Lays Potato Chips Gone Weird: My Adventure in Trying Bizarre Global Flavors
Guess I’m just one more bag away from becoming a full-time international snack reviewer… for science, of course.
I’ll be honest…I’ve always been a big Lays potato chip fan. I’m talking the classics: barbecue, cheddar cheese, sour cream and onion, and of course, the OG yellow bag of regular Lays. I don’t discriminate. If it’s thin, crispy, and salty, I’m in. But on a trip to the mall in Naples yesterday, I stumbled upon something that stopped me mid-snack thought..International Lays flavors.
Now when I say “international,” I really mean Chinese flavors. I found them in this cute little shop called Miniso—you know, one of those stores that sells adorable anime figurines, colorful gadgets, and stuff you didn’t know you needed until you’re standing in line with it. My daughter always drags me in there, but this time something caught my eye: shelves stacked with unfamiliar Lays bags in bold colors and strange flavor names like Mexican Chicken Tomato and Italian Red Meat.
Naturally, I couldn’t resist. I felt like an international chip explorer. There were wild options like, Fried Crab, Cucumber, Pickled Fish, even Spicy Crayfish. Some of these sounded like flavors you’d dare a friend to try, not buy for yourself. But hey, when in Miniso, right?
The first bag I opened was Italian Red Meat, which I assumed would taste like spaghetti night. Instead, it was… ketchup. Sweet ketchup. Maybe ketchup with a passport. Not bad, but not quite “Mama Mia” either. Still, I wasn’t ready to give up. I paid good money for these chips, and one of them had to be a winner. So I cracked open the second bag: Mexican Chicken Tomato, and, yep… ketchup again! Fancy ketchup, maybe, but ketchup all the same. I didn’t really get “chicken,” but I did get “tomato.” A really strong tomato.
I started to think maybe ketchup is the unsung hero of the Chinese chip market. Whatever the case, I still polished off both bags, because let’s be real, bad Lays are still good Lays. Later I told my co-host Marija about my “exotic chip adventure,” and she said you can find some of these same flavors at Epcot in Disney World. So now I’m thinking another chip-tasting trip might be in order. I mean, how could I resist flavors like Roasted Garlic Oyster?Would that one catch on in America? Probably not. But it’s fascinating to see what different countries crave. One thing’s for sure, no matter where you are in the world, we can all agree on one thing: Lays are pretty awesome, ketchup flavor and all.
