"Cooling Sensation" Potato Chips... what??

March and April are the hottest months in Thailand, and in the weeks leading up to the Songkran Festival, we here in Bangkok will do anything to keep cool. Usually, keeping cool involves staying indoors, walking around the shopping malls, using cooling powder, drinking cold drinks, and complaining, but the other day, I saw something at the local convenience store that caught my eye...

"Cooling Sensation"

Lay's always likes to introduce new and weird potato chip flavors here in Thailand, and maybe some day I'll write a big post about some of the strangest ones that I've seen. The "Cooling Sensation" chips, however, are probably some of the strangest.

They came in two flavors: "Icy Lemon Flavor" and "Melon Bingsu Flavor".

My first impression of both chips was that they were weirdly sweet. I don't really think that potato chips should necessarily be sweet. After the initial sweetness had faded a bit, the "Cooling Sensation" came out. My mouth was hit by a menthol sort of feeling, which actually did make it feel a little bit cold.

The Icy Lemon Flavor was supposed to be like a cold lemonade, and it sort of tasted like that, but lemonade is just an odd flavor to put into a potato chip. Honestly, Melon Bingsu is even weirder (a bingsu is a type of Korean shaved ice desert, and I can't think of a stranger flavor for a potato chip than melon).

Overall, the chips didn't really work for me. I appreciate the idea, and I think that the "Cooling Sensation" gimick is kind of fun, but I'm not sure if I'll be taking them off the shelf that often in the future.

Only in Thailand: Pizza Edition

Don't get me wrong, I love Thai food! It's impossible to go hungry in Bangkok with so many delicious restaurants, shops, and street food stalls just waiting to be discovered down every soi and on every street corner. I could eat Thai food every day for the rest of my life, and constantly discover new dishes and new flavors. However, sometimes a guy just wants a piece of pizza.

Now, I don't get pizza very often, but twice a year (in March and October), The Pizza Company has a special buy-1-get-1 pizza promotion which I take full advantage of.

Pizza Co. offers the normal pepperoni, cheese, etc, but every so often they come out with a new very Thai flavor. Here are four of the most unusual pizzas that I've had here in Thailand:

Tom Yum Kung

Tom Yum Kung is one of the most popular and well-kown dishes in Bangkok cuisine. It's a spicy and sour seafood soup full of delicious shrimp, mushrooms, and lots of herbs.

This pizza has a relatively mild tom yum sauce base and is topped with shrimp, squid, mushrooms, and lots and lots of cheese.

Tom Yum Kung pizza with shrimp, squid, and mushroom

I actually really like this pizza a lot. Unlike the others on this list, I've ordered it several times, and will most likely order it again in the future. None of the flavors are too overpowering, and the spicy and sour tastes combine really well with the sweet, salty, and savory flavor added by the mozzerella cheese. Overall, it's a well balanced pizza with a great taste.

10/10

Hong Kong Roasted Pork

The Pizza Company introduced the Hong Kong Roasted Pork pizza during Chinese New Year this year. The pizza is made with sweet Chinese-style red pork, which tastes a lot like Thai "moo daeng" (red barbecued pork).

Hong Kong Roasted Red Pork pizza

This pizza is light on the cheese, allowing the flavors of the red pork and sweet sauce to come through. I liked it well enough at first bite, but soon the pizza became too sweet. It could use something else to help balance out the flavor. It might have been better with a little spicy chili, some extra vegetables, or more cheese to help cut through the sweetness. It's not bad, but just has too much of one flavor.

6/10

Kung Pao Chicken

The Kung Pao Chicken pizza was also introduced for Chinese New Year. I was really excited about ordering this one. The ingrediente reminded me a lot of a Thai cashew chicken dish. It's served with a sweet and sour oyster sauce base, topped with onion, pepper, fried chicken, and toasted cashews.

Kung Pao Chicken pizza with pepper, onion, and cashew nuts

Like the previous pizza, my first bite was delicious. I thought that this might become one of my new favorites! However, soon it became way too salty. The sauce that they use as the base was far too salty. I get that they are trying to be creative and go with the original flavors of the dish, but it might be much better with traditional pizza sauce. I really love the idea, and especially like the way the chicken and cashew nuts go so well with all of the other ingredients. I might order this one again, but perhaps I'll try it with a different sauce next time.

7/10

Durian and Cheese

The durian is nicknamed the "King of Fruit".  It's a strange fruit, beloved by some, reviled by others. There tends to be no in between in one's opinion of durian; people either love it or hate it. Durian is known for its... distinctive aroma. The smell has been likened to rotten meat, stinky socks, and gasoline. The flavor, however, tastes like a sweet, fruity custard. Needless to say, it’s an acquired taste, although the smelly fruit is banned from public places in Thailand, such as the metro and hotels.

Durian and Cheese pizza - made with the world's stinkiest fruit!

The Durian and Cheese pizza is an interesting choice. The cheese adds a bit of salt to the very sweet fruit, but the durian and cheese combo is almost overpoweringly creamy. I liked my first slice, but it became too rich when I tried to have more. However, after leaving it in the refrigerator all night, I had a piece of durian pizza the next day. I think it's actually really good cold, even better than hot and fresh!

5/10 (hot)
8/10 (cold)