The chips maker Lay’s shows a lot of creativity on the market when it comes to inventing new tastes of chips. It has been a kind of trend among tourists in Asian tourism to hunt for new exotic flavours from famous brands. I am first and foremost thinking of all the different Kit Kats(new flavour of the year every year) you can explore in Japan and different versions of Coca Cola(remember the white one that was supposed to look lite water but tasted like a bad version of Sprite).
So when in Thailand forget about salt and vinegar, sour cream and extra barbecue. Why not explore Lay’s local chips flavours. Bring home some inexpensive souvenirs.
Picture Collection of Lay’s
Here are some examples of tastes that are VERY Thai indeed. Even some very Esan/Isarn that is North Eastern flavours.
Hot Pot or suki is what everyone eats all the time in Thailand. When it tastes Esan/North East it will be spicy and sour. Larb is a very herbal and sometimes spicy meat sauce typical for Esan/Isarn. Goes perfect with sticky rice and papaya salad and apparently as chips. Chilli and lime are two very distinct Thai flavours. So, yes very Thai indeed. This one feels like it could be a bit more South East Asian in general flavoured but Made In Thailand. The Xo sauce is a signature of Hong Kong. Developed in the 1980s. It consists of dried seafood, including dried scallops, fish, and shrimp, cooked with chilli peppers, onions, and garlic.Squid and hot chilli, the excellent match. Comes with the squiddy smell.
Lay’s was founded in 1932 by Herman Lay in Tennesse, Nashville. Currently owned by PepsiCo.
You find these unique Thai flavours in 7/11 or Mini Big C. You find these chips online also.
And of course, sweet basil. “Horapaaa.”Anyone? Original with a touch. Not only salt but also egg. The prawn chips need both salt and spices Mieng Kam is one of my favourite snacks. A basic mieng kam includes fresh betel leaves, shallots, ginger, lime with lime zest, as well as fresh chilli, peanuts, roasted coconut and dried shrimp. Why not add potatoes?? So it’s done!!Ghost chilli, more like the devil himself chilli. Spicy and are! Prik is chilli and Zab Zeed is a kind of term used for a spicy and delicious papaya salad for instance.Korean Cream Cheese Garlic Lay’s. Can’t define it. It tastes a bit fat, salty and maybe a hint of garlic at the end.Smoked salmon and cream cheese is definitely something I remember as a great topping on pizza in a trendy restaurant in Shanghai. In this case a bit more sceptical. It was that saturated fat flavour that could be pretty much anything. I was thinking if I would really know what flavour it was if it was a blind test.Truffle came very conveniently as we are close to burning and smoke season here in Chiang Mai. Yes, one of the reasons for burning is to speed up the growth of a very expensive mushroom that bring in large amounts of cash when sold to China. Apart from that reflection I did manage to taste mushroom in these crisps/chips. But if the mushroom was truffle or something else. I am not quite certain. Decent flavour though. So far nothing has convinced me that it taste better than extra BBQ. 🙂 But keep it coming, the weirder the better.This is a lovely one. I don’t know if I would like too much of it. Spicy Korean Ramen is very spicy. But not much ramen flavour, in my opinion. Small fires are lit on the tongue—taste good.Do you like Heinz Tomato ketchup? Then you will like this. Hmm, definitely some yaktori flavour. A touch of sweet. Can’t really make up my mind if I like it or not. In small doses maybe..This one even scared my a bit . Doesn’t sound good at all. Smelled rather bad when you open. And njaee. Very light taste of something not good. A nice DIY trick to avoid grease. Cut in the middle of the package. Easy to bring those chips out without getting greasy.Three in One is the new thing. Chips trying to be popcorn will soon be forgotten though. The cheese was superior to caramel though. Salmon, Chili and Lime. I actually enjoyed this. Especially when you put one of the lime in the mouth together with the chili flavoured ones. The salmon must have dissapeared in the sour and spicy blend.The new Max Sourcream and Union was really a positive surprise. Enhanced flavours. Yummy!Well, now we are talking. Not greasy and some pure tasty flavour. It is also packed like a premium product. After all it’s lobster.Lay’s Xtra Crunch with Crab Curry taste. This was somewhat of a surprise. The taste is pretty much like the yellow crab curry, and the large chips are ribbed, crispy and flavourful in a well-balanced way.I love the shape of the crab curry ones.Grilled prawns and gochujang sauce. For this one, I am not equally convinced. The taste is again sweet and spicy. There is prawn flavour there. But it mostly comes out greesy. It reminds me of the dried squid sold outside pubs and bars. So guess it might work with alcohol.Wasabi extra crunch was a delightful surprise. This whole serious is remarkably tasteful. And crispy and crunchy.This is a one Lay that I kind of saw coming. After a while, it really tastes like Hat Yai Chicken. But it requires the knowledge of eating this Chicken before. Otherwise, you probably think it tastes like a milder version of Lay’s BBQ.This sounded a bit disgusting, initially I was sceptical. But it was seriously good. Subtile and not overly sweet. Delicious. So Stranger things Lay’s. Wow, Netflix themed and naturally considering the series, up side down. Taste Barbeque infringed chili. Ok, nothing special.Xtra chrunch is always tasty. This had a distinct taste of something and it was rather good. Not so spicy though. Spicy korean Chicken, you would expect a bit more spicy. Japanese unagi (eel), yes why not. The super xtra chrunch delivered as usual. The taste fairly mild not so easy to identify.This algae salad flavour probably comes out as one of the worst flavours I tried. A taste of a polluted sea? Or just the seaweed flavour being too sweet and in combo with sesame?A very creative idea though.Sour Twist, twist is now the trend with Lays. The first impression is sour then a spicy touch after.Not bad..Not sure about the twist here. It tastes like cheap cheese powder that you add to French fries. I am quite neutral but rather unimpressed.Crab-fried rice is very interesting. But just a gentle touch of crab, and rice is not possible to verify.Not bad if you like a bit of mild, sweet, chilli taste.Here we go again. Another Tom Yam version. Taste ok but still will not buy it again.Really scary, you might initially get fooled by a promising mild sweet taste on the tongue until it turns into sweet caramel. Definitely one of the worst Lays so far.Here we go, another Lay’s. Now charcoal grilled Chicken and Som Tam. Yes, it comes out a bit charcoalish and with a sour finish. Not bad. Slightly spicy!
