Yeti Eats: Pringles of Indochina

It’s no secret that streetfood is the ideal way to eat in SE Asia, but it can be hard to find in smaller towns. Sometimes there’s only time to run to the 7-11 before your bus leaves. What’s a traveler to do?

Luckily, there are always Pringles.  They weren’t really on our radar until Korea, where both original and barbecue became snacking mainstays.  But it wasn’t until SE Asia that the flavor options really expanded.  From seafood varieties to an ill-conceived fruit-and-nut line, there were plenty of flavors to choose from.  In order from worst to best, here are six we tried.

Blueberry & Hazelnut

Once you pop you can’t stop factor: 1/10

We didn’t have high hopes for these, especially after hearing a poor review from skinnybackpacker. But the novelty was too much to resist, and we hadn’t encountered a Pringles cannister we couldn’t finish. These were … disgusting. They were sweet and tasted exactly like a processed potato trying to be a cookie. I ate one and never could summon the courage to try anymore. Rachel made a much better effort, and even got drunk to make them more palatable, but we had to leave three-quarters of the cannister behind.

Lemon & Sesame

Once you pop you can’t stop factor: 5/10

From the same line as the aforementioned travesties, these actually weren’t horrible. They were less sweet, and tasted sort of like baked potatoes with too much lemon. It took a few hours and a hunger-inducing swim, but we got through these pretty easily.

Seaweed

Once you pop you can’t stop factor: 7/10

These were tasty, but after getting used to snacking on dried seaweed these seemed a little unnecessary.  Give us some original Pringles with a side of kim, juseyo!

Salt & Pepper

Once you pop you can’t stop factor: 8.5/10

These are solid; in my opinion the default Pringle flavor should have pepper AND salt.  We could eat this cannister in one sitting pretty easily, but when it comes down to it, salt and pepper aren’t the most exciting of flavors.

Basil & Garlic

Once you pop you can’t stop factor: 9/10

These were great and we made a 20-minute walk to the shop for them a couple of times.  We once opened the canister in an internet cafe and, half an hour later, had no more Pringles.   Basil and Garlic FTW (almost)!

Screamin' Dill Pickle

Once you pop you can’t stop factor: 10/10

Easily the winner.  To be fair to the other contenders, these are from the Extreme line, they have super stacks, and they’re Screamin’.  Plus they taste like Pickles.  These were meant to be our bus snacks but ended up being breakfast.  We’d just as soon throw these on our burgers as any old-fashioned gherkins.