I love banana flavoured sweets so I couldn't wait to try these Chocolate Banana sticks from Morinaga. They were sent to me by online store, Candysan, who specialise in all kinds of Japanese sweet treats.
The photo above just about sums up everything that I LOVE about Japanese snacks. The box is design is simple but clever, it opens up easily and perfectly, creating a resealable lip as it goes. No ripping, no tearing and no need to read any instructions. Once the box is open there are 12 perfect little packages all nestled together and a big pink smiley face telling me to Take It Easy. I just adore the whole thing. You can probably tell from the Grocery Gems logo that I'm a fan of sticking smiley faces onto inanimate objects!
Each little green package has four mini chocolates sticks inside. They're not like Pocky, since there is no biscuit core inside, they are simply a thin bar shaped chocolate. They do however, contain lots of crispy rice or biscuit pieces, but the resulting flavor is more chocolate than biscuit. Surprisingly the chocolate used here is incredibly good too, it has the intense cocoa flavor of a dark chocolate and isn't overly sweet.
And now onto the banana flavouring. I have to admit a successful banana chocolate is something that I've been searching for for a while. Luckily the banana flavor in these is a complete winner - it's like a banana milkshake in chocolate. It's not a subtle barely-there taste, these are unmistakeably banana with no horrible aftertaste either. The sweetness of the banana is then followed by the hit of rich chocolate with lots of added crunchy texture. I loved everything about these, they're very small but they provide a lovely burst of flavor. Another high score from me!
This product was very kindly sent to me by Candysan for review but all views are my own.
Grocery Gems Verdict: Morinaga Koeda Banana Chocolate Sticks
RATING: 9 out of 10. Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition: 31 calories.
Purchased: Available at Candysan.
Price: ¥175 (approx. £1.14).
