Walkers Sensations Thai Sweet Chili

More Walkers chips - thank you, UK candy store nearby that also sells chips!  They had this bag and I bought them.  Simple as that, friends.

The bag itself has two chili peppers on it, so I'm expecting to be in some pain.  Wahoo!  But, when I open the bag up... possible deception!  These mostly just smell like potatoes.  And look a little like Christmas with their red and green speckles.

But what do they taste like?

Like weirdly spicy potatoes is what they taste like.  My tongue is burning and I can't even pinpoint which taste of the chip caused it.  It's just burn-y.  They're really pretty mild, apart from the sudden onset mouth burn that disappears nearly as quickly as it arrived.

I wish I had more to say, but these don't taste like much more than spiced potatoes.  This is not what I expected from Thai Sweet Chili - or from Sensations!  With a bag like that I thought there'd be sensations.

Overall?  Not worth it.  The spiciness is without any real flavor and if I wanted chips that tasted like potatoes, I'd buy plain chips.  They're not awful, but I wouldn't buy them again

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Dirty Potato Chips Sundried Tomato and Basil

These I've been looking forward to!  I love sun-dried tomatoes (and tomatoes in general, come to that) and basil.  Let the chip eating commence!

To start, they have a very strong smell that smells more like strange basil and maybe a hint of tomato paste.  They also have weird brown seasoning nibblies everywhere which I can only imagine is the basil flakes?  Some chip are an orange-y/red which is the tomato, no doubt.

But what do they taste like?
Salty.  They taste very salty.  With a very strong, sweet sort of tomato paste aftertaste.  I don't know if I'd call these tomato and basil - I'm not sure what I'd call them, but they're not bad.  They're also weird.  I don't quite know how I feel about them.  The strongest taste is the taste of tomato paste and salt I think, and a bit of sweetness after (leftover from the paste taste?).

One thing that's so nice about chips is they go with so many different meals.  These?  Their flavor is so strong I'm not sure what you'd eat them with that they wouldn't completely overpower.  There are also some absolutely giant chips in this bag which seems strange.  Somehow kettle chips seem like they should be smaller.

While I like these, the flavor is so strong and... unique... that I can't see myself eating them again unless I want this specific tomato paste-y flavor.  I can't think of anything these would go well with other than overkill on tomato soup maybe.  Still, they aren't bad - I like the flavor well enough... it's just that a few of these go a looooong way.

Rating

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

Lay's Spicy Ketchup

I bought these right before seeing Dark Knight Rises and I'm fairly certain they got a bit crumpled in my bag, but oh well.  I bought 'em because I hadn't seen them before and of course I suddenly saw them all over the place after.  If they're good that just means I'll be able to find them again!  Sweet.

The bag is bright red and the chips are bright red.  They clearly understand that ketchup is red.  The only thing that isn't red (minus parts of the Lay's logo) are the bowl the ketchup is in, and the jalapeno.  Everything else is red as all get out.

But what do they taste like?
They taste ketchup-y and spicy.  It's the kind of spice that burns my throat, rather than my mouth, which is kinda weird.  There's also a little bit of saltiness in there too - these are Lay's after all.  The flavor isn't actually all that strong after a minute - I tasted more of the chip than the ketchup.  I kinda like these, but the extra spiciness isn't really needed I don't think.

Eating these is a lot like eating plain Lay's chips that got some ketchup on them.  You taste the ketchup from time to time, but you also taste the plain Lay's.  Also, the 'spicy' gets stronger than the actual flavor quite quickly so I really didn't find myself tasting much ketchup.

There's also a very uneven seasoning distribution.  Some of the chips are practically red with flavoring, and others look like they barely got any.  These chips did make me want to try regular ketchup chips, though.  I think without the extra spice these could be pretty good, but as is they leave my mouth burning a bit too long.  If you've tried the ketchup chips and felt that they didn't make your mouth burn enough, you could do worse than picking up a bag of these.

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.

Rating:

Joe Chips Sour Cream and Toasted Onion

Who is Joe?  I don't know, but he makes chips.  They're not even Joe's Chips - they are simply Joe Chips.  My dad happened to see these at the store and grabbed me a bag.  Thanks!  I'm intrigued to see how toasted onions stack up against regular onions!

The chips have an odd smell; I'm not sure if it's the toasted onions, or something mysterious and sinister.  The smell a little bit like Ramen instant soup powder.  Not the soup itself, but just the powder.  I'm also used to more seasoning nibblies on my sour cream and onion chips - these don't seem to have very many.  What does it all mean!?

But what do they taste like?
They taste a little bit like the Ramen packet smells, but also with a hint of sour cream and onion.  There's a lot a bit of a flavor which I have to assume is the toasted part of the onion.  It's strange - they both have flavor and don't have much flavor at the same time.

 

There's also a big kick of salt in that first bite before the other flavors make themselves known - and of grease since these seem to be your standard kettle cooked chips.  I also feel like part of the flavor I'm getting is the chip grease taste?  Tough to say.  If I tried these without knowing the flavor I think it'd take me a minute to figure out they're sour cream and onion.

They taste good, but they're not as sour cream and onion-y as most sour cream and onion chips.  Since I rather like that taste, I'll probably stick to other brands, but these aren't bad.  Still not sure why the onion is 'toasted', though.

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Skips Tingly Prawn Cocktail

I've heard things about Skips, but now I have them!  My friend Maggie picked these up for me a store that sells UK chips (and oh I shall be going there again) because she's awesome!  Also... tingly prawn cocktail?  I wonder how the tingly factors in...

Having tried Walker's Prawn Cocktail, I wasn't surprised to find that these smell much more like prawn cocktail sauce than actual prawns.  The flavor kinda worked with the Walker's, though so perhaps it will again!  They're strangely shaped, too... almost like little bowls or something.  The bag tells me that I should balance a Skip on my tongue and let it melt in my mouth.  Also, they make a big deal about 25% extra, but this doesn't seem like a ton of chips - I'd hate to see the regular bags.  Weirdly... the back of the bag suggests making Prawn Cocktail Flavour Tapioca Snack which just sounds awful.  I'll pass on that, thanks.

But what does it taste like?
Strange!  More salty than prawn-y and it does kinda tingle the tongue in a strange way.  They practically disintegrate the minute you close your mouth.  There's really no point in chewing them since they just sort of melt away like a chip ninja.  I'm so caught up in the strangeness of the chip itself that the flavor sort of gets lost.  They're saltier than the Walker's chips, but there's also the sweetness of the cocktail sauce.  I don't understand why they even bother putting 'prawns' on the bag since you could easily call it cocktail sauce and pin the flavor better.  I'm not sure why, but the flavor is kinda growing on me.  It's not quite cocktail sauce... it's tangier?  I'm not sure, but it's kinda nice.

These disintegrate so easily I almost wouldn't even call them chips - chips have more substance I think.  The Skips are kinda thick, thicker than normal chips, but that doesn't give them much substance.  It's definitely a unique experience eating these.  I hear they're good in sandwiches, but alas I have no sandwich handy.  They also make a bit of a mess - the seasoning doesn't stick very well to the chips so the little salt nibbles go all over when you eat them.  Not ideal.  For me, I prefer my chips to have a little more substance so I don't think I'll be going out of my way to eat these, but I certainly would happily eat them if someone offered them to me.

Rating

Lay's Dill Pickle

In my continuing quest to find pickle chips that are as good as Intense Pickle Doritos, I picked up a bag of these Lay's Dill Pickle chips from 7/11.  To be honest, I don't have high hopes.  I expect they'll taste a lot like the Pringles Screamin' Dill Pickle and hopefully nothing like the Deep River Snacks New York Spicy Dill Pickle.  Let us begin!

First off, it's a green bag.  Kind of a ... sickly green bag.  I get that it's pickle colored and pickles are a pale green-ish color, but let's at least try to make the bag look appealing!  They don't smell super pickle-y, but they do smell like pickles.  It's also a 'new bigger bag' which is weird since I can't imagine dill pickle is a super popular flavor that justifies a gigantic bag.  But who knows!

But what do they taste like?
Pretty good actually!  They're definitely not super pickle-y, though.  It's more just salty than anything else.  The first bite is pretty salty with the tiniest hint of pickle and then there's a mild pickle taste, but other than that it's really mostly salt.  And that's not a bad thing!  But it's also not what I'm looking for unfortunately.  You know, if I didn't know to begin with that they were supposed to taste like dill pickle, I'm not sure I'd know that these were supposed to be pickle flavored, unless I smelled them.

I think that's the strangest part for me.  They smell much stronger than they taste.  Also, if I eat a bunch at once I definitely get a much stronger pickle flavor, but it still doesn't last very long.  I'm not sure if this is just the new bigger bag, but some of the chips are huge.  It's kinda excessive if the chip is too big to eat in one bite.  There's also no reason for it, especially with Lay's.  Since they kinda crumble when you bite them, it just creates more mess.

Look, if you hate pickles with a the fiery passion of a thousand suns then you probably won't like these much.  But, if you like pickles, or don't have strong feelings for them one way or the other... you might like these.  These won't be my favorite pickle chips (the honor still goes to Intense Pickle Doritos), but they'll do.  They're pretty good, all things considered.

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Doritos Dinamita Chile Limon

I found these at 7/11 and decided to give them a shot!  It's confusing because the bag is small, but really heavy and it's more calories than most bags this size.  I'm not really sure what to expect from these, but hopefully they won't be too spicy.

When I open the bag everything is just redish purple.  Everything.  I have never seen this color found in nature.  What... why are these tubular?  I don't understand why someone shaped these like this! Doritos should be triangular!  And not violent purpleish!

But what do they taste like?
There's a strong spicy lemony/limey flavor that takes a minute to hit, but then burns your mouth for a bit.  It stays pretty strong actually.  I'm mostly just confused... why are these so purple?!  These should be chile limon flavored, no?  Where does purple factor in?  I'm also really not feeling the rolled chip.  When I eat Doritos I want to eat Doritos, not weirdly rolled Doritos type things.  It's a pity that the flavor is so painful because it's actually kind of good for a few seconds.  Had they been more mild I think I could have enjoyed them.  As is, the spice level isn't worth it for me.

It's really a very strong limon-y flavor, too.  It keeps burning my mouth and the back of my throat.  Water doesn't help it go away and it's a bit painful.  I can see people liking this if they're fans of spicy and chile limon flavored things, but the rolled shape and purple color might be off-putting for some.  They definitely taste like what I'd expect spicy chile limon would taste like and if you like that, I'd give these a shot.  Ignore the bright purple rolled weirdness.

Even after I've stopped eating the chips, had some water, and finished writing this my mouth is still burning.  The fact that I do like the flavor for the split second before the spiciness sets in gets these a star, but otherwise... not for me, Doritos.

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Deep River Snacks Sweet Maui Onion

Of all the Deep River snacks chips I've tried I think my hopes are highest for these.  Will they live up expectations?  Who knows!  I'm not sure where the Maui factors in, but I like onions and I like... sweet?  I dunno, but I'm intrigued all the same.

The chips themselves are pretty generic.  They look like kettle cooked chips that have a flavor.  They smell kinda onion-y, but nothing too overpowering.

But what do they taste like?
They're salty, a little bit onion-y and almost kinda sweet at the same time.  And hey!  They're pretty damn good!  And, unlike the BBQ chips I tried, it's a fairly unique flavor!  I'm not sure if it's just my bag, but the chips are also absolutely covered in seasoning which is a bonus on my book.  It's a bit like they're covered in onion salt.  It also works really well with the kettle cooked-ness of these chips.  They're really crunchy in a good way, thanks to the kettle cooking.

A lot of onion chips have a really strong onion flavor that can be kinda gross after awhile, but that doesn't happen with these.  The salt, onion and sweetness all balance really well.  I ate the entire bag and would happily have eaten more if I'd had any.  I almost would have liked the flavor to be a bit stronger.  For all the seasonings they were covered with they were pretty mild considering.

These chips probably taste even more delicious because I ate them after watching the Men's Individual Sabre during the Olympics where Hungary won the gold and I was super excited!

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