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Pocky (and Pocky-like snacks)

stefanyb

By stefanyb
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Mooshmouse

Mooshmouse

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gallery_18820_1156_15659.jpg

Honey Mustard Pretz

In a word, meh. Not bad, just boring. I kept waiting for something to happen tastewise but nothing did, kind of like waiting for Godot. There was a bit of an initial tang, almost French's mustardesque, yet nothing after that but the taste of the pretz itself.

Oh well. Win some, lose some. This one came out at a draw.

Joie Alvaro Kent

"I like rice. Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2,000 of something." ~ Mitch Hedberg

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MaggieB

MaggieB

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I was surprised and delighted (shocked and incredulous, actually) to notice that my local Wal-Mart carried Pocky! This is a small town in Central PA and I never in a million years expected to find something so exotic! I of course immediately bought a box (dark chocolate), and presented them to my family. They were not as excited as I was (who could be) but they said they were "fine". If I hadn't recently descovered eGullet, I would not have known what those little sticks were!

Maggie

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jhlurie

jhlurie

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They will think you are even weirder if you enthusiastically show them the Japanese TV commercials and exclaim how wonderful THOSE are.

Japanese women singing in French? Huh? (requires Quicktime)

also: other commercials (there's a total of about 7 or 8 of them up there now, but over time they seem to periodically add new ones and subtract ones no longer airing)

Jon Lurie, aka "jhlurie"

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prasantrin

prasantrin

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In some thread somewhere in e-Gullet, someone mentioned finding Maple Syrup Pretz in Canada. It's now available in Japan! It's a limited edition, and for some reason came out at the same time as Potato Cheese.

People I've offered it to have liked it. I must admit, I find it a bit artificial-tasting. I'd rather dip some pretz into real maple syrup. Mmmmm...

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jhlurie

jhlurie

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:biggrin: Great commercials!

They've updated the image of Pocky a bit in these commercials in an attempt to try and make it seem "hip", I guess. The older ones which were on that site a year or two back seemed to be much more about young girls in school outfits (literally) singing Pocky's praises (I seem to recall the song was something very complex... like "Pocky, Pocky, Pocky, Pocky").

Okay... I guess watching this new bunch that's STILL close to what's happening, but this time they are using loud rock music in the background. :laugh: And only about half the commercials seem to be using the school girl thing now.

Perhaps one of our Japanese members can translate the commercials for us (although perhaps not the weird "French" one), but really it's pretty obvious what's going on in most of them.

Oh... Pretz appears to have commercials online too. I've never looked at those before.

Jon Lurie, aka "jhlurie"

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torakris

torakris

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They will think you are even weirder if you enthusiastically show them the Japanese TV commercials and exclaim how wonderful THOSE are.

Japanese women singing in French?  Huh? (requires Quicktime)

also: other commercials (there's a total of about 7 or 8 of them up there now, but over time they seem to periodically add new ones and subtract ones no longer airing)

some translations:

There is writing on the French one but it is too light for me to read most of it....

The Mousse Pocky, the girl is waving the Pocky stick and saying yawarakai (it's soft) over and over, then a man's voice comes on and says something like fuwafuwa huippu no mousse pocky ga demashita. Fuwafuwa is soft and fluffy and huippu is the word whip as in whipped cream. So essentially "the soft and fluffy shipped mouse pocky is here".

On the page that shows 5 of them the first one is saying over and over "anata mo watashi mo pocky" Anata is you watashi is I (myself), so basically it is something like "Your pocky and my pocky".....

The second one is the same music and the mother steps into the room breaking up the almost kiss and says I brought a snack for you. Then music continues with more of the "pocky for you and me" song.

the rest are all the same song...

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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torakris

torakris

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I was scanning the snack area of a nearby convenience store today and found this

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kurogoma pocky (black sesame seed flavor)

It says on the package that it is a kurogo (黒五) blend meaning it is a mix of 5 black seeds/grains/beans/whatever dry.gif .The 5 include:

black sesame

black rice

black beans

black pine nuts (I never knew these existed..)

black currant

These are actually quite good, the first one was a bit odd but aws I got used to the sweetened sesame flavor I really started to enjoy them.

The price on them was 200yen ($2) which is about 50 yen ($.50) more than your average pocky. When I made my way up to the register though I noticed a large display saying they were on special for only 100 yen ($1) a box), which is very cheap!

I may head back for some more. biggrin.gif

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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mona

mona

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Has anyone tried the Lemon Cheesecake Kabaya? I'm extremely wary of any of the white Pocky and Pocky-like sticks, since white chocolate makes me nauseous for some reason. Also, I tried the Royal Milk Tea Mousse Pocky several weeks back but unfortunately for me it was like eating perfume. I'm trying to branch out from just the Decorer and Mild Chocolate Mousse ones. Is the kabocha Kabaya any good?

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prasantrin

prasantrin

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Has anyone tried the Lemon Cheesecake Kabaya? I'm extremely wary of any of the white Pocky and Pocky-like sticks, since white chocolate makes me nauseous for some reason. Also, I tried the Royal Milk Tea Mousse Pocky several weeks back but unfortunately for me it was like eating perfume. I'm trying to branch out from just the Decorer and Mild Chocolate Mousse ones. Is the kabocha Kabaya any good?

I've had some and I didn't like it. Very artificial in flavour, and there was some other funky aftertaste. I agree with you on white chocolate-based Pocky--though for me pretty much any white-chocolate based anything is bad. The exceptions would be Matcha Mousse Pocky and Cafe Latte KitKat. Those rock! Oh, and original Clodhoppers--much better than the chocolate ones.

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mona

mona

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Has anyone tried the Lemon Cheesecake Kabaya? I'm extremely wary of any of the white Pocky and Pocky-like sticks, since white chocolate makes me nauseous for some reason. Also, I tried the Royal Milk Tea Mousse Pocky several weeks back but unfortunately for me it was like eating perfume. I'm trying to branch out from just the Decorer and Mild Chocolate Mousse ones. Is the kabocha Kabaya any good?

I've had some and I didn't like it. Very artificial in flavour, and there was some other funky aftertaste. I agree with you on white chocolate-based Pocky--though for me pretty much any white-chocolate based anything is bad. The exceptions would be Matcha Mousse Pocky and Cafe Latte KitKat. Those rock! Oh, and original Clodhoppers--much better than the chocolate ones.

I was wondering about the kabocha Kabaya especially since the box seemed especially large compared to the Pockys and Pretz. I guess I won't give it a go then; I don't really like pumpkin anyway. Thanks for your input! :smile:

Reverse Pocky and Pocky G are must-tries right? I can't find Reverse Pocky here and the only Pocky G they have is the Berry one. As for the Mousse variant; only the chocolate and royal milk tea ones are available. I have been longing for the Matcha one since I first heard helen jp (I think it was Helen) mention it. But I find green tea unbelievably bitter. We'll have to wait and see then.

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jhlurie

jhlurie

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Reverse Pocky might not even be sold anymore--I got the impression it was a limited time thing. But it's essentially very similar to "regular" Pocky G--which is still made.

Personally I think a nice "starting" pocky might also be the Strawberry Mousse flavor, but that's just my preference. I think it's the best of the various "berry" variants.

Jon Lurie, aka "jhlurie"

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Tess

Tess

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I have been longing for the Matcha one since I first heard helen jp (I think it was Helen) mention it. But I find green tea unbelievably bitter. We'll have to wait and see then.

I don't think the matcha Pocky is very bitter; in fact, I was disappointed and thought it didn't have enough taste to cut the white-chocolately mouuse.

My favorite is still Men's Pocky.

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Mooshmouse

Mooshmouse

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Reverse Pocky might not even be sold anymore--I got the impression it was a limited time thing.  But it's essentially very similar to "regular" Pocky G--which is still made.

Reverse Pocky is still available here; it was on the shelf during my last snack shopping trip two weeks ago.

Joie Alvaro Kent

"I like rice. Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2,000 of something." ~ Mitch Hedberg

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torakris

torakris

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reverse Pocky is still available almost anywhere in Japan as well.

I have seen teh leomon cheesecake Pocky all over the place but have no intention of trying it as I don't care for either white chocolate or cheesecake.....

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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mona

mona

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Today I went out with the sole purpose of getting Matcha Mousse pocky. Me and the best friend didn't expect to find it, because up until now, the only Mousse pockys available were the Chocolate and Royal Milk Tea variants. Surprisingly, they did have the Matcha Mousse pocky (as well as the adzuki one) but even more surprisingly, it was twice the price of normal pocky!!! Why is this so? Is this the same in the States and in Japan? It can't be a promotional price since if it were, it would be cheaper. I am baffled.

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TheFoodTutor

TheFoodTutor

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Posted (edited)
On the page that shows 5 of them the first one is saying over and over "anata mo watashi mo pocky" Anata is you watashi is I (myself), so basically it is something like "Your pocky and my pocky".....

The second one is the same music and the mother steps into the room breaking up the almost kiss and says I brought a snack for you. Then music continues with more of the "pocky for you and me" song.

Initially, I translated this pretty much that way, but given the context of the commercials, I took a different slant. I thought they were saying "Anata mo watashi no Pocky," indicating (since this is a commercial for Men's Pocky) that the young women were defying the labels on the boxes, choosing which type of Pocky is for them.

The stories in the commercials indicate that these women suffer consequences from their choice of Pocky in their love lives. The girl who chooses regular Pocky (not Men's) struggles with her beating heart as she offers some to the boy in the schoolyard. The other girl who likes regular Pocky is confronted with this reality as she's trying to steal a kiss with her boyfriend, when her mother comes in to offer her her regular snack. The other girls who like Men's Pocky seem to be indifferent to men in some way. It's all part of the overly dramatic nature of Japanese film, in my perspective.

I guess I take my Pocky a little too seriously. :laugh:

However, I have no explanation for the girl who twists her ankle while carrying the Pocky.

Edited by TheFoodTutor (log)

The Food Tutor

My eGullet foodblog.

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  • 2 months later...
chocomoo

chocomoo

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I bought a couple of weeks ago - blueberry yogourt Fran! I don't normally buy Fran because it costs so much more than Pocky & Pretz, but I couldn't resist promise of blueberry! The yogourt coating didn't make much of a difference, but the blueberry flavour was :wub: Not as sweet or fake as I was expecting it to taste - perfect!

31885672_d1c92ab6ed_o.jpg

Edited by chocomoo (log)
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  • 3 weeks later...
torakris

torakris

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Following up on their black sesame Pocky they seem to be continuing in the "healthy" 5 grain mode:

gallery_6134_1003_8968.jpg

kinako Pocky

Kinako is roasted soy bean powder and these Pocky are for any fan of this, these are really great! I am going to be back in the store for more of these and the black sesame ones.

EDIT*

next to them is a white chocolate-maple syrup flavored kit kat, it's a dud don't bother...

Edited by torakris (log)

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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