Around the World: McDonald's Hong Kong - Gingerbread Latte

McDonald's Hong Kong is serving up what might be one of the cutest lattes ever in the Gingerbread Latte this the holiday season.

I learned during a visit to a Hong Kong McCafe that they create such designs the same way people paint the street number on the curb: with a stencil guide. The powder is just cocoa.

A small cup will run you $23 HK (~$2.97 US) which is fairly comparable to prices here. While the design seems unlikely, the flavor seems ripe to come here to the States someday as McDonald's vies with Starbucks for your coffee dollar.

My Local Burger King Has Really Small Water Cups...

So I was eating at Burger King one day (for reviewing purposes of course!) and asked for a water cup. Maybe they were trying to help me burn off some calories by making frequent trips to the soda fountain, but that's a really small water cup!

Review: Hershey's Kisses Pumpkin Spice Flavor

Hershey's Kisses Pumpkin Spice Flavored Candies are available around Halloween and feature pumpkin-spice flavored white chocolate.

A 10-ounce bag goes for about $2.99 at Target, but I got these after Halloween for half off. I almost missed them too.

Around the World: Pepsi Japan - Fat Blocking Pepsi

Suntory, the Japanese distributor for Pepsi, is set to introduce new "Pepsi Special," which contains indigestible dextrin to reduce the absorption of fat after eating, on November 13, 2012.

The new drink has received the "tokuho" designation (that's the human figure on the bottle that appears to be rejoicing) from the Japanese Consumer Affairs Agency.

The designation is short for "tokutei hokenyou shokuhin" or "food for specified health use" and is earned by foods in Japan where the companies have demonstrated that the food can deliver special health benefits.

Frozen Friday: Jose Ole - Steak and Cheese Chimichanga

Jose Ole's Steak and Cheese Chimichanga is a lightly-fried burrito filled with steak and cheese.

A 5-ounce frozen burrito sells for about $1.

News: Wienerschnitzel - New Chili Cheese Tamales

For a limited time, Wienerschnitzel is offering new Chili Cheese Tamales on their menu at all locations.

The dish features a tamale filled with shredded beef topped with Wienerschnitzel's trademark chili and shredded cheese.

The move is a bit of a curious one for an American chain with a German name (interestingly, an entree they have never offered) not known for serving Mexican food.

Review: Krispy Kreme - Pumpkin Spice Donut

Krispy Kreme's Pumpkin Spice Donut is a seasonal donut that joins the glut of pumpkin items around this time of year.

It was $1.09 for a single Pumpkin Spice Donut.

News: Taco Bell - New Dessert Menu

While the Taco Bell isn't bereft of desserts (see the Caramel Apple Empanada and Cinnamon Twists), they've decided to expand and are now offering an official Dessert Menu with three items: the aforementioned Caramel Apple Empanada, new Cookie Sandwiches, and new Churros.

The Caramel Apple Empanada is a crispy pastry pocket with a warm filling of apple pieces and a creamy caramel sauce.

Review: Burger King - Seasoned Sweet Potato Curly Fries

Burger King's new, limited-time Seasoned Sweet Potato Curly Fries follows up their now departed regular Sweet Potato Fries with a different shape and a sweet seasoning of what seems to be cinnamon and sugar.

A small order cost me $2.19. Oddly a medium order was only 10 cents more and a larger order was 10 cents more than that.

Around the World: Domino's Taiwan Offers Okonomiyaki Pizza

Out in Taiwan, Domino's offers an okonomiyaki pizza. Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savory pancake dish with various ingredients mixed with a batter and grilled.

Domino's take on fusing it with pizza includes stir-fried noodles on which the toppings are placed before being finished with Japanese mayonnaise (sweeter than typical mayo), powdered seaweed, and a healthy dose of bonito flakes (bonito are a type of fish).

News: The Coffee Bean - $1 Holiday Drinks on November 8th.

The Coffee Bean is once again doing one of their open house events where you can buy a cup of their at-the-time featured drinks for $1.

This time, they're celebrating the holiday season with $1 holiday drinks from 2pm to 6pm tomorrow, Thursday, November 8, 2012.

For $1, you can choose from a 12-ounce cup of either Winter Dream Tea Latte, Gingerbread Cookie Ice Blended, Gingerbread Cookie Latte, or Red Velvet Hot Cocoa.

News: Taco Bell - New XXL Steak Nachos

Starting tomorrow, Taco Bell serves up new, limited-time XXL Steak Nachos.

The XXL portion of nachos comes with three times the steak of a Steak Taco (i.e. 4.5 oz of steak instead of 1.5 oz), nacho cheese sauce and melted cheese blend, guacamole, pico de gallo, and reduced fat sour cream on a bed of tortilla chips.

By weight, XXL Steak Nachos are almost twice the size of an order of Nachos BellGrande (503g to 305g). That's over a pound of food.