‘We Try It’ is a regular series where we try the latest off-beat food and beverage offerings.
While recently browsing the shelves at our local convenience store, we noticed that one of our favorite inventors of bizarre potato chip flavors – Lay’s – has a couple of new releases: spicy crayfish flavor and fried crab flavor.
The spicy crayfish flavor comes in a rather lovely pastel pink bag, and is outdone only by the pastel green packaging of the fried crab chips. Both packages caught our attention, so we figured ‘what the hell’ and bought them both.
Upon cracking open the spicy crayfish-flavored Lay’s, our nostrils were hit with an odor that was surprisingly like that of the ever-popular, chili-imbued Chinese xiaolongxia. The similarities end there, though. Taste-wise, the chips are underwhelming and lack the advertised spicy kick we were hoping for. Best described as a Lay’s Original with a subtle fishy taste, Lay’s spicy crayfish flavor is a letdown – particularly if you actually enjoy xiaolongxia.
The fried crab-flavored Lay’s take a different tack: While the crayfish chips lacked in flavor, the fried crab variety go well overboard – and it isn’t pleasant.
The chip seasoning is highly reminiscent of the shellfish you find at late-night barbecue joints in China’s coastal areas, where piles of garlic are used to cover up the taste of week-old oyster. Because the flavor is so pungent, Lay’s fried crab flavor doesn’t get better the more you eat; it remains overpowering and, frankly, repulsive.
Price: RMB7
Who’s eating them: We honestly don’t know. We have a feeling that even those expats who like pig brain, intestines and blood in hot pot might avoid these
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[Cover image via That’s]
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