Over the years, I've developed a relatively strong taste and tolerance for garlic. Not for heat and spice - I can't handle spicy food, at all - but for that garlick-y kick.
When I've tried garlic-flavoured crisps and snacks before, they've never been just plain garlic. There's always another flavour in the mix. It doesn't make them harder to review, exactly, but the other flavour seems to bring the score down. Garlic shrimp Doritos (not shrimpy enough), garlic and hot pepper crisps (almost too spicy to eat)... I stopped bothering to review them.
Recently, the universe (and Calbee, and Lawson) decided to give me a proper challenge. Something for the pungency purists among us.
'Intense garlic dynamite' crisps. A limited edition run, only on sale at Lawson. And not even every Lawson, as I only found these on my 2nd try.
I bought 2 packs, because there are 2 special designs.
"Don't come near me!" Wow, that guy's sweating. He looks so nervous.
"You stink of garlic!"
It's not like I haven't heard those words before...
The back of the pack makes for an interesting read, as well.
"Intense when you open the bag, intense when you eat them, and with an intense aftertaste they're a triple threat! An intense garlic flavour that makes wearing a mask absolutely essential! Give these a try! (on a weekend when you aren't going to see anyone.)"
I was ready. I put aside a quiet Friday night, got cosy at home, and took on the triple threat.
Intense when you open the bag? At the exact moment you open the bag, yes. It lets out a quick 'puff' of garlic-filled air that was sealed inside, a bit like the bag just farted. A bit like a whoopee cushion...
After that, you have to get your nose into the bag to notice the smell. This isn't pot pourri, no fear of garlic lingering in the air.
I don't have a pic of the crisps in the bag, because they look pretty normal. They aren't heavily coated in powder, or a weird colour or anything. If someone handed me a bowl of these, I don't think I'd realise they weren't plain salted until I started eating them.
Intense when you bite into them? Hell yes. As soon as you make contact, it's garlic dialed up to 11.
The great thing about these being Calbee potato chips is that they're buttery, as a baseline flavour. So the taste was more like garlic bread, in the good way. Super thin crunchy garlic bread.
To me, they're bordering on addictive. I finished the whole bag.
An intense aftertaste? Put it this way: I ate these around 7pm. I chewed some gum afterwards. I brushed my teeth well before going to sleep. The next morning, I could still taste the garlic.
The bag didn't lie to me. I hate it when they do that. The only thing I can't tell you is how other people would've reacted. A mask is still absolutely essential, garlic breath or no garlic breath. But I talked to my parents on a video call, and they put on a very brave show of pretending that smell-o-vision exists.
Verdict: 9/10. I fought the intensity, and the intensity won me over.