Pejoy – Chocolate

I’ve probably discussed at length by now about how I somewhat recently discovered Toppo, and how I prefer them to Pocky. Boy did I feel silly when I found out that the good people at Glico also made their own version of Toppo – Pejoy! I don’t know how I’m supposed to pronounce that name, but I’m forever going to read it as Pee-Joy, also known as that wonderful sensation of relief when you finally get to release your stream after holding it in for 5 hours (I made that up, please don’t try to look it up).

The real question now is, is Pejoy as good as Toppo? Interestingly enough, part of the reason I never noticed Pejoy is because it doesn’t seem to be that popular in Japan. Most often it’s overshadowed by it’s two titan brothers, Pretz and Pocky when I browsed grocery or convenient store aisles.

I actually found this pack at my local drug store, of all places. I’m not sure why that would be the case, but I have noticed that the Pejoy line is limited to standard flavours, while the Pocky and Pretz lines get real crazy with their offerings. Of course, all this could just be cognitive bias, and I could just as easily have confused the Pejoy packaging for Pocky. But something tells me that’s not the case. But rather than deliberate on regional preferences for snacks, let me give you my (relatively) unbiased, objective opinion on the matter. Because as well all know, I am the de-facto master of this domain, so what I say is gospel. Sometimes.

The first thing I noticed when picking this up is that it seems to be a single pouch pack. With Toppo, they usually come in packs of 2, and each pack is usually around 40g. This appears to come in at just 32g. I like to say that weight isn’t everything, and it’s how it’s used. Based on the calories, this is 150 per pouch, while most Toppo flavours come in at least 200 if memory serves. Lower calories isn’t always better, as not all calories are born equal. Sometimes more calories can mean a tastier, more filling product, so while lower calories might seem nice, it’s offset if you end up having to eat more. Balance in all things, people.

It’s rather unfortunate I don’t have any Toppo on hand (not that it usually lasts that long) to do a side by side comparison. Going off memory alone, these seem fairly similar to the smaller Toppo sticks. The sticks themselves look a little lighter, and are definitely in the style of Pretz and Pocky. You can even see the distinct conveyor belt marks from where they bake them. They have more of a dry, rough feel to the touch, compared to Toppo that feel more like a pretzel and have a smooth outer biscuit.

As expected, the biscuit is the same as the one you find on Pretz and Pocky. It’s got that classic texture that Glico has mastered over the years; it’s not too firm or hard, and has a clean, crisp snap to it. Unlike Toppo, this one is a bit crumbly so it is more likely to leave a mess if you’re not careful. The benefit of this though, is that the biscuit melts away fairly quickly to give way to the chocolate. The chocolate feels to be about the same consistency as the one found on Pocky. It’s got a certain, chewable quality to it, but it’s not too hard and it’s soft enough that if you wanted, you could just let it melt in your mouth.

The flavour of the biscuit also tastes, unsurprisingly, like the biscuit of Pocky and Pretz. On it’s own it’s not much to work with, but more often than not it makes a great compliment to the filling. The chocolate filling is slightly less sweet version of your typical milk chocolate, and works with the biscuit to deliver a fairly balanced chocolate that hits pretty lightly on the tongue. All of this to say that it’s basically the standard chocolate Pocky, but with the biscuit on the outside. Like a reverse Pocky.

Now that we’ve established that Pejoy is basically a reverse Pocky, which is to say it’s just as good, the question now is whether it competes with Toppo. I notice that Pejoy can be left in your mouth and will just melt. The Toppo would take a bit more effort, as the outer shell isn’t as cookie-like, and more pretzel like. The Pejoy is also lighter in comparison to Toppo, which feels more substantial and slightly more filling. This could either be a plus or negative for you, so mileage varies. For me, the biggest difference is the availability of flavours. At least where I am in the North, I can find a large variety of Toppo flavours, while Pejoy comes in the same 3 or 4 standard flavours. It’s for this reason, and the fact that I enjoy the pretzel consistency of their biscuits that I have to give it Toppo.

Keep in mind this is all personal preference, so you might enjoy Pejoy more. It just so happens that Toppo hits more boxes for me, but that shouldn’t stop you from trying Pejoy if you see it. They seem to come in smaller packages, so it’s also going to be cheaper in most cases, so worst case scenario you won’t have as much leftover if you don’t like it. Though let’s be honest, you probably will enjoy it.