Choosing this Pocky to review was a no brainer. Even with my recent conversion to Toppo, I still love love love Pocky, especially crushed almond kind. I also love coconut—yep, I’m one of those people; if you don’t like coconut you should just stop reading now—in all shapes and sizes. Almond Joy and Mounds ranked among my most treasured halloween candies. Seattle’s Trophy Cupcakes has a triple coconut cupcake that makes me die and I love coconut milk in savory sauces. I’ve heard that there might be some positive health effects to eating coconut products, but really even if the stuff made you gain thirty pounds I’d probably eat it anyway and be fat and happy. 夏のココナッツ (Summer Coconut) Pocky is one of the best Pocky flavors I’ve tried.

The box for this Pocky is quite cute and reminds me of Hawaii. The background is a brilliant blue water design, and the name is written over red hibiscus flowers. I like the break from traditional Pocky colors and I think the design is very fresh for summer. Even though the box is the same size as original Pocky there are only sixteen sticks! On top of that, the sticks aren’t even full length, they’re about a quarter of an inch shorter then original Pocky. This is a travesty and a bit of a rip off. Is flaked coconut really so hard to come buy that they can’t at least make the sticks full length? I like the look of the Pocky even if there isn’t enough of it, the chocolate is nice and shiny, and the coconut flakes are stuck on quite well.

The taste is pure pleasure. The chocolate is sweet and milky and the coconut is smooth and flavorful. I’m not completely sold on the pretzel, but it adds a really nice crunch which compliments the chocolate and the coconut well. I think this Pocky has one of the best combinations of flavors and textures on the market. If you like coconut, you will love this Pocky.

I’m really happy that I bought this Pocky, and I think it’s one of Glico’s best offerings. I’m a little sad that it’s limited edition, but I think I might stash some in the freezer to save for a rainy day. I think this tropical twist on an old favorite is a great way to kick off summer. For those of you unable to get your hands on Coconut Pocky, I bet you could make something very similar with original Pocky, coconut flakes, and a blow torch.

5/5

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I’ve had a relationship with standard Pocky since 1992. I thought we were happy. I thought I was satisfied. I’m not saying I’ve never strayed. I’ve been tempted by the novelty of jumbo Pocky, I’ve dabbled in Kinoko no Yama. But I’ve always gone back to Pocky.  I thought the combination of cookie and chocolate was perfect. But now I have opened the Pandora’s box known as Gokubuko Pocky and I’m not sure I can ever go back to the regular stuff.

I wasn’t familiar with the word “gokubuso” but from what I can gather from Google, it means superfine or extremely thin. So basically Gokubuko Pocky are the Olsen twins of the Pocky world! The sticks are about the same length as standard Pocky, but they’re much thinner – somewhere between a standard Pocky and a toothpick. They have a satisfying crunch and a fantastic mouth feel. The chocolate to cookie ratio is higher than that of the standard version since the cookie is thinner. While I never thought that was something I wanted, now that I have it, I’m not sure I can go back!

I had low expectations of this product when I picked it up at the Central Market in Shoreline, WA for $1.99.  That was mostly because I had no idea what Gokubuso meant and the photo on the front of the box wasn’t particularly helpful. But now I’m hooked. I’m thinking about writing a letter to Glico to ask them to make a Gokubuso version of Tomato Pretz! My only complaint about the product would be the overly engineered packaging. I ignored the opening instructions when I opened the package. Luckily the box contains two packs so I will have another chance to master the art of opening Pocky.

Gokuboso Pocky for the win! 5/5

As you can tell from my earlier Giant Rainbow Pocky review, I am no fan of Pocky flavored with something other than chocolate, or at least incorporating chocolate in some way, but these Pocky really impressed me. They’re sweet without being too sugary. I especially like the inclusion of cranberries. I never eat much of the red fruits, but I can detect them in the mix, souring it just slightly. I can safely say this are my favorite of the non-chocolate Pocky flavors I’ve tried so far. 3/5

Pretz is not a Japanese candy. Pretz is Pocky’s evil savory cousin. Ok, so it’s not evil except that like Pocky, it’s rather addicting. I was very pleased to find Tomato Pretz because I used to eat the stuff almost daily when I lived in Japan. I haven’t had it in years, but when I put it in my mouth, there was that taste I remember.

Pretz has the same stay-fresh packaging as Pocky and each stick has a lovely crunch. Tomato Pretz has seasoning powder on it. The seasoning doesn’t really taste like just tomato – I’ve always found it tastes like the spawn of a Nabisco Chicken in a Biskit Cracker and a bloody mary. And for some reason, that leads to a major yum factor. Since this is the U.S. version, I was actually able to read the ingredients and did find an ingredient list which is quite similar to the ingredients of bloody marys (minus the vodka) and Chicken in a Biskit crackers!  I hope my dear vegetarian friend M. who introduced me to Tomato Pretz years ago in Toyama-ken doesn’t read this because turns out Tomato Pretz isn’t vegetarian and we’re not talking gelatin this time. The ingredient list includes chicken extract powder, various vegetable extracts and MSG. As I write this review, I’m realizing that ignorance really is bliss – I liked Japanese processed food better when the ingredient list was just a big ol’ mess o’ kanji!  That being said, Tomato Pretz will always have a special place in my heart (and stomach)!

This Tomato Pretz was purchased in the asian candy aisle at Central Market, Shoreline, Washington (a few miles north of Seattle.)  There are four packets of Tomato Pretz in the box. These showed up on my receipt incorrectly as GLICO ICHIGO PRETZ, but I think the price is the same – $2.59.

Tomato Pretz are a uniquely flavored, yummy, crunchy snack. And like other pretzel snacks, you can pretend you’re being somewhat virtuous because you’re having pretzels, not chips, so it’s practically health food. Recommended.  4/5

Note: Photos in this post are provided by the author/photographer and copyrighted to her. Do not reproduce without written permission from the author/photographer.

Whoever thought that cheese and chocolate went well together? Apparently Glico did, actually. You may remember that I’m a huge fan of the difficult-to-find Mont Blanc Dessert Pocky, and was reasonably happy with the Double Chocolate, so I of course picked up the new Chocolat Fromage [チョコラフロマージュ] Pocky when I saw it in my local combini. Cheese and Chocolate doesn’t sound too good to me, but, what if it’s in French?

Glico’s newest Pocky box is really nicely designed, with attractive pictures of the twelve enclosed sticks, along with bars of attractive chocolate and crumbly, white, mascarpone cream cheese. I found my boxes for ¥210, and sites such as J-List import Dessert Pocky at around $3 a box. As with all Dessert Pocky, you get a thick pretzel (although not as thick as the Giant Pocky). This is dipped in a chunky cheese mixture, and then regular Pocky milk chocolate is swirled as a wrapping. The result is a Pocky stick that looks quite nice. Spread out onto a plate, it could make a rather civilized snack with afternoon tea.

But the taste? Honestly not that bad! It helps that Glico used mascarpone, a cream cheese used far and wide in Italian desserts, most notably tiramisu. (I’ve read of the existence of Tiramisu Pocky, but have yet to see it in stores.) It’s a soft cream cheese made from cow milk, in a process similar to the production of yogurt. Combined with the chocolate, Chocolat Fromage is an entertaining diversion from your normal Pocky fare. An absolute must for anyone interested in the high-end Pocky lines. 4/5

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