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One of the most commonly requested products that I often get asked to explore further on ChocolateMission are the ever popular 'Pocky' biscuit sticks. Pocky is a Japanese snack food made by the Ezaki Glico Company of Japan, first produced in 1966 and consists of the simple combination of a biscuit stick traditionally coated with chocolate. As with almost Japanese brand in Japan there have been hundreds of different flavour variations and sub ranges of Pocky down the years - some of which I have featured on this website already (See HERE).
Today thanks to my friends at J-List I got the chance to try some of the more traditional flavours they have to offer. If you look at the J-List website you should be able to find all of these flavours available to buy. Today I will keep the words to a minimum, just enjoy the photographs and the charts:
Pocky Chocolate Flavour - Kcal 230 Fat 9.0g Fat(sats) 4.0g Carbs 33.0g (per 47.0g pack)
Those of you who have ever tried the Glico Mikado available here in the UK will be very familiar with what these had to offer. The sticks of these seem to lack a little of the butteryness of the Mikado biscuits, but the taste was still every bit as moreish. Although just stated as 'chocolate flavour' on the packaging these were most definitely more milk chocolate than dark. The cocoa was sweet, yet not overly so and the chocolate flavour hit was adequately provided with each mouthful. Just as I as I stated with the Mikado, my only real problem with these was that I still found them relatively unsatisfying. Delicious, yet totally unfulfilling.
8.2 out of 10
Pocky Milk Flavour - Kcal 120 Fat 5.0g Fat(sats) 2.0g Carbs 17.0g (per 25.0g)
I was expecting this Milk Flavour to be no different to the Mikado White Chocolate that we also get here in the UK, but they actually turned out to be really rather different. Aesthetically the pale coloured sticks looked appetising but it was the creamy aromas that really caught my attention. In terms of taste the coating was similar to evaporated milk, with a very intense sweet, sugary taste. The underlying cream flavours made this a very tasty combination with the biscuit, though once again I didn't find these to be a very satisfying snacking option. I don't think a bar of this milk flavour coating would work at all, but in this format it was pretty tasty.
7.8 out of 10
Pocky Choco Banana - Kcal 130 Fat 6.0g Fat(sats) 2.0g Carbs 16.0g (per 25.0g)
Out of all the flavours on offer today I was really looking forward to trying this Choco Banana flavour as they were a little different in proposition to the others. Unlike the other flavours which all had plain biscuit sticks, these were chocolate flavoured with a banana flavoured coating. Taking the sticks out the foil packet, a raft of very sweet banana confection smells greeted me. In both smell and taste the banana didn't come across as the most genuine or 'real', but I still found myself enjoying the oldschool confection fruitiness - think of those banana flavoured foam sweets! It has to be said the chocolate biscuit sticks weren't anything spectacular or amazingly different from the usual plainer ones which was a slight disappointment. Banana flavour fans will like these.
7.7 out of 10
Pocky Strawberry Flavour - Kcal 220 Fat 8.0g Fat(sats) 3.0g Carbs 32.0g (per 45.0g)
Finish off with the best? Unfortunately not! As you can tell from my scoring chart below I really hated these. The aromas that emanated from the foil packet straightaway struck a bad chord with me - the fake strawberry scents smelt horribly cheap and didn't excite me at all about the taste test to follow. Unfortunately I was soon to learn that the only thing that was worse than the smell of these Strawberry flavoured Pocky was indeed the taste. Just as the aromas suggested the strawberry coating tasted god awful. It had a very chemically, artificial taste that a) tasted nothing like strawberry and b) was sickeningly sweet - I needn't labour the point but these were really not to my taste at all, I wouldn't recommend them.
4.8 out of 10
Want to try these Pocky flavours for yourself? Head over to J-List - CLICK HERE
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33 comments:
That's amazing, a BnB post with products which I have actually all tested myself! My rating would also be similar to yours.
Though I would put choco banana before the dark chocolate ones, simply because it is a bit more adventurous than just chocolate. :-) I also agree that the milk ones are really nice, though I think they would be even better if they had used the same choclaty sticks as for the banana ones. Who knows, considering the crazy amount of varieties available in Japan, they might even exist.
The strawberry ones are sickingly sweet, true and taste nothing like strawberries. It generally seems to be a very difficult aroma to capture anyway. I know few strawberry sweets which actually DO taste of strawberry. Apperantly there are Pockys which have freeze dried strawberries on the outer coating and they might be better.
Lol Jim I'm loving the foursome.
I've never been a fan of these fiddly snack things but I have been known to have the odd pack of mikado on occasion. Thanks for the reviews this week :)
Yay I've always wanted you to review more Pocky :-) I thought you didn't like it very much so that's why you never reviewed it. Looking at your scores here I was wrong.
They do some really cool flavours btw. You can get much better ones than these.
Sorry to be really random but my local chinese food shop near me sells all of these flavours so I have tried them all.
My ratings would be:
milk chocolate 7/10
milk 8/10
banana 6/10
strawberry 6/10
I liked both the fruits ones when I tried them. Perhaps they changed how they made them or something? I didn't think they were artificial tasting at all.
Great reviews Jim. I've got so obsessed with mikado recently I think it's getting a bit unhealthy lol. Honestly, I eat almost a pack a day during the week lol.
I do love how they taste but I'm with you when you say they aren't a filling snack. Lol thats probably why I buy them so often.
Rxxx
Good reviews Jim I agree with your ratings for the milk chocolate and banana ones. I haven't yet given the strawberry ones a try but I don't think I will now I've read what you have said lol.
Are you planning to post some more pocky reviews soon? I was thinking of buying a load of exotic flavours in to try.
POCKY IS THE BEST!!!!!!!
I think your reviews are good but you should have given them all higher scores. They are worth more than 7s.
@Anne lol you are so right there are a crazy amount of flavours. Jim could review four a day for the rest of his life and I bet he wouldn't be able to review them all.
I fancy trying the banana flavoured ones. They do sound very nice.
You can tell just looking at the strawberry type that they are going to be really fake tasting. Why would they be pink coloured? I thought Strawberrys were red lol? Thank you for the reviews mate.
Are you starting to review things from Japan again jim? I was going to e-mail you a few days ago about when you were going to start doing so again. I got a list of stuff I want to try from jlist but it would be great seeing any reviews for them first if possible. Can I mail you please?
How random I tried the white choc Mikado just yesterday. I thought they were ok but I was a bit like you here and thought that the milk chocolate ones were better. I think when I go to buy mikado again I will just buy my normal ones.
Thanks for the reviews, I would like to know the difference between a bits and bobs post and a bits and bobs superpost though lol.
Cool post jim you got to love makido/pocky. I can eat whole boxes of them in one go. They were my favourite snack for a while but I haven't bought some for a few months now. I remember when everyone at college went crazy for them.
I've had three of these so I can tell you what I think about them.
milk chocolate, are the best in my opinion. They sound boring but you can't beat them imo. 8/10
milk, i thought these were meant to be white chocolate so I was disappointed when i had these. I sorta understand why they were weaker flavoured now. 6/10
banana, i didn't like them at first but the more i ate the more i got used to the taste. I personally thought they were a little fake tasting but each to their own. 4/10
I didn't know that the people who made pocky were the same as the ones that made mikado.
I just assumed that Kraft had been shifty and ripped them off :)
I would love to try the different flavours you've shown us here. Yes even the strawberry ;) Thanks for the pictures and reviews.
Cracking post Jim really interesting.
I think I must be the only person in the world never to have tried these biscuits, they sound really popular reading some of the responses people have read today.
Do you know any decent places where I might be able to buy some from to try? I'm interested in trying the milk choc ones for sure.
I admire your dedication posting another four reviews.
I've only ever had milk chocolate pocky and I didn't think they were anything special tbh. Obviously I can't comment on all the other flavours and how good they are, but genuinely I didn't see why everyone makes such a fuss about them.
Woop woop Pocky :) :) :)
Honestly I go crazy for Pocky whenever I see it. The last time I was in cybercandy I literally pillaged the store of all the flavours they had. The best flavour I have ever tried are these mango cheesecake ones. Honest to god they were little sticks of heaven. Try reviewing some more flavours if you can please.
Nice one Jim. It's cool seeing what you think about the different flavours. I can imagine the strawberry flavour might be a little disgusting, no one seems to have really perfected how to get strawberries in to chocolate without making them taste odd. The only one I see you have ever rated half decent is the eton mess chocolates that Hotel Chocolat make I think. It would be cool if we got some more of the flavours that they get in Japan. I hear they have hundreds, no exaggeration.
Cool website. I've been trying to buy pocky in the UK for years but have never found a reliable source. I have managed to get hold of a few of the flavours ebay now and then but it can get really expensive. It's not ideal for a pocky addict.
You do realise that half of these don't even contain chocolate right?
You could have picked some more exciting flavours if you were going to review four lol. Have you not seen all the mental ones they make?
Honestly I've see ones that have truffle middle bits, nuts, caramel in them etc Try out some more unique ones if you can.
I love the reviews today Jim I have been a big Pocky fan for years. It's nice you started off with the basics. I have tried loads of different flavours but I still agree with you that the milk chocolate ones are amongst the best. If you can still get them I can recommend the blueberry cheesecake flavour. God they were good.
Dx
If Pocky filled me up it would be the ideal snack. As much as I love how they taste I do find it annoying that they never settle my hunger at all.
While these look good I don't think I'd bother spending all the money trying to buy the from japan, theyd just be too expensive for what they are. I like the odd Mikado but theyre already expensive lol. The banana flavour has zero appeal to me, the others look ok but unless they were on cheap somewhere here (i might look in the pound shops!) I really wouldn't bother trying to buy them.
I used to be really obsessed by Pocky but my interest has waned a bit recently. They used to come up with really different flavours but all of the most recent ones have started tasting really similar.
I have tried all four of these flavours and I would say the banana were probably the most interesting. You can't beat the milk chocolate ones though, they are the classics.
I'm with alan on this. I don't think Pocky is worth the expense of buying in but that doesn't mean I don't like them.
Mikado is nice enough just to have every now and then. All the different flavours dont fuss me that much.
Man I love Pocky it's pretty annoying we have only 3 flavours in our country. I think they could make it as big as they have done in Japan if they launched it properly in the west.
Jim before I forget you might want to post this story up tomorrow
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/842665-marmite-chocolate-set-to-divide-the-public
It sounds horrible
I get a little bored by pocky, the coating always seems a little greasy to me. :/
The "Dessert" pocky I have tried is always an improvement though, so I hope we get something like that in England. :)
I wonder if J-list will send you any seasonal products to review for Autumn and Christmas? :D
Out of all these I think the banana would be the one I'd go for. I like the sound of strawberry but I trust you that it was no good, Jim.
@David - marmite chocolate? what on earth?!
Hi All,
I hope you all enjoyed reviews 12-16 for the week :D It's certainly been a busy one hasn't it! 7Days of Chocolate Reviews will be returning tomorrow! There is plenty of news items to post up.
Anne / Robert / Nigel - RE: 'Fake strawberry ones'
They were pretty abysmal weren't they. I don't understand why so many manufactures have difficulties making things taste of strawberry. Pocky aren't the only culprits, there are plenty of really poor strawberry products out there. If anyone sees the frozen dried strawberry pocky be sure to let me know where I can get them.
David / Rachel / Eric - RE: 'Pocky being unfulfilling and fiddly'
Indeed they are a bit. On the balance of things I would rather just have a normal chocolate bar because at least you normally feel more satisfied after something like that. It's the one major failing pf Pocky I think.
Golden - RE: 'Are you planning to post some more pocky reviews soon? I was thinking of buying a load of exotic flavours in to try.'
I certainly wouldn't rule it out. Jlist have just started getting new stock in.
Anon - RE: 'I think your reviews are good but you should have given them all higher scores.'
My reviews are just my subjective opinion of course. I'm always open to be challenged on it. Just leave a comment with your thoughts.
Duncan - RE: 'Why would they be pink coloured? I thought Strawberrys were red lol?'
Haha good to see I wasn't the only one wondering about this :D
Ben - RE: 'I got a list of stuff I want to try from jlist but it would be great seeing any reviews for them first if possible. Can I mail you please?'
I can't promise anything but I will certainly try my best.
Kim - RE: 'I would like to know the difference between a bits and bobs post and a bits and bobs superpost though?'
Errr haha I don't know! A superpost is all about one brand!?? It seemed appropriate at the time.
Emma - RE:'I just assumed that Kraft had been shifty and ripped them off'
Everyone is awfully critical about Kraft nowadays. I feel a little sorry for them myself. They haven't exactly uprooted many trees with their takeover. Not yet anyway :D
Justin - RE: 'Do you know any decent places where I might be able to buy some from to try?'
There have been a number of suggestions already today. It could be worth trying local chinese food stores or ebay. Failing that you always have the Jlist option open to you. They have all the latest flavours but shipping will be pricey.
Lauren - RE: 'Honest to god they were little sticks of heaven. Try reviewing some more flavours if you can please.'
I can really sense your enthusiasm for these biscuit sticks :D I will see what I can do about reviewing more of them. I hope I can put it that way.
Anon - RE: 'You do realise that half of these don't even contain chocolate right?'
You may have noticed that the rules aren't exactly set in stone on this website :D If its appropriate I will review it.
Gooner: RE: 'You could have picked some more exciting flavours if you were going to review four'
It's always good to cover the basics first. More flavours should follow soon don't you worry.
Alan / Richard - RE: ' I like the odd Mikado but theyre already expensive lol'
Really!? I see them on promotion all the time. They caused quite a stir when they launched last year didn't they. It's all gone a little quiet for them now though. I wouldn't advise anyone to pay through the nose for Pocky ever, they are nice, but never anything special.
Isobel - RE: 'I used to be really obsessed by Pocky but my interest has waned a bit recently. They used to come up with really different flavours but all of the most recent ones have started tasting really similar.'
You have just proven my point to Alan above :D thanks. I think last year people in the Far East moved on Pocky being the big thing, to Kit Kats. Thats what my Jlist contact said anyway.
Thanks for the comments everyone. I will try review some more of the unique Pocky flavours in the coming months. There are so many of them it is a little hard knowing where to start a bit. I will see what I can get out of my JList contact.
Be sure to read 7Days of Chocolate reviews this weekend.
JIM
@Nigel true, I can't think of any truly good strawberry flavored chocolates. The strawberry Pockys look the best of these to me lol so it's good to know there is the "real strawberry" flavor that might be better. cybercandy.co.uk offers it (but Jim, aren't you allergic to real strawberries?)
Last month I determined to find some Pocky and the only kind our Korean shop had was 'Men's Pocky' with dark chocolate. Fortunately I was still able to get away with buying these with the excuse that I had one to split the pack with lol, I was introducing my cousin to Pocky/Mikado too. We both thought this flavor was really tasty so I would recommend it.
@Emma I didn't realize Kraft did these, either. lol I'm still mad at them for taking over a cultural icon, and I'm even part American...I wish it had been possible to sell it to the British public instead, like a co-op. I wonder too how this will affect Cadbury in America, since it is/was made by rival Hershey's.
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