Do you know about Pocky and Pretz? Pocky is called Mikado in Europe and some parts of Asia. I heard it was because there is a stick game called Mikado and Pocky looks just like those sticks. Ezaki Glico prodces Pocky and another stick type snack called "Pretz". We can buy regular flavor Pretz like Roast, Tomato, Black sesame, Crispy Pizza etc,. But they also have local limited edition Pretz and we cannot buy them except for in these specialty areas, yes just like Ekiben. Those Pretz feature the flavor of each area's specialtys. However I must tell you, some of them are funny and a little bit geeky.
Here are some of them.
Giant Pretz: red salmon (Hokkaido limited-edition)
It taste like those shrimp crackers served at Chinese or Thai restaurants.
Giant Pretz: Edo-murasaki(Tokyo limited-edition)
Edo-murasaki is the paste of seaweed(Tsukudani). We usually have it with rice.
Giant Pretz: shrimp chili sauce(Yokohama limited-edition)
Why? Yokohama has a big China Town.
Giant Pretz: roast eel(Shizuoka limited-edition)
Yeah, I 've mentioned before, Shizuoka has a famous pie including eel powder.
Giant Pretz: Nozawana (Shinshu limited-edition)
This is a pickled green vegetable flavor. They had a soba flavor (Japanese noodle) before yuck!
Giant Prez: Haccho miso(Aichi limited-edition)
Haccho miso is a very sweet miso. I heard that people in the U.S eat this with rice. true?
Giant Pretz: Hakata cod ovum(Kyushu limited-edition)
Mentaiko is one of our Japanese hot foods. Great!
The local limited editions Pretz can be found in shops at the train stations or airports. They are perfectly suited for souvenirs. I live in Tokyo, which means no one brings souvenirs from Tokyo for me. So I have never tried their Edo-murasaki flavor.
And the intersting part is that they have a few "Country limited edition" flavor too. They don'tt have many versions yet, so you should request Glico to make your country's Pretz!
Guam:Coconuts Pretz.
Hawaii :Pineapple Pretz.
Thailand :Larb Pretz (I don't know what larp is! Everyone says this flavor is very hot. Does anyone know what it is?)
Canada :Maplesylop Pretz.
USA :I heard they made Honey Mustard Pretsz for the U.S version.
I supposed a beef jerky flavor is good for the U.S. no? If you know any other secret information about Prets country limited edition flavors, please let me know!
Ah in the end, I will link to a super strange Aya Matsuura TV ad for Pretz. sigh...
What? collon is much weirder?.
I love your blog very much, more more info, I will concern it again!
Posted by: mbt shoes | Thursday, September 09, 2010 at 06:16 PM
I love your blog very much, more more info, I will concern it again!
Posted by: mbt shoes | Thursday, September 09, 2010 at 05:58 PM
this is a really late response =p
there is Hong Kong limited edition of shark fin soup flavor and it is gooooooood!!
Posted by: Kcherry | Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at 05:12 AM
Larb pretz are actually named after a spicy Thai dish called Lap. It's minced pork with chillies and fresh cilantro (corriander). It is one of the tastiest flavours of Pretz I have ever eaten, but is impossible to find anywhere except Thailand. It's a spicy flavour, but is complex, and accurately reproduces some of the delicious flavours so common in Thai cooking, such as fish sauce, kefir lime leaf and lemongrass.
Posted by: Michael Jacobs | Friday, July 21, 2006 at 05:28 AM
Hello! I'm looking for the Maple Syrup flavoured pretz but can't find it! Do you know where in Vancouver, Canada can you find them? Thanks! ^_^
Posted by: Reorio | Thursday, December 08, 2005 at 02:14 PM
Having read this post, 2 days ago I was at Carrefour in Singapore and paused at the Japanese confectionery isle and was so pleased to find the honey mustard flavour Pretz. Then I promptly walked to the next isle and picked up a bag of Honey Dijon kettle chips.
Posted by: huang | Thursday, June 23, 2005 at 04:49 PM
mad beef jerky for US? Red White and Blue Coloured stix with little elephants on them? One bite and you're in a Red State of mind? They would even be able to use the same Aya CM. ;p
®rz
Posted by: robert | Tuesday, June 21, 2005 at 08:36 AM
Pocky rules!!! Pocky Enthusiast since 1978!
Posted by: AzianBrewer | Monday, June 20, 2005 at 11:26 PM
First of all, I should delte blog pet from my backyard of my blog. I am feel guilty when I saw Tokio kun's comment. It sounds like a voice of under floor I shutted up and never open. he he he
Amy thank you for your information about larb, hmm it sounds delicious. Anyway I understand Pocky and Pretz can be hot for other countries. I hardly eat Pocky but if I pick one, I love Men's pocky ( who's idea? stupid name). It is bitter chocolate taste.
Posted by: Mari | Saturday, June 18, 2005 at 02:45 PM
I've had Beer Pretz (the black box type are better than the ones in the red box), Salad Pretz (what are these supposed to taste like? please don't say 'mayonnaise'!), Tomato Pretz, Honey Butter Pretz (Mari, it was the article you wrote about the toast). I would most like to try the roast eel, hatcho miso, and mentaiko Pretz. I really love eel and mentaiko flavors!
There are lots and lots of Pocky, Reverse, Toppo, and Fran flavors here in Chicago. Mitsuwa is best if you want both Pocky and Pretz. If you go to a Korean market, like Asia Super, you will usually see all of the sweet ones, plus the Korean Pocky-like biscuits as well, mainly "Pepero". (There are others, I just can't read them.)
I have never heard of anybody in America who puts hatcho miso on rice, unless this is a macrobiotic thing. Here, many people drown their rice in soy sauce（醤油). おいくないと思もう。
Collon is a little strange...instead of saying 'Hello my esophagus', it makes me think of a procedure that would have me say "Hello my intestines"! Maybe other people think of punctuation, or the former US Secretary of State instead...
Posted by: クレア (Claire) | Saturday, June 18, 2005 at 09:36 AM
Real larb is probably good (I've never had it.), but larb-flavor Pretz are not good. They are spicy, but the flavoring is weird and I have yet to meet anyone who liked it.
Posted by: Malia | Saturday, June 18, 2005 at 01:12 AM
Aaah ! My fave snack too ! I luv the ume flavour.
In Korea, it is called Pepero and 11th November is Pepero Day (because the sticks can form 'eleven') and the guys send the gals flower bouquet with these Glico sticks.
Posted by: huang | Friday, June 17, 2005 at 07:03 PM
They had takoyaki Pretz when I was in Osaka - I didn't know they were a special edition...
Never seen maple syrup Pretz during my trips to Canada (Windsor) - but maybe they sell them only at airports that fly to Japan?
Posted by: Confusatron | Friday, June 17, 2005 at 10:37 AM
きょうmariで、ひまっぽいblogー！
tokiokunがblogされたみたい…
mariでblogする？
ここへblogしたかった。
mariでひまをblogしなかった。
Posted by: BlogPetの「tokiokun」 | Friday, June 17, 2005 at 09:48 AM
Larb (aka larp laarb laab etc) is one of my favourite Thai dishes. Here's a recipe and explanation: http://allabout.co.jp/gourmet/ethnicfood/closeup/CU20050601A/
I've never seen Larb Pretz but I bet it would be good. I did try the honey mustard and maple syrup versions (they were good) without realizing they were special country-themed editions. So is each country's Pretz available in that country, or just Japan?
Posted by: Amy | Friday, June 17, 2005 at 02:49 AM
yup, we get both Pocky and Pretz here. Although the most popular Pretz that I see in San Francisco is Tomato Pretz.
We get all sorts of Pocky here. Men's. Mousse. White. Really big.
And yah, that's one strange commercial...
Posted by: abraxis | Friday, June 17, 2005 at 02:44 AM