Walkers Cheese and Onion

I picked these up at the UK store near my apartment.  I think I've heard that the cheese and onion are good, but I can't remember.  Still... I like cheese and I like onion so how bad can it be?  They had a bag of these in MAX style, that looked like Ruffles (with ridges), but I opted for the original after the salesguy recommended them.

Walkers seem to be the Lay's of the UK so they look pretty much as expected.  Though, Walkers never seem to have flavoring stuff on them.  I'm used to onion nibblies being green (from sour cream and onion chips) so these chips seem deceptively plain.

But what do they taste like?
Salty!  The strongest flavors are the salt and onion.  The onion has a bit of a bite to it - almost like eating raw onions, rather than cooked ones.  I'm not really getting much 'cheese' actually.  The flavor doesn't last very long, which isn't that surprising considering the chips look like they have no seasoning on them.

I wish I tasted more cheese - or knew if I was tasting cheese.  I can definitely taste the onion, but the cheese is much more subtle.  Maybe the cheese is supposed to be that saltiness that hits the first time you bit into a chip?  Not sure, but the onion is definitely the main flavor. 

Still, despite not being cheese-y enough, they're pretty good!  I do wish the flavor lasted longer - after a minute or two I just taste a hint of onion and chip, but other than that it's pretty mild.  These aren't my favorite chips, but I'd get them again.  I like onions so the stronger onion flavor doesn't bother me.  If you hate onions, though, I'd give these a pass.

Rating

Marmite Flavour Potato Crisps

I'll be honest.  I'm terrified.  I don't like Vegemite (and I've tried it properly with a friend who likes it fixing me a sandwich of it) and I don't like Marmite.  Even my friends who like Vegemite don't like Marmite.  But here these chips sit.  Mocking me.

Bag open.  They smell awful.  They smell like Marmite I guess.  Potent.  It smells like an old shoe maybe?  I'm trying not to be biased against these from the start, but the smell is really not helping here.  Ok... here it goes nothin.

But what do they taste like?
I picked one without a lot of Marmite flavor on it and mostly tasted chip.  Tolerable.  A bit like eating weird tasting cardboard I'd imagine.  Time to stop mucking about - I'm going to try one that's covered in flavor.  It's not as bad as I thought, but it's not nice either.  And the chips themselves weirdly disintegrate as you eat them.  I'm actually shocked at how not awful these are.  But, let's not kid ourselves here - I am never eating them again after this.

They're very salty for the first bit and then weirdly bland.  Rarely eating Marmite, I can't verify if these taste all that much like it, but I don't think they do.  I remember a strong dislike of Marmite and I can't even muster up the energy to dislike these.  I really expected to have my socks knocked off with horrible flavors and these were just pretty meh.

Is it weird to be disappointed that chips weren't worse?  Maybe.  There's something very unappealing about the first bite - the way that weird cardboard-y flavor just hits you.  They're not as bad after a bit though - it's mostly just a weird savory salt taste that's not particularly appealing.  I could stomach eating more than one, so they don't get a 0, but barely.

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Walkers Prawn Cocktail

I got these in the same aisle I got the Hula Hoops and for the same reason.  International chips woo!  I've also always been intrigued by prawn cocktail flavored chips because... what the heck?  Who thinks this would be a good flavor?  In the International Chips post, Ciara and Gemma said they have a fishy smell and I believe they enjoyed them.  What could go wrong?!

These pretty much look like Lay's which isn't surprising really.  Weirdly, they kind of smell like ketchup.  They smell a lot like ketchup.  Have to say I wasn't expecting that!  What other surprises do these chips have in store I wonder!

But what do they taste like?
Wow they are salty.  I mostly just taste salt and kind of a strange sweetness.  It's hard to describe the saltiness of these because they aren't traditionally salty.  It's the kind of salt that burns your mouth - you feel it rather than taste it.  And I really taste a very strong salty ketchup flavor.  It suddenly occurs to me that I have no idea what prawns taste like, but I'm fairly certain they should be fishier than this.  This is such a strong flavor - like a punch to the mouth really.  But weirdly, it doesn't last very long. 

There's a slight burning on my tongue still, but other than that the ketchup is basically gone.  The chips themselves are also extremely flimsy... kinda like Lay's.  You know, I think this isn't so much 'prawn' flavor, but more the actual prawn cocktail sauce flavor.  It's not the worst flavor, but it's strange.

Ciara tried the Tayto brand and these are Walkers so perhaps that's the difference.  I'm also really amazed by this ketchup-esque flavor.  It's not quite ketchup, but it's not prawns.  I don't really like the flavor, but I don't dislike it either.  They're not chips I would buy again, though that weird sweetness is kinda growing on me.

Rating:

Hula Hoops: Salt & Vinegar

Hula Hoops!  Found in the 'International/UK' section of a nearby grocery store, I grabbed this tiny bag as soon as I saw it.  I'd have preferred to buy the original flavor for a first try so I'd know what 'basic' Hula Hoops taste like, but oh well.  They only had Salt and Vinegar flavored ones, but as I've said in a few other reviews, I love salt and vinegar chips.  Lucky break for me, eh?

The bag is tiny and blue which seems to be a nearly universal 'Salt and Vinegar' bag color.  Not sure who decided that.  The Hula Hoops themselves look a bit like calamari which is kinda fun.  It smells like you'd expect salt and vinegar chips to smell - they smell like salt... and vinegar.  Not too overpowering so I'm not expecting much of a kick from these.  We shall see!

But what do they taste like?
They taste like very mild salt and vinegar.  It's more like a hint of salt and vinegar and a whole hell of a lot of 'Hula Hoop' which is pretty potato-y.  You know, considering how mild these are I think I have a pretty good idea of what regular Hula Hoops taste like.  The hoops are pretty solid and take more bite strength than, say, Lay's (the flimsy chip).  I wish these tasted more like salt and vinegar, actually.  I keep getting hints of it, but then the base Hula Hoop flavor blocks it out and I'm just tasting potato.  There's a bit of salt and vinegar flavor lingering, but it's mild.  Actually, now that I think of it, it's really a vinegar flavor.  These hardly seem salted at all compared to other Salt and Vinegar brands I've had.  Maybe that's because these chips don't have (according to the bag) "Artificial Flavours or Colours", "No MSG" and are made with 100% sunflower oil.  Maybe that's why they're not particularly salty then?

I definitely like my salt and vinegar chips to have some bite so these are a bit too mild for my taste, but they're still pretty good.  I'd probably get them again just for kicks, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to get them.  The strong potato flavor overpowers the salt and vinegar - I'll get my proper salt and vinegar chip fix elsewhere.

Rating: