Lay's Szechuan Chicken

Here they go again...

The Attraction

Lay's has been doing this new flavor thang for awhile...and I've been buying it hook, line and sinker

The Review:
Part of the fun of these new flavor experiment is waiting to see what new and interesting flavors Lays releases. In this wave, one of the flavors they release is Chinese Szechuan Chicken, along with Indian Tikka Masala and Brazilian Picanha and Greek Tzaziki. Being that I've had my fair share of Chinese food in my day, I was curious as to what exactly Szechuan anything taste like in snack form.

As I tear open into the bag, I can smell some "spice" emanating from the bag. One thing I do know about Szechuan cuisine is that is it very aromatic and has many strong flavors. It is anything but bland. So far, so good.

Who knew all those spices
had so many different colors?

I dip my hand in and pull out a chip. I take a good look at a chip and I see the various colored spices in the chip. OK, it looks and smells legit, but what does it taste like? I take a big bite and immediately a wave of flavors comes flying at me; pepper, salt, some five-spice? and I swear even some MSG. At first, it almost taste like potato chips that have been sprinkled directly with the flavor packs that you get with your packages of instant noodles (ramen), but after a few seconds, the flavor deviates and never quite hits that exact level of saltiness, but rather it leaves you with a spicy finish. As for the chicken component...what chicken component? I only even mention it because it's in the flavor name, but otherwise, it's completely meaningless.

This piece looks like an upside-down taco

The Sweet:
It's a new flavor, which always means the potential for something exciting

The Bitter:
In this case it's booooorrring. It's a new flavor, but really nothing to write home about.

Conclusion:
I'll always support Lays and their great idea to release new and experimental flavors. It just so happens that this flavor, Chinese Szechuan Chicken, falls flat. I'm not even totally sure it taste like anything "Szechuan" to me. Either way, it doesn't strike enough of a cord to make me want to add this into my snack rotation.

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