We The Champs! 🏆 I Am Happy. 😊

From my previous piece at the beginning of this remarkable Raptors season:

We should believe in ourselves, our team, our city,

Instead of dwelling on supposed inferiorities.

As Masai also wisely preached, “We should move past that.”

Kawhi had the first, let’s hope he also has the last laugh.

So, let's check how we did. Well, not only did our city believe in the Toronto Raptors, our country did too:

✅ Record price paid for an NBA Finals game 🎟️
StubHub's average price for Game 5 in Toronto was $2,223 per ticket.

✅ Record TV ratings 📺
For the clinching Game 6, 15.9 million unique viewers, or almost half of Canada tuned in.

✅ Over 50 Jurassic Parks across the country! 🙌
And one down south too in Rockford, Illinois, the home of Fred VanVleet.


As for Kawhi "Fun Guy" Leonard:
✅ Brought the Toronto Raptors its first championship, or as he calls it, "The Larry O-B!" 🏆
✅ Became one of only three players to win NBA Finals MVP for multiple franchises 🐐
✅ Lived up to his self-given "Fun Guy" moniker 😂
✅ Had the last laugh! From yesterday's parade:

The Finals Countdown ⏳

Somehow, waiting for the NBA Finals to start for the last four days have felt almost more excruciating than the last 24 years of being a Raptors fan!

Game 1's Giveaway Shirt (Photo via @Raptors on Twitter)

It's safe to say that one fan has been waiting with even greater anticipation. The Raptors reached the NBA Finals the first time. Based on an exorbitant exchange on the ticket resale market, this fan backed up the Brinks truck like this might be the Raptors' last time!

The average Canadian salary is $51,000. A fan paid a pulse-stopping $76,477.50 CAD ($56,876.77 USD) on StubHub for a pair of courtside seats for Game 1 tonight in Toronto.

People are (fairly) freaking out about this stratospheric sum of money, but I get it. There are scores of reasons why basketball is incredible. One of them is the opportunity for fans to be so close to the action. Most sports have some barrier between the fans and the game. For instance, there is glass (hockey), netting (baseball) and personnel (both types of football).

Basketball places fans so close to the court that they are practically rubbing shoulders with the teams. Or in Drake's case—literally!

On that note, here's hoping for a Finals free of incident and full of excitement! (And hopefully, a storybook ending to this magical season for the Team in the North! LET'S G🏀 RAP🍁ORS!!!)

Loving Longo's Copywriting 📝

A question I've been asked in an application and interview recently is "What brands inspire you (as a copywriter)?"

My answer? Longo's.

I love (copy)writing. <Waves while typing this 👋.> And I love food (I mean, you've seen my blog, right? 😛). So it’s easy to see why I love Longo’s flyers. Longo’s does a phenomenal job of being informative, entertaining and captivating with its copy, specifically its headlines. 

My favourite flyer from Longo's uses the headline “Now Here's A Daily Grind You'll Love” with multiple meanings to tremendous effect:

The primary meaning, of course, is to promote their certified Angus lean ground beef. The second, subtler meaning references the Labour Day holiday around which it was advertised. And the third, even subtler meaning: students about to go back to school embark on a grind of their own.

I have also adopted the phrase “a daily grind I love” as a mantra for why I changed careers — I truly love copywriting! Ultimately, when I see a Longo’s flyer, I know there’s a great chance that it will both interest and inspire me.

Jumped Through Hoops For These Froot Loops ⭕

(The title is in reference my two and a half hour commute (!!!) home from SanRemo Bakery.)

Froot Loops Donut +
Apple Fritters

You’ll notice there are only two different donuts in the box. That’s because at 3:38 pm on a Friday, that’s all that’s left. To wit, this was the second last Froot Loops donut.

(I decided not to review the Fritters because mine contained considerably fewer apple pieces than usual.)

The Froot Loops donut was one of the new items that I was dying to try. (The other was Zeppole but all the good flavours were sold out.) Along with Corn Pops, Honeycomb and Honey Nut Cheerios, Froot Loops formed the foundation of my childhood cereal consumption.

This colourful creation takes the same signature stellar SanRemo donut and garnishes it with a generous helping of Froot Loops. I went in expecting the donut to have a generic glazed icing. So it was a shock to my system to discover that it was Froot Loops flavoured!

It is also possible the shock was actually a result of the icing’s intensity because it was super sweet! Its potency was equivalent to the endmilk of a bowl of cereal comprised of 80% Froot Loops and 20% milk. In fact, it was so sweet that half a donut was more than sufficient for a single sitting.

I did enjoy how the crunchiness of the cereal pieces brought an added dimension to the donut. On a related note, I think that’s probably the source of sugar overload. Having both the cereal and the icing likely led to its loopy levels of sweetness.

So as the title of this post ponders: was it worth it?

For the Froot Loops donut alone, no.

However, when you factor in the fritters (still superb), cannoli and cookies which are not pictured (excellent and good), and the opportunity to catch up with an old friend (invaluable), then yes it was well worth the two and a half hour commute home.

Froot Loops Donut:

3.5 Added Dimensions out of 5

What's Wrong With Just Right 🤔

To commemorate National Cereal Day, I figured I would spotlight one of the most underrated cereals I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating — Just Right.

I still remember the first time I tried it. My first-year university floormate had kindly offered me some. After growing up on a steady diet of super sugary cereals, I have to admit that I was rather unimpressed by its appearance. One had to squint to see the sugared sheen on the glazed flakes. Plus, the presence of oat nuggets almost scared me off outright, as I conflated those to mean that it was “healthy.” (At that point in my life, a healthy cereal was about as appealing as an 8:30 am lecture!)

I voiced my concerns to him but he urged me to just give Just Right a shot. And am I glad I did! To say that I was pleasantly surprised would be an enormous understatement. Propelled by my below-the-floor expectations (inside joke — our floor was halfway underground), it immediately shot up my list of favourite cereals.

Although Just Right did not offer the overload of sugar I was accustomed to, this was a good thing. It occupies the sweet spot on the cereal sugar spectrum: it is neither bland nor super(fluously) sugary. Here is the sugar content per 100 grams to help put it into perspective:

Cereal                Sugar/100g
Plain Cheerios                4g
Corn Flakes                  10g
JUST RIGHT                  17g
Life                              20g
Honey Nut Cheerios      31g 

In terms of texture, there is an assortment of different shapes and sizes. The crispy corn flakes are by far the largest, while there are also much smaller flakes made of rice. Then, there are little crunchy oat nuggets too. This helps ensure that every bite is different.

Mixing with milk has both benefits and drawbacks. As with many cereals, it can quickly become soggy and compromise its terrific texture. On the bright side, Just Right's aforementioned optimal sweetness helps ensure an equally enjoyable endmilk.

So since Kellogg’s got all the key aspects of this cereal Just Right 🙃, what’s wrong with it then, as the title of this blog post questions? Well, no one has ever heard of it, let alone tried it! And after doing some quick research (including consulting the preeminent voice in cereal reviews), Just Right does seem to be universally under-consumed. To wit, to this very day, my floormate and roommate are the only ones I know who have eaten it!

So now it’s my turn to do some urging. You can help right this wrong by getting Just Right!

4.5 Pleasant Surprises out of 5

(images from Kellogg's Canada)

The Cure for Ferrero Fatigue 💡

 

La Rocca-ing Around the Christmas Tree 🎄

One of my birthday gifts this year was an assortment of seasonal sweets from La Rocca Cakes. These were purchased from their Creative Kitchen retail boutique in Richmond Hill.

The phrase “too pretty to eat” gets thrown around with more force and frequency than a re-gifted present. In this case however, it is absolutely apt.

It all starts with the pristine packaging. The vibrant colours and kaleidoscopic design are extremely eye-catching.

Since we’re La Rocca-ing Around the Christmas Tree, let’s start with the Evergreen Tree:



This cake does a fantastic job of visually living up to its namesake. Pistachio mousse makes up the tree's foundation. Then, white chocolate slivers and spheres represent ribbons and ornaments. And to top it all off—a gold star!

Texturally, there was a nice contrast between the decorations and the tree. The white chocolate ornaments and ribbons provided crunchiness, while the pistachio mousse and strawberry jelly provided smoothness. Unfortunately, the strawberry jelly also stole the show for the wrong reason. It was tremendously tart, to the point where it was the dominant flavour, when the pistachio should have been the star of the show.

Christmas Comparison Verdict:
The Evergreen Tree is like when you get the Christmas gift you wished for, but turns out to be completely different than what you expected.
⭐️

Chestnut Tart

The Chestnut Tart was another appealing dessert. The candied chestnut and its connected chocolate ribbon helped give it a more memorable look.

The berries were bearable this time, enjoyable even, as they were not too tart, and slightly sweet. This was further balanced by the refreshing vanilla mousse. As for the pastry part, the surrounding tart and underlying base were buttery and flaky.

Ultimately, this Chestnut Tart suffered from a similar fate as the Evergreen Tree—the flavour with top billing failed to shine. Although it wasn't washed away by the other components, it also did not provide a punchy enough chestnut flavour to live up to its name.

Christmas Comparison Verdict: 

The Chestnut Tart is like that sweater your Aunt gifts you; it's fine, it's functional, but it doesn't possess the pizzazz to be regularly featured.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Chocolate Orange Pyramid

La Rocca even managed to make a jet-black pyramid look picturesque. This is the result of the candied orange, chocolate orange sticks, hazelnuts and golden flecks garnished on top. They helped give great contrast and an added dimension to the devilishly dark dessert.

In terms of texture, the pyramid was:

✔️ Soft but not mushy
✔️ Rich but not heavy

And as the video above illustrates, it is real sturdy. It took a concerted effort to break off a piece. And it still stood strong afterwards. La Rocca definitely did the pyramid name proud!

Most importantly, in terms of taste, it was:

✔️ Sweet but not sickly
✔️ Bitter but not biting
✔️ Orangey but not overpowering

Finally, a dessert that lived up to its billing! All the elements worked together in perfect harmony.

Christmas Comparison Verdict: 

Like Santa and his Reindeer on Christmas Eve, I will be dashing through the snow this weekend to get a second helping before it flies off the counters!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️