Watermelon has arrived in the snacks realm! My unique watermelon experiences have always been connected to cakes and candies, with my ultimate favorite being Starbucks’ watermelon cake in 2019. I’ve yet to taste anything with the words ‘watermelon’ and ‘biscuit’ in the same sentence… until now.

Biscuit sticks with a coat of watermelon cream isn’t something that’s often seen at the biscuits aisle. Hence, I had to get my hands on a box of Watermelon Pocky from the large display at my local supermarket! Even though autumn has arrived, snacking on a watermelon-flavored munchie is a perfect complement to the island’s blissfully-warm weather. This is the tropics, after all!

A Bit About Pocky

Pocky is an Asian snack that has won the hearts and stomachs of foodies around the world. It is the munchie definition of discovering joy in life’s simple pleasures. While it sounds like any ordinary biscuit (which it is, technically), this biscuit comes in the form of biscuit sticks. The easiest description of Pocky is to picture crunchy breadsticks, but thinner and as snackable biscuits that are dipped in a flavorful sweet cream. Everyone has their own favorites from the various Pocky flavors – the original milk chocolate and matcha (green tea) versions are old friends to my snack stash.

In this corner of the world, banana and mango are the usual Pocky fruit flavors. The seasonal limited-edition Watermelon Pocky from Thailand made its debut in 2020, and it has reached the Lion City’s shores. While admiring the stack of Pocky boxes, I began pondering: What is the inspiration behind selecting watermelon as the main flavor? And would the biscuit be a ‘yay’ or a ‘nay’?

Watermelon Pocky

My sleuthing boots guided me on a mini regional ‘tour’ in my foodie investigation. I soon discovered that the Pocky’s box comes in other languages in different countries, and the non-English options are Thai and Indonesian. Interestingly, the mystery behind the watermelon flavor’s selection was somewhat solved by the label on the Watermelon Pocky boxes that are sold in Indonesia, which happens to be a little different from the one that is available here. Just like my box, it features a ‘summer’ theme. However, unlike the English version, the back of the Indonesian box mentions and describes something called ‘Suikawari’.

It turns out that suikawari is a Japanese summer outdoor game – it’s essentially a piñata game with a watermelon, where blindfolded participants attempt to hit a watermelon that is placed on the ground. It sounds like Pocky’s idea of introducing watermelon to its biscuit range is a nod to its Japanese roots. Perhaps this quirky Pocky is inspired by the sticks that are used to whack the watermelons, as these biscuits come in the form of ‘sticks’. Upon metaphorically stamping “solved” on the first mystery, I was eager to unlock the answer to my second question – and there was only one way to do that!

Unboxing & Taste Test

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It’s time to meet the Pocky! A watermelon hued pinkish-red wrapper sits inside the ocean-blue box, and it is filled with the intriguing biscuits.

A milky-pink watermelon cream encases each biscuit stick almost entirely. Visually, the biscuits remind me of strawberry Pocky with its lovely bold shade of pink.

My first bite primarily comprised of fruity and sweet notes. It was a bit of an acquired taste in the beginning, since watermelon is an unconventional flavor to pair with biscuits. Watermelon’s taste grew on me while I munched on my second stick, as my taste buds became more acquainted with the flavor. Even though ‘chocolate’ is mentioned on the box, it didn’t stand out to my palate as prominently as the fruity note did.

It’s certainly bizarre yet fun to taste watermelon in any other form that goes beyond the good old juicy fruit wedges that everyone knows and loves! A watermelon after-taste appears too, which, to me, is almost reminiscent to the actual fruit.

Additionally, the cream’s mild cooling effect – which is on-trend in the snacks/sweets realm – is pretty pleasant. This adds another interesting element to the adventure, as regular Pocky sticks do not possess this effect. It brings watermelon’s refreshing soul to the biscuits.

Meanwhile, the biscuit base is identical to the ones that are used in regular Pocky selections. They are perfectly crunchy and have a snap in every bite. Since they are ‘canvases’ that allow the headlining flavor to shine, the biscuits’ flavor isn’t on the sweet side. The cream’s texture is firm, and it matches the biscuits in a quintessential Pocky fashion.

All in all, it was an enjoyable taste test. In my foodie book, it’s a ‘yay’ for the unusual experience.