Pocky and Pretz [Japan] [スイーツ]

I've been trying out the Haul from Glicopia.

Working my way through the original chocolate Pocky, Heartful Strawberry Pocky, Berry Chocolate Pocky, Extra-thin chocolate Pocky and the Milk Pocky.

It is interesting how thin biscuit sticks can turn out differently as a result of different coating.  Also, it seems that Pocky manufactured in different countries have different recipes.  

In addition to the factories in Japan, Glico has factories in China, Thailand and Indonesia.

Usually, I buy the seasonal limited Pocky Sticks, and have never tried the original chocolate Pocky made in Japan.

Compared to the Thai version, the chocolate coating of the Japanese original chocolate Pocky is less sweet, even with a hint of bitterness that I found to be less cloying.  

Thailand produces a strawberry version of Pocky, which is different from the Japanese Heartful Strawberry Pocky.  Instead of the usual biscuit sticks, the Japanese Heartful Strawberry Pocky came in biscuit sticks with a heart-shaped cross-section.  Compared to the smooth strawberry coating of the Thai version, the Japanese Heartful Strawberry Pocky strawberry coating had bits of strawberry and was less sweet.

Berry Chocolate Pocky was interesting, with chewy bits of berry enclosed in chocolate coating.

The Milk Pocky had more milk in the chocolate coating, making the coating less bitter compared to the original chocolate Pocky.