May 5th: Glico Pocky Dessert Chocolat Fromage

Fancy trying these Glico Pocky Dessert Chocolat Fromage for yourself? Head to J-List

Kcal 97 Fat 5.3g Carbs 11.0g (per 17.9g packet)

This review starts with some good and bad news. The bad news is that I am coming to the end of my latest sample package from J-List Boooo! The good news is that today I get to complete a long standing request from ChocolateMission reader Steven, who what seems like ages ago now asked me to review these Pocky Dessert Chocolat Fromage. In fact, Glico Pocky is one of the most commonly mentioned ranges when it comes to reader requests, and I have to admit up until this point I probably haven't really paid enough attention to this particular part of the Japanese market. In an attempt to start putting things right today, I bring you my review of these Chocolat Fromage flavoured Pocky, which I believe sits in the higher end 'Desserts' part of the range.

This particular variant came segregated in to five 17.9g packs that consisted of three stick pieces in each. In previous experiences with the Pocky range I have always thought that the presenatation has been of a great standard, however these Chocolat Fromage took things yet another step further and really came across as premium offering from the brand. The sense of premiumality was driven mostly by the prestigious looking design of the outer box which was beautifully designed with well placed branding and pictures. Inside the actual Pocky was equally as pleasant on the eye, and if you look above you will hopefully be able to determine that the stick pieces were far thicker than standard Pocky, with each decorated with a generous beige coloured coating with woven chocolate on top.

Once I had finally got over marvelling at the aesthetic beauty of the Pocky the next thing I took notice of was the strong toffee yogurt like scents that were emanated from each of the individual plastic packets. As good as the Pocky smelt and looked, the true determinant was of course going to be the taste, so I straight away set about putting them to the test. Taking my first bite from the tip of one of the sticks I was first struck by a sweet tasting milk chocolate which was a nice way to start each bite as the chocolate flavour hit was established from the outset. As the chocolate melted away smoothly, the under fromage layer was exposed and it soon had an equally strong say in the taste. The fromage element brought a delicious cream cheese like influence, and it's yoghurty nature reminded me of the sort of flavours you get from mascarpone desserts like cheesecake. The base sticks were nothing more than what you would expect from Pocky, with their crunchy nature bringing all the usual moreish wheaty, brown sugar flavour notes to the party. In comparison to other Pocky products I have had previously I felt these were more satisfying, and found just one of the five mini packs a decent amount for a light snack.

Overall although I don't have extensive experience with the brand, I have to say that these were the best Pocky I have ever tasted. I guess having tasted only four other Pocky variants previously it isn't the greatest claim to make, however if you ignore that and just look at the scoring matrix it should give you some sort of idea of how much I liked these. If I was to sum up the taste in just three words I think it could be best described as 'delicious chocolate cheesecake'. Indeed, the flavours were very reminiscent of slightly tangy mascarpone and the generous portioning of the woven chocolate that coated each piece proved to be not only there for decoration, but also to ensure that the all important chocolate flavour hit was present in each and every bite. One of the most frustrating things I find with products like Mikado and Pocky is that they are often annoyingly moreish, but this wasn't quite the case here. The three sticks per pack made for decent sized portions, and whilst I could have easily eaten more at a time I thought that it was a sensible amount for each serving. If you are a Pocky fan then I would really recommend these a flavour well worth trying. After this success I am very much open to more requests for other flavours of Pocky that I should review.

8.5 out of 10