A flavor retrospective

Lays Thailand continues to celebrate the flavors of the past 25 years. I’d had both of these before, but I don’t believe I wrote about them.

There was the nam phrik phao flavor—something like an open flame chili paste in the translation. That’s an intimidating name but it’s not so spicy. In fact, there’s a bit of sugar and tamarind in with the chilis, and Wikipedia tells me that nam phrik phao is “popular as a spread on bread or toast.” Something like Vegemite, then.

Another retrospective in this 25^th anniversary year is the grilled scallop flavor. When I think of grilled scallops, my mind takes me to the Sapporo Snow Festival, or to a convenience store aisle in Japan for a cup of those potato stick things that I never quite get the name of but often grab the one with an image of roasting scallops on it. This flavor is pleasant in Thailand, and the palm fronds on the packaging remind me that I’m not in Sapporo.

I was happy to have one bag of each of these flavors, again. Considering some of the other options in the snack aisle, a bag of either of these is an easy way to get 320 calories with a novel but not terribly challenging flavor. I’d pair with lime soda or a cold lager.