Glico Pocky Almond Crush

Can Pocky get any better?

The Attraction:
Anyone familiar with Asian snacks is familiar with Pocky. It's been a crowd favorite for years with it's simple, yet effective formula of chocolate-dipped biscuit sticks. As for me, after ODing on it a few years back, I've been slowing down the consumption, but today I was strolling a new Asian grocer and saw these calling my name. I've seen these around for awhile and there are several variations, but today for some reason, I felt inclined to try one of these. Perhaps the draw of almond crunch was too much to resist.

The Review
Pocky to Asian snacks is like Oreos to American snack culture. Just like any smart snack manufacturer, Glico rode the success of Pocky and created multiple alternate flavors and variations, one being Pocky with crushed almonds. Upon opening the box, it was clear that the quantity was very different. I know it's been awhile since I had Pocky, but I believe the original package has 4 packs of 8-10 sticks. This almond crunch version has 2 packs of 8-10 sticks. Burn...

I crack open a pack and take a bite....and the rest is history.

It's hard to imagine improving upon a classic, but the addition of almond crunch is amazing! 5 minutes and 2 wrapper packs on the floor later, the verdict is clear.

Come here my pretty

The Sweet:

Take all you know about Pocky and add some crunch to it. Yes, it's that much better. The almond bits add so much more, both textually and flavor-wise. It takes the once simple snack and adds some delicious complexity to a once straight forward product.

The Bitter:
Umm...only 2 packs?

I wonder if I can freebase or snort this stuff?

Conclusion:
This stuff is good. Very good. So good that this will become my new standard when I get Pocky. It's interesting how such a seemingly small addition can net such a huge gain. Speaking of small, I would love it even more if there were more than 2 packs of it in each package, but for now, I guess I'll have to buy 2 boxes every time. Damn you, Pocky!!!!

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