There are many things in life that just go hand in hand -nuts and chocolate; Hollywood and botox; cats and toxoplasmosis. Of all these, only nuts and chocolate would qualify as a match made in Snack Heaven, unless of course, you have nut allergy, in which case, it would be your hell.

Pepero is an almond and chocolate dipped biscuit stick from the Korean company, Lotte. You see, Leibniz Minis Choco has already proven that chocolates and cookies are the best thing since sliced bread. Chocolate, cookies and nuts? Probably the best thing since Leibniz Minis Choco?

Although boxes of Pepero are always displayed beside Japanese cousin Pocky, I’ve never been compelled to give one a try. So why this change now? Well, there was a little white sticker at the front of a the box that read $1.20. I had to do a triple take – the cheapest fancy Pocky is $2.40.

The design of the box feels a bit old, not helped by the unsavoury shade of green. Inside this box is a matte foil, again in the same verdant shade. We know that pictures on boxes are usually poor approximation of what to expect inside but these gnarled chocolate and almond dipped sticks are true to its packaging.

The biscuit sticks are a touch thicker than Pocky’s. I had two boxes of Pepero Almond and the second box has slightly bitter biscuit sticks, like they were left in the oven a few minutes too long. The chocolate and almond are consistently…okay. There’s a good balance of not too sweet chocolate and crunchy, very nicely-roasted almonds. But is it better than Pocky? Maybe. If you don’t like your chocolate too sweet, you might like Pepero better than Pocky.

All in all, this is a good, cheap snack. The only complaint I have is that there are only 10 sticks in a box. Compare this to the 25 sticks in a chocolate Pocky and suddenly you realise why these tasty sticks are so cheap. Grrr!

A good alternative to Pocky, Pepero will appeal to those who prefer their chocolate not too sweet.