Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Kabaya Matcha Pakiri

Matcha Pakkiri

Normally, I don't go for Pocky or Pocky-clone snacks, but the lure of matcha made me buy these. Unfortunately, they were a little melted (as I suspect they were shipped during summer to the store from which I bought them), but I don't think the taste was affected.

Kabaya is a big snack company, but this snack is definitely a Pocky-clone. According to the package, these are extra crunchy sticks, and should make a "snap" noise when eaten (paki, in Japanese onomatopoeia).

Matcha Pakkiri

The scent of matcha was very strong when I opened the package, which is always a good sign for me. The flavor of the matcha white chocolate coating was also strong, just how I like it. However, they were not kidding about these being crunchy.

The stick part was very hard, crunchy, and a little tough on my teeth. It also had a distinctly salty flavor that I didn't love, but didn't hate. The saltiness was especially apparent in the aftertaste. So, even though I loved the matcha flavor, the stick wasn't to my liking.

I should mention that I wrote those notes about the crunchiness the day I opened the package. After a day or two of being opened, the sticks seemed a little softer and I liked the Pakiri better. However, if you like crunchy snacks, eat these right away.

B-

Kabaya website

3 comments:

Orchid64 said...

The one thing I'm starting to love more and more about Japan is the way in which things are individually wrapped or in small portions. I really don't like having to eat all of something at once to stop it from becoming stale!

I guess one of the sure signs that I've been here too long is that I actually prefer smaller portions rather than complain about how expensive they are. ;-)

ebidebby said...

I do like that, too. Halloween is a good time in the US for big bags of smaller portioned items, though!

We have some "100 calorie pack" type snacks here that come pre-portioned, and many people call them wasteful and a rip-off...but I agree, it's very convenient!

Par said...

They really look like pocky, I think I only try this brand once but I forgot what it was. But the look of it, makes me want to give it a try.