Crushed Fruits Blueberry Yoghurt Pocky [@NLi10]

 Pocky was the first ever review I did for this site - mumble mumble - years ago... so when I spot an exciting variant in the wild I like to give it a go. In fact there is a Blueberry version in that original review - but in the 4 per pack tiny version.

I love blueberries, I love Pocky.  I also love Double Happiness (which at our take-away is two chicken fillets battered on a bed of fried rice with katsu sauce)

Here it just means fruit bits and fruit fondant - which is about as luxurious as the Pocky brand gets.

Far from my 35p a box Thai Pocky this is the top of the range and worth every penny. Still from Thailand like all the best Pocky flavours are, and this one sparkles with every bite and was well worth picking up.

What if Pocky was ALL The Chocolate? [@NLi10]

 Gone are the days when Pocky was a niche import snack when I first reviewed it here 15 or so years ago (gulp!).  Now they show up all over the place - and I found a version in a Korean grocer I'd not seen before - 60% chocolate - on a chocolate flavour stick!

Super luxury presentation and a double helping inside.  I do miss the days when the little boxes were 30p, this was £2.50

All the info is here as you'd expect.

And they have a lovely thin pack to keep them super fresh

Although these must have got a bit heated at some point as the moisture is escaping.  They do taste great however - very chocoaltey and the sticks are like a bourbon biscuit - yum!

I think these absorb moisture even faster than the normal version though as the sticks were soft on day 3 :(  have to eat them all in one sitting instead!

More of a treat than a routine snack though.  Unless you can get them for cheap Thai prices.

Oreo mini cocoa puffs - from China - like mini Oreo pockets [@NLi10]

 In the haul from the Korean supermarket last week I picked up some bits for me.  That included these from the 'exotic Oreo' section.

These are made in China, and the translator tells me the are Chinese too - and called Oreo Mini Cocoa Puffs.  I got Strawberry & Peach.

As usual the boxes are designed to keep them safe and make you think there are loads.  This is standard though - no complaints here.

And the things themselves are tiny too - but that just means the little bag is full of them!

And the creme is still creamy which is unusual - often these dry out in the panda shaped chocolate versions.  And boy is the taste/smell strong!

If you want to you can even visit a brightly coloured website about them too - I think there is a link to a free draw for an exquisite gift in a game, but Google didn't really understand that bit.

Peach looks the same

Maybe a little juicier - with the same cocoa wafer outside.

Nice enough as a little flavour burst - like a boiled sweet - but nothing to eat a bag at once of.

I'll stick to the raspberry & blackcurrant Pocky!

Pepero - snowy almond - heatwave resistant Choc style snacks (@nli10)

 I’ve been writing these for so long it’s inevitable that we come full circle - my first ever post here was about Pocky - the lovable Japanese stick of chocolate. Today we are talking about something I picked up while it was far too hot - Pepero - which is basically the same snack. Only I got these from Sainsbury’s - a big supermarket - instead of obscure speciality oriental grocery stores. How times have changed.

It says it’s huge in Korea - and who am I to disagree - it’s certainly a nice treat.

Manufactured in Korea, and imported ready for the heatwave, these are not quite chocolate coated, but have a little cocoa butter in with all the usual suspect ingredients. 18% almonds is quite high - hooray!

Certainly has visible, recognisable ingredients from both the looks and tastes. It’s a creamy delight.

And when it’s hot, you can hold the stick part so that you don’t melt all the good things and get it all over you. It’s like a pre-made KP dip if anyone is old enough to remember those.

While bread sticks and oil fondant stuff doesn’t sound dreamy - it’s a lovely little sweet treat and very sharable.  It’s kind of odd that it’s taken a decade or so for mainstream supermarkets to pick these up, but I’m glad they are easier to find now.

Matcha Green Tea Pocky from Japan [by @NLi10]

You may recognise this picture from a previous review where we talked about the meiji product.

Today we move on to the Pocky!

This is done using the deluxe Pocky method of sticking bits of the ingredient to the outside of the sticks and making the flavour much stronger.

and in this case the sticks themselves are green too! Bonus!

While the matcha taste is not as strong as in the Meiji biscuits it's still very noticeable and not just a regular green tea Pocky taste.  The inside bags contain 6 sticks, and there are 4 of these so it's a decent sized package.

The texture and signature Pocky snap are both as you'd expect and while possibly not as morish as the regular flavours I did find myself finishing the first pack and thinking about the others.  They went well with a  cup of regular English tea too!

More of a treat than a standard choice, but a nice present from Japan and something to savour.

ChocOle Milk and Dark - DeBeukelaer [by @NLi10]

Pocky is brilliant. It's chocolate on a stick - it doesn't get on your hands and the stick is edible loveliness. What isn't to love.

I found this new euro version in Waitrose just before Christmas and decided it looked worth a shot. The main differences are that the chocolate is genuine top quality Belgian choc and the sticks are a bit twirly.

The box is also a bit special - you rip off a tab and the whole top comes off - ace!

Then you struggle to get the top back on to put them in your bag, and the top just slides off again.  Not ace. This design however is perfect for a party, sharing in the cinema and other occasions but I can't help thinking I'd maybe like a pocket version too. Or a tab that slots in to hold it on.

The chocolate is also noticeably thicker than your normal Pocky but falls off quite easily too - the stick isn't as textured as the Thai original so some topping will be worn accidentally on the lap.

The milk version is very creamy and was loved at the tasting sessions by the Dairy Milk crowd. I preferred the dark choc version, but it didn't knock my socks off. Those who were not Pocky aficionados at the table liked them best. I've had Man Pocky/Pocky Dark so know the true power of the bitter sticks of doom.

These are very very impulsive snacks and an open box soon gets finished, and I'm glad to see more companies exploring this space. With the current trend for all things exotic I'm continually surprised that Glico don't just dump a load of real import Pocky with one of the major supermarkets. 

Sure - this has much higher quality chocolate, but the sticks aren't anything special so it becomes a novelty snack. I'd try any new varieties they bring out in a heartbeat, but for my everyday needs my local oriental grocers sell Pocky pretty cheaply. Pocky addiction is real.