(SPOT.ph) There's a lot we love about being our present adult selves, but every so often (like, say, when work and life stress gets too dang overwhelming) we find ourselves waxing poetic about our childhood. If there was anything we sure loved in our younger years, it's the classic Pinoy gummy confection known as Potchi! Its most popular iteration is dubbed Strawberry Cream—essentially pink-and-white blobs flavored like its namesake, melding fruity and creamy worlds in a chewy, sweet medium—and to this day it remains as famous a Filipino icon as ever. So imagine how excited we were when we found out that Potchi actually has a variation of their gummies that are patterned after cupcakes. You can even get them delivered!
Also read: Nostalgia: Pinoy Childhood Sweets We Miss the Most
Yup, good ol' Potchi has a cupcake-themed version and here's where to get it:
The packaging alone is enough to get us squealing, as Potchi Cupcake goes for a real whimsical look. Check out that bright pink-plus-blue color scheme, which is on the vibrant side—think pastel, but with the saturation turned up just a touch—and which basically screams "FUN." And then you get to the candies themselves, which take on a similar mound-like form to Strawberry Cream Potchi—but a tad puffier, with a two-toned appearance that's white on one side and colored (with a bit of an embossed swirly pattern) on the other. (More on those colors later.) We're guessing they're meant to resemble cupcakes, with the white base serving as the "cake" and the swirly colored end being the frosting!
Each pack's got four colors, which each represent different flavors: pink for Strawberry Cheesecake, yellow (as per the mockup on the package, at least—IRL it's more a pale orange) for Mango Cheesecake, blue for Blueberry Cheesecake, and brown for Choco Cookies Cheesecake. They all share the trait of having subtly crystallized exteriors seemingly dusted with granulated sugar, and slightly dry but soft and foamy interiors that deliver a satisfying chewiness.
As for why they went for 'cheesecake' instead of cupcake for the actual flavor names, we don't know; they've also all got a cream-like undertone taken different directions depending on their flavors, but we'd describe the resulting sensation more as cake-y (if not basically milky) than cheesecake-y. That we can take, but how do the flavors fare vis-a-vis what they're meant to taste like?
Let's just say some do better than others. The Mango Cheesecake, for one, is strange, tasting more of artificial (if not almost air freshener-esque) orange. The Blueberry Cheesecake—which is more a baby blue than blueberry cheesecake's typically more purplish hue—is slightly better: it tastes more like Berry Blue Jell-O crossed with ramune soda than actual blueberries, but it's strangely enjoyable in its own right. On the somewhat more accurate end of the spectrum is the Strawberry Cheesecake; it's got a mild berry flavor that isn't as tangy as Potchi Strawberry Cream, but still has that loosely fruity character to it. The best of the bunch is probably the Choco Cookies Cheesecake, what with its mellow cocoa note that almost, almost sates the hankering for chocolate milk.Â
Of course, we're probably nitpicking; this being commercially available candy, it's obviously not fair to expect them to taste 100% exactly similar to their respective desserts. The point of this candy is to deliver a playful and sugary bite that'd evoke memories of the more carefree times of your life—and that's precisely what it delivers. If anything, we do wish they could turn up the flavor intensities up a notch as they're a tad drowned out by the cream element; still, we'd be lying if we didn't admit we found ourselves going back for piece after piece after piece.
Where to Order Cupcake Potchi
Cupcake Potchi is conveniently available through Anson's Supermarket on GrabMart, where it goes for P17 for an 85-gram pack; note that stocks will vary per branch. You can also order from mother brand Columbia Candies' official Shopee and Lazada shops, though as of writing it's sold out.
For orders, find Anson's Supermarket on GrabMart, or visit Columbia Candies' official shops on Shopee or Lazada. You can also check out Potchi's Facebook page.
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