I’ve wanted to try the pumpkin Pocky ever since I discovered it on the Pocky Gallery two years ago. I silently craved to try this Pocky, only voicing my desire twice. But apparently, someone was listening, and that someone was David. He found “Lovely Halloween” at our local Chinese grocery, of all places. The expiration date isn’t for another year, so I’m not minding this late Halloween treat!

Those unfamiliar with Pocky need only know this: Pocky are cracker sticks dipped in a wide variety of sweet flavorings. These coatings range from authentic Japanese flavors such as kinako, to “odd” flavors such as honeydew, to international ones such as chocolate mousse.

There’s nothing exceptionally spectacular about Pocky besides the interesting variety it comes in. The Decorer varieties are a real treat, however, as this line of Pocky is loaded with thick layers of creamy goodness, and look like cupcakes on sticks.

Trying each variety to taste how well Glico captured the essence of the flavor is the real reason I eat Pocky. Plus the crunch from the cookie/ cracker gives me my texture fix.

Packaging

What clever marketing! Glico took flavors already in their Pocky lineup, and with some creative packaging, transformed them into seasonal sellers! “Lovely Halloween” is what this variety pack was dubbed. The graphics are attractive and beautifully rendered with appealing shades. The strawberry Pocky sports an ichigo jack o’ lantern wearing a witch’s hat, the milk Pocky has a weird marshmallow-o’-lantern-ghost thing, and the pumpkin displays a standard American jack o’ lantern.

Pumpkins, stars, and bats adorn the box on all sides. On the back, there’s even an instant costume in the way of an ichigo o’ lantern mask for kids. Kawaii! Score: A

Appearance

Most Pocky look underwhelming; they resemble edible sparklers or incense. The Decorer (which this particular line-up isn’t) are impressive looking things.

Lovely Halloween is made up of pale orange, white covered, and pink coated cracker sticks. Whoop-de doo. Score: B+

Texture

Pocky has a satisfying crunch tempered by a sweet, creamy coating. They’re fun to eat on the go and are a real pleaser in the texture department. Score: A

Flavor

Pumpkin: What a gyp! Here I was all set to experience pumpkin goodness, but all I got was caramel! Not even kabocha, caramel. Weak. I keep waiting for some hint of pumpkin, or even pumpkin pie spice, but all that’s coming through is caramel. It’s not an unpleasant flavor, but it sure as hell isn’t pumpkin.

Why advertise this as pumpkin then??! There’s a frick’n jack o’ lantern on the box with the word “pumpkin” over it. Am I wrong to expect pumpkin? Maybe the makers of pumpkin Pocky believe American pumpkins (especially Halloween pumpkins) taste like caramel. I can’t think of a better reason for why I was so painfully cheated outta actual pumpkin flavor!!!

However, as a flavor in itself, the caramel for “pumpkin” is smooth without a bite and is not overly sweet. It’s actually tasty, but the bitterness of my pumpkin let-down makes the caramel taste like ashes in my mouth. Score: B

Milk: “Milk” reminds me of “Werther’s” toffee for some reason. It’s good and has a rich creamy taste. Score: A

Strawberry: Strawberry has a full, creamy taste and tastes like a strawberry milkshake. Strawberry milkshakes on sticks; the way of the future? Score: A

Verdict

The packaging for this variety pack makes this a visually appealing product, and at $3.60 for four packs of Pocky, this is a steal. But, don’t expect to be wowed by the flavors, all of which are available as individual flavors year round. If anything, buy “Lovely Halloween” for its aesthetics and the free strawberry witch jack o’ lantern mask.

Takoyaki (octopus balls) ia a popular must try Japanese street food which originated in Osaka. Some people think that the only way to make takoyaki is with a takoyaki pan or a takoyaki maker. Not true! You can still make this Osaka delicacy at home by using a mini muffin tin. If you don’t have some of the ingredients, no problem; I’ve listed some substitutions.

So, you wanna make takoyaki? Have your takoyaki pan or muffin tin handy? Let’s go!

Takoyaki Ingredients

Batter

• 1 1/4- 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups dashi or vegetable stock or shrimp stock

Traditional Filling Options

• Tako (octopus), lightly cooked and chopped into bite size pieces
• Tenkasu or fried batter bits or Rice Crispies, slightly crumbled
• Dried shrimp, chopped
• Green onions, finely chopped
• Beni shoga or gari or fresh ginger, finely shredded (I actually prefer the gari over the beni shoga; it’s got more flavor.)

Other Options

• Cabbage, finely shredded and chopped
• Carrot, finely shredded and chopped
• Daikon, finely shredded and chopped
• Shrimp, lightly cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
• Mussels, lightly cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
• Scallops, lightly cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
• Squid, lightly cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces

Garnish

• Mayo, optional
• ai nori (you can make this by powdering some sushi sheets in a food processor), optional
• kastobushi, optional
• beni shoga or gari, optional
• takoyaki sauce or okonomiyaki sauce or Worcestershire sauce or ketchup or barbecue sauce, optional

directions

Tako Muffies™

1.) Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Heat muffin tin in preheated oven.
2.) Beat batter ingredients together. You want to get a slightly thicker consistency for the muffies™ than with traditional balls. Use the cup and a half of flour for this.
3.) After oven and tin are preheated, carefully oil hot muffin tin.
4.) Fill muffin cups halfway with batter. Add whichever filling options you’ve prepared and top off half-filled muffin cups with batter.
5.) Cook in preheated oven for 45 minutes for full sized tin and about 17 minutes for mini tin (check back every seven minutes for mini tin to gauge progress). Tako Muffies™ are done when tops are a golden brown and are puffed up.
6.) Remove from oven and let tin cool for 6 minutes. Remove muffies™.
7.) Add garnishments and serve immediately.

Traditional Takoyaki
1.) If using cast iron pan, preheat over medium heat. If using electric maker, preheat maker.
2.) Mix batter ingredients together. For the balls, you want a thinner batter, but not too watery. You want a slightly thinner consistency than say, pancake batter. Use more or less of the flour to achieve this (Egg sizes will affect consistency. I had to finangle my batter the second time I made takoyaki since I was using smaller eggs. Do the same as necessary.)
3.) Oil preheated takoyaki pan well.
4.) Use a ladle to fill cups halfway with batter. It’s perfectly OK to slop the batter outside of the cups; it’ll all get formed into balls anyway so don’t sweat it. Add whichever filling options you’ve prepared and quickly top off half-filled cups cups with batter. Cook over medium heat.
5.) After about 20 seconds, use a skewer (a chopstick is too big, FYI, so don’t use one) to turn lightly cooked balls over (batter will still be runny and raw on top when you turn the balls- that’s the way it should be.) This part is messy and takes practice, but after your second batch you’ll be a pro! Gambatte!
6.) Keep turning balls over and gather rough, uncooked edges and other bits of batter into the main ball with the skewer (think of them as wayward balls of yarn you’re slowly gathering together. Refer to the video if you’re confused.)
7.) I like to oil the tops of the balls as I repeatedly turn them to ensure they don’t stick, but you don’t have to do that. I find they’re crisper, though, when I do oil them.
8.) Balls are done when they’re an even golden color.
9.) Remove balls from pan and add desired garnishments. Serve immediately.

Using the mini muffin tin to make this treat approximates using the takoyaki pan except that the tops won’t be as crisp as the bottoms. But the flavor is exactly the same and so is the inside texture.

I liked takoyaki because:

• It was fun to make! It’s actually a zen-like experience and very relaxing…
• Takoyaki let me experience a Japanese street food.
• It was really tasty and fun to eat

I didn’t like takoyaki since:

• It was messy to make.
• Took a while to master turning over the balls.
• The traditional ingredients are hard to come by but you can still make ebiyaki (shrimp balls) or whatever else you can get a hold of!

Try making takoyaki at home and experience the joy of Japan’s version of fast food!

Difficulty: Moderate | Time: 45 minutes | Ingredient Availability: Moderate to Difficult