and some other hard-to-find Mentos. To enter simply .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with the subject line “MENTOS” by October 9th, 2006 at 12 noon Pacific. One lucky winner will get an all-expense paid package of Mentos from around the world. (The fine print: North America addresses only. No need to give me your address unless you win. One entry per person. Failure to follow rules will result in disqualification for drawing and general irritation.)

UPDATE (10/9/2006 - 3:02 PM) - No more entries, please… we have a winner! (To be announced shortly.)

Name: Juicy Ponkan & Dalandan Fresh Mentos
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Mentos (Perfetti Van Melle)
Place Purchased: gift from Santos (thanks!)
Price: unknown
Size: 135 gram bags
Calories per ounce: unknown
Categories: Chew, Indonesia, Perfetti Van Melle

POSTED BY Cybele AT 7:00 am Tracker Pixel for Entry    

Comments
  1. I wonder if Mentos come in “Durian” flavor.  A durian is an ugly fruit that grows in the far east that has a delightful flavor but is banned in public places because the smell of a sliced durian resembles a filthy bathroom.  It is a popular candy flavor in Malaysia and some other places.

    Comment by Dave on 10/03/06 at 12:59 pm #
  2. I think I would enjoy these.

    Comment by claudia on 10/03/06 at 3:09 pm #
  3. I like Dave’s thoughts on the durian flavor.

    Comment by :: jozjozjoz :: on 10/03/06 at 3:21 pm #
  4. Dave, you’ve got an interesting definition for “delightful”. I’ve had durian (got it at the Berkeley Bowl, if anyone’s curious to try it for themselves and lives in California) and it’s disgusting. The STINK of it…oh, it’s nauseating. The flavour…it’s got an astringent, alcoholic quality matched oddly with a banana-ish flavour.

    But the worst part about it is the texture. It’s a slimy custardy thing. Nothing natural should have that texture!

    If you’re interested, here are some pictures of us opening the durian: http://www.alienminds.org/ajt/pix/DurianOpening/

    Comment by Bruce on 10/04/06 at 4:37 am #
  5. Cybele's avatar

    Dave - I’m definitely not interested in Durian anything!

    I tried a durian hard candy once.

    Joz - you’re nuts! You eat it!

    Bruce - thanks for the first hand info on the real fruit.

    claudia - Santos is gonna snag some more flavors soon, hopefully some Pomelo, which sounds awesome. So maybe another giveaway soon!

    Comment by Cybele on 10/04/06 at 6:11 am #
  6. these sound luscious.  i’m still looking for the grapefruit flavor of mentos.

    Comment by anne on 10/04/06 at 10:34 am #
  7. No problem, Cybele. Believe me though, I’d rather not be in a position to give a first hand report on the taste!

    Comment by Bruce on 10/05/06 at 3:42 pm #
  8. those two flavors aren’t so popular here in the philippines lol personally, i still like the original best:-)

    Comment by toasted on 10/11/06 at 10:16 pm #
  9. Wow, durian fruit look like some kind of alien pod. O_o

    And it apparently smells like one too, yech. I sure wouldn’t have eaten it, I’d be afraid its mother would come looking for me.

    Comment by Syrra on 10/13/06 at 1:31 am #
  10. This is such a cute site! Just wanted to say that the folks from the Philippines are called “Filipinos” not “Philippinos”. smile

    Comment by Mon on 2/05/07 at 2:45 am #
  11. i like you mentos gum suger free (Mint Flavor)
    But usally not availabe in pakistab (Karachi) So i am interested to supply in pakistan mentos gum please sent me information well soon

    with regards
    Faisal siddiqui

    Comment by Faisal Siddi on 5/01/09 at 10:29 pm #
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