So today I made one of my occasional jaunts into Chinatown at lunch. Always an adventure, even in Winnipeg’s smaller locale.  I ventured into one of the groceries in the hopes of finding my favourite type of Pretz (pizza). While I’m not sure if I found the exact same kind- the box graphics have changed somewhat- I did find a whole slew of tasty-looking flavours to try, along with a couple new (to me) Pocky flavours.

So let’s review them, why don’t we?

I’ve enlisted the help of Boyfriend Nik in the tasting process, to identify all the unique flavours (most involve cheese though). Our !LIVE! commentary is below, we started with Pretz (basically a flavoured pretzel/wheat stick kind of thang):

BAKERY FLAT STYLE

SAM: I think these are supposed to be deli-style? There’s a sub sandwich of some sort on the box. Also of note,  this kind contains “bacon extract”.
NIK: I think that’s just grease.
SAM: Touché. Thoughts on the taste?
NIK: Hint of lunch meats… sodium… kind of smoky.
SAM: I like it actually, must be the bacon extract.

BEER PRETZ

SAM: I can’t figure out from the package if these are beer-flavoured or if they are meant to go with beer. +1 point for the flames on the box though, super cool! Number one!
NIK: Smells peppery. Definitely meant to go with beer… but not beer flavoured.
SAM: Not as good as the bacon ones. Not bad though. 

CHICKEN PRETZ

SAM: This one gets extra awesome points from me, just for the sweaty cartoon chicken on the box.
NIK: Ugh, this is the worst one. And I love chicken.
SAM: Tastes like… dipping a butter coated pretzel into a pack of chicken stock from a container of Minute Noodles. Gross. I can’t believe that cool chicken let us down. Jerk.

PIZZA PRETZ

SAM: This appears to be part of the “Meets Wine” line of Pretz. Which, is fancy Pretz, I guess?
NIK: This… has the aftertaste of raw dough. Not good, not good.
SAM: And with a vague tomato sauce aftertaste, oh no. No. Giant no….. Not the Pizza Pretz I remembered. Just… no. *spit*

MOZZARELLA PRETZ

SAM: Number two in the “Meets Wine” category… man, these have just been declining as we go on. I thought the “fancy” Pretz would be the best. I’m paying for my assumptions, that’s for certain.
NIK: This is okay, mostly because the taste isn’t too strong.
SAM: Yeah, it’s actually just more buttery tasting than anything else. Which is good because the Pizza Pretz is still kind of raping my tastebuds as we speak.

Okay, well, I think the clear winner is the Bakery/Deli Pretz. Look for the Pretz with the sandwich on the box!  At least we can now cleanse our palettes with some Pocky.

For those not in the know, Pocky is basically just a simple breadstick coated in a creamy flavoured coating. Chocolate and Strawberry are the most common flavours. Here we go!

ORANGE/MANDARIN POCKY

SAM: Nice packaging. Smells very, very good and citrusy. Especially since pretty much everything I bought from that grocery kind of smells like prawn crackers.
NIK: Yeah, cool vellum packs on the inside. This tastes excellent, I would buy this.
SAM: For sure, it’s like a Creamsicle. Delightful. Way better than the usual strawberry flavoured ones. I thought this one was going to be bad when I bought. Apparently my Pocky-flavour estimating abilities are not quite up to par.

WHITE CHOCOLATE “DESSERT” POCKY

SAM: I love the super elegant cover of this one. Ooh la la, what a decadent dessert! Put these ones out for your guests!
NIK: Quite nice. Uh-oh, bad aftertaste though.
SAM: Yeah, it’s a bit coffee-ish in flavour, maybe that’s what you’re tasting? I’m not getting that. Just looked at the ingredients, and I think it’s the “chestnut powder” that I’m tasting. Still pretty decent though.

Winner: Mandarin Pocky, though there are many, many other delicious flavours to try. One of my favourites is Green Tea, though it unfortunately was not available at the grocery I went to today.

Thus ends my adventures in Asian Grocery food tasting for today. Perhaps I should make this a regular thing. Next time I’ll pick up some less mainstream stuff. Thanks to Boyfriend Nik for his help!