I've come to accept that often for me, how good or bad I judge something is based on my expectations and how the reality measures up to those expectations, so when I saw this treat sitting on my local Asian grocer's shelf promising a chocolate exterior with a pudding filling, I was excited to give it a go.
The Attraction
Chocolate and pudding, hello?
The Review
To add to the anticipation of trying this product, my fellow snack club members were either away or too full to participate for several days, so the build up was crazy. First thing to note was each "bar" was individually wrapped. Each bar is about the length of a Twix bar, but completely round vs. a Twix bar that has a "flat" bottom.
My initial thought after unwrapping one and taking a bite was "Where the hell is the pudding?!" I found that the core of the Choco Roll isn't actually pudding itself, rather pudding flavor! WTH! Now, I'm no food engineer or rocket scientist, so I don't know if it's possible to even have such a product with actual pudding inside a chocolate "shell", but I frankly didn't care. You tell me; look at the photo of the product above and wouldn't you be led to believe that pudding was going to be inside this mofo? Well, as it turns out, the core of the Choco Roll is actually closer to a dry egg roll-ish flour based concoction. No pudding! I was completely going to bash this product, but I took a step back, put on my pro snacking hat and decided to judge this item again giving up my expectations.
The Sweet
The portions are generous per roll for an item like this. They are larger than most other chocolate related items I've tried from Asia. The filling isn't overly sweet which is nice as it doesn't overpower the chocolate exterior. It makes the overall bar a quick and easy eat without feeling "tired" of the sweetness like some other chocolate products.
The Bitter
No Pudding! In addition to it's inaccurate depiction of the product on the outside of the box, I wish the core of the Choco Roll was more definitive. The core itself was mealy; not completely dry, yet not moist. It was slightly damp. I think a drier, crisp core would have proved to be a nicer contrast with the smooth chocolate outer layer.
At about $2 a box and 6 rolls inside each package, the price is right. Unfortunately, for me, this product may have been doomed from the beginning as my expectations and the actual item were worlds apart. Where I looked to find a jackpot of pudding goodness, I was forced to settled for a slightly sweet crumby filling. If you enjoy egg rolls and wonder what a crushed up one would taste like covered with chocolate, then I would invite you to give this guy a try, but with a word of warning to not make the same mistake I did; imagine what you think this would taste like and throw it out the window...and then actually try it.
