I love Pocky. I’ve tried regular Chocolate Pocky and even Green Tea Pocky, but I hadn’t tried this one, called Men’s Pocky. I’m not sure why it’s called Men’s Pocky, but I’ve heard that it’s because it’s not as sweet as regular chocolate Pocky.
What is Pocky? It’s an unsalted pretzel/biscuit stick covered with chocolate. Simple, crunchy, sweet and smooth.
It’s really a simple candy, or perhaps it’s a snack. I don’t care what you call it, it’s good. The pretzel base is crunchy and actually rather bland with has a wonderful consistent crisp to it that stands up to the chocolate. The chocolate is smooth and sweet with a hint of dry bitterness. Unlike the regular Pocky that I tried, this one has far less trans fatty acids (.5 grams for half the box). Of course there’s also 5 grams of protein in each serving.
The snack is a pretty good value as imported candy goes - it’s a 100 gram box and I picked it up at regular price at Mitsuwa for $1.59. In fact, I found it hard to eat a full serving of it. The box has two pouches in it and the box protects the long sticks from getting broken. In fact, this is my fourth box of Pocky and I’ve never had a broken one.
I have some of these in the cupboard that I just picked up from Mitsuwa last week. Now I can’t wait to try them!
And since I’m de-lurking, I have to tell you that I loved the See’s Awesome Nut & Chew Bars. I bought a box via mail order on your recommendation and I’ve been working my way through them happily! You are truly an enabler. Thanks for the great candy reviews—keep ‘em coming!
My husband and I love Pocky, but we haven’t tried this one. Seems a bit sexist to make the one for men healthier!
I love Pocky! The best part about living in Japan is the wide variety of Pocky at the grocery store. Have you ever seen black sesame Pocky in LA? That’s my favorite by far—the sticks are covered in white chocolate with pulverized black sesame. Only slightly sweet and really delicious.
Yesterday I found myself in need of a mental health break and that usually calls for a drive. Instead of just driving until I felt like turning back I decided to head for Jungle Jim's for a bit of a…
I agree with Anjali that the black sesame Pocky is SO FREAKIN’ GOOD, OH GOD. I mean. I really like them. The soybean powder ones are also really good, right up there with the black sesame.
I have to third the comment about black sesame Pocky. I am a Pocky fiend, and the black sesame is the best I’ve tried so far.
Lucky. All the Pocky I get are always broken and melty…T-T
oh how I love the Pocky! Strawberry Pocky are pretty good, but I think the chocolate is the best.
I found the black sesame “Kurogoma” Pocky last week, and it’s replaced Men’s Pocky as my favorite!
You would think being in Hawaii I could find a wide variety of Pocky, but all I’ve seen are the chocolate, strawberry, and Men’s Pocky. But we do have grape Mentos.
*embarassed to death*
First, sorry for that stupid trackback above - I had accidentally turned on autodiscovery and turns out it is brually stupid and jammed a trackback in the first place it found - comments for this review. If you can then just kill it.
Second, I’ve only ever had Pocky once. Am I really missing something special here? The black sesasme sounds very good to me and now you’ve got me curoius about the Men’s Pocky.
What is the difference between regular Pocky and Men's Pocky?...
I just sent a trackback from a post I made from 1 year ago about Men’s Pocky. The comments are the best.
William - hey, I’m just glad it’s a real trackback instead of the other trackbacks I’m getting for those fake blogs about house refinancing and acne.
If you’re a crunch/chocolate fan (I love chocolate covered pretzels) then this might be your kinda thing.
Joz - thanks ... I remember reading that post (but I probably didn’t see ALL the comments ... hee!).
Julie - now I want a case of Awesome Nut & Chew Bars! I went to the mall twice last week, but not a mall that had a See’s in it!
Anjali (and everyone else) - thanks for the testimonials - I’ve GOTTA get some of that Black Sesame Pocky now! I didn’t see it at Mitsuwa ... looks like an internet order is in my future.
this cracks me up! Men’s Pocky! that’s all i have to say really.
well, maybe one more thing… one of my favorite candy/treat stops is Sanrio Surprises, and they sell Pocky. They also sell these things called Yan Yan, which look kinda like Pocky, may even be made by Pocky, but the sticks are thicker, and it’s a dip-it-yourself kinda thing. the one i bought had cute animals and sayings toasted into them, and came with a super artificial (yet somehow still yummy) strawberry flavored dipping cream. I highly recommend you try it if you see it, if just for the cute animal sticks. oh, here’s a pic of a strawberry AND chocolate one.
its called mens pocky bc it was formulated to be eaten chilled with a glass of fine single-malt scotch. no lie, i read this in saveur(?) or perhaps some other upscale foodie mag.
chiming in again to say: did you know they sell Pocky on Amazon? I sure didn’t, until just now. more expensive than your local store, but a nice variety of flavors. sadly this lovely one is sold out. my favorite Pocky is the coconut flake one. SO yummy. and if i were rich, i’d buy the 50 dollar Pocky Sampler!
Hiya Cybele,
I spotted those ‘men’s’ pocky boxes the other day at Ranch 99 when I was on a quest for malaysian rendang ingredients…
Cracked me up!! I grabbed a bunch.
(btw—I had never heard of all these other kinds before, besides regular milk choc and strawberry. So a dark choc one was positively exotic to mine eyes.)
To answer someone’s Q, I think they are deemed ‘men’s’ bc they are DARK (bitter) chocolate.
I love pocky but I *ADORE* men’s pocky bc eating ‘em makes me feel so damn macho!
torahumaddachic - thanks for the heads up on the intended purpose ... I think I could snuggle up in front of a fireplace with a snifter of cognac and a pack of these (on a silver platter of course). I’ll leave the single malt for the guys though.
sallie - awesome find on Amazon! I don’t necessarily need it, being in a big metro area, but I bet there are some folks who might want to dig in. Too much strawberry in the mix for my taste though.
Max - Ranch 99? I’ll have to stop there!
I found the Men’s Pocky at the Hong Kong Supermarket near me ... probably a month ago. I’ve been SO ADDICTED to it!! seriously the best Pocky ever!!! great review *thumbs up*
how odd, something as random as these and i can say i’ve had them… and i must agree.. YUM
This is a really late comment, but this is something random about Men’s Pocky that amused me endlessly. Back a few years ago, when it first came on the market (or when my friends and I first found it, one of the two), it had a slogan: “Men’s Pocky - For those who prefer the finer things in life.”
I don’t know why they got rid of the slogan; I thought it was a great selling point.
Maybe the slogan seemed a little sexist - like, women don’t appreciate fine things? I dunno - I don’t find it offensive really - I just wonder what “women’s Pocky” would end up being… I vote for black sesame! Holy COW those things are tasty! I was a little nervous when I bought them but after trying them I’m having to restrain myself from eating another pack - yummy!
this pocky is always a mystery….its called mens because its less sweet, or you could say robust flavour.
i just discovered your sight and its fantasstic to know before you buy.
thank you!
this taste liek sh1t!!! wow i am a real man and this is unacceptable to my manly tastebuds
growing up in singapore, i used to get these a lot when my dad came home from work. yay for being a military family!~
a few years ago he visited singapore again and brought these back.
they’re exactly the same as regular pocky, just with dark chocolate.
i’ll stick to my strawberry flavored
My brother in law bought me a box of Men’s Pocky at the Korean market. I fell in love! They’re so addictive!
It’s called Men’s Pocky probably because in Japan, it’s not masculine to like sweet things. Dark chocolate is less sweet, so it’s more manly.
I hate walmart! They get the pocky all melty!! I dont want to eat it all at once! I just want one little stick at a time!!! TT.TT
I actually just bought a box of chocolate cover pocky today from my local wal-mart it was delicious.For the amount I got out of the pack my little 6 year old cousin had like 7 or 8 sticks of it and my 16 year old cousin had only 2 but it came with like 20 or so I think.It was good and only like 2 dollars and some odd cents for the box I told my little cousin I would buy more when I had the money.I think I will go back to town tomorrow and buy him his own pack.
I got them from tomah,wi wal-mart.it was worth the price and the 6 miles that I rode in the car.
Next entry: Black Jack
Previous entry: Good News for Bloglines Readers