Kotas Reviews Lay's Chinese Chicken Szechuan Chips

Chip Week continues, and so does our international tour de chip. One thing that Lay's has been trying more of is the meat flavored chip. We've seen bacon flavoring (for the bacon mac n' cheese chips), corned beef with the Reuben chips, and beef with the picanha chips. So why would we be surprised when they finally get around to the world's most popular meat, chicken? Well, we aren't. Today we look at Lay's Chinese Chicken Szechuan chips.

Nice font ya got there, I guess.

Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the art work. I do love the dragon and pagoda silhouettes, but...why not have the Chinese flag on it like the Brazilian ones had their flag? Also, the box of presumably Szechuan style chicken isn't the artwork I would have chosen. I probably would have had it on a plate, and made it somewhat classy looking. This looks...well, it looks kinda meh. Anyway, Szechuan (or Sichuan) style cuisine is known for its use of hot spices and garlic, though pork is far and away a more traditional meat to use than chicken. Still, everyone loves chicken right? I predict these will be spicy. Let's have a gander!

Behold the glory! The glory of relatively uninteresting looking chips.

None of these chips so far is winning any sort of appearance awards. These are a bit nicer looking than the picanha chips, with not just green flecks but red flecks, but they also have a distinct brownish tinge that is more prevalent on some chips than on others, and usually indicates there will be a higher concentration of flavoring on those chips. The scent is vaguely spicy and garlic-y, but doesn't smell too much like chicken. Maybe a little. 

The taste comes through with the chicken all right, though it is more like the chicken flavoring from Chicken in a Biskit than actual chicken. The spices though, those I am impressed with. A nice garlic overtone, with a generous, but not overwhelming portion of peppery spiciness that lingers in the mouth and accents the chicken flavor well. These chips are pretty munchable, and they stay mostly on target with their supposed flavor. Good job, Frito-Lay, this is pretty good! I particularly appreciate a good dose of hot that is coupled with actual flavor, as opposed to "hot for hot's sake" like so many other "spicy" snack foods.

 On the FACE Rating System, these chips get one smiley face. I'm not always in the mood for a spicy chip, but when I am I would probably choose these over a more generic spicy chip. Definitely give them a try, particularly if you like other chicken flavored snacks. Much more on target than the picanha chips, though I suspect if those were marketed as chimichurri chips, they would disappoint less.