Gotta Get At This: Lay's Arabia Forno Fusion Lebanese Mix and Italian Mix, MAX Salt and Vinegar, and Paprika

Lay's Arabia, which is the Lay's arm across the United Arab Emirates, debuted 2 new Forno Flavor Fusions. The "Forno" range is what we in the states refer to as the "Baked" brand, but I don't think I've seen the "Fusion" branding before. The "Fusion" line appears to be spice mixes on baked chips. The 2 bags being released are a "Lebanese Mix" flavor and an "Italian Mix" flavor. Classic seasonings that work in almost every situation. Sounds yummm.

Arabia has also extended a new flavor in their successful MAX line..."Salt &Vinegar". Also Classic, Also, can't go wrong flavor.
MAX is what we call Ruffles here in the US; not to be confused with the MAXX collection in other Countries which is a Deep Ridged Chip (Which is called XTRA in the UAE).

Bonus:

PS. Here's a bag I missed in November. Arabia permanently added Paprika to their list of permanent flavors.


I'm not a fan of the chips in the standard Lay's Arabia line. I found most of the flavors off-putting, and I thought the potato left A LOT to be desired. It was poor quality potato and odd texture. BUT I can't say I've tried their Baked or Ruffled Offerings. Sooo, they could be better. Let us know if you try any of these in the comments section below, and HAPPY HUNTING!!

Gotta Get At This: Lay's Guatemala Queso Cheddar y Tocino

Guatemala. You just got a gift.
Cheddar and Bacon Lay's.
Damn if that ain't worth a trip to Guatemala, I don't know what is.

Gotta Get At This: Lay's Russia Баварские колбаски and Итальянскую лазанью

Russia is in on the Soccer Fever, launching 2 new flavors.
As with the other Lionel Messi/Soccer Tie-ins Running now, I do NOT know if these are a limited edition flavor launch, or newly permanent bags. Russia, Romania, and Hungary all tend to mark Limited Edition flavors with special labels, but I have yet to see that on these. Either way, I would treat these as if they are limited editions and hunt them down ASAP.
The flavors sound awesome, we've got "Баварские колбаски" which is "Bavarian Sausage" and "
Итальянскую лазанью" which is "Italian Lasagna".
I would kill either of those bags, MMMM. 
What do you think? Worth a flight to Russia?

Gotta Get At This: Margarita Colombia Apasionados Por Nuestro Sabores Competition MAXX Suero Costeño, Mazorca Asada, and Chicharron Carnudo

 

Colombia is getting in on the "Apasionados Por Nuestro Sabores" AKA "Passionate For Our Flavors" Competition! My absolute favorite International Chips are coming out the gate with "MAXX Suero Costeño (Costa Caribe)", "Mazorca Asada (Cundinamarca)", and "Chicharron Carnudo (Antioquia)"...these flavors are a Sour Cream type Cream from Colombia's Coastal Region called "Suero Costeño" on a MAXX cut Deep Ridged Chip, "Grilled Corn on the Cob" from the Cundinamarca region where the Capital is located, and "Pork Rinds" or "Fried Pork Belly" from the Antioquia region. If you are a fan of Mexican "Chicharron" or "Pork Rinds", Colombia's variation is made with thick Pork Belly and it looks like the bag will include a hint of Lime. The 3 flavors looks fun, and very tailored to the Country's Chip Buying Fans. Margarita always makes a delicious chip, so these are bound to be awesome. Check them out if you get the chance while the competition is running!

Gotta Get At This: Lay's Romania Crocant, Cheese & Basil, and Chorizo

Romania is also launching some tie-in bags for Soccer/Futbol season... The "Crocant" aka "Ruffles" chips got some UEFA Championship packaging and they also got 2 new flavors "Cheese & Basil" along with "Chorizo". As with Hungary, I couldn't find out if the 2 flavors will be permanent or limited edition... but I'm guessing they are permanent, because Romania usually labels limited editions. Either way, if you are cruising through Romania, give these a taste, and be sure to let us know what you think of them in the comments section below.

Gotta Get At This: Lay's Hungary Chanterelles in Cream, Chorizo, and Salami Pizza

Hungary is busting out some Summer promotions in connection with Soccer/Futbol season...here are 3 new flavors (I'm not sure if they are going to be permanent or seasonal)
"Chanterelles in Cream", "Chorizo", and "Salami Pizza". All 3 look solid. Have you seen them around in Hungary? I don't even know where Hungary is on a map, but these flavors make me Hungary ;)

Gotta Get At This: Lay's Chile Apasionados Por Nuestro Sabores Corte American Empanada de Pino, Maxx Choripan, Mediterranea Queso de Cabra y Oliva

Lay's Chile is also feeling Passionate for their own flavors, and running the Apasionados Por Nuestro Sabores campaign that Peru is running.
Three flavors are up for vote: "Empanada de Pino" on a typical cut chip or "American Cut", "Choripan" on a MAXX ridged chip, and "Queso de Cabra y Oliva" on a Mediterranea style chip.
"Empanada de Pino" is an Empanada (like a Calzone) filled with a mixture of ground beef, onions, raisins, black olives, and hard boiled eggs. It is a typical Chilean filling for an empanada.
"Choripan" is a Chorizo sausage and Crusty Bread sandwich that is popular in Chile and other surrounding Countries.
"Queso de Cabra y Oliva" is "Goat Cheese and Olive" the flavor is probably accompanied by Olive Oil on the chip because it's the Mediterranea style chip. Otherwise the description is pretty straight forward. Goat Cheese and Olive are two BOLD flavors and probably taste awesome on a chip.

So, if you can get to Chile, or a friend can send you some, here are 3 awesome new limited edition flavors to chase down! Enjoy the hunt!

Gotta Get At This: Lay's Peru Apasionados Por Nuestros Sabores Competition Papa a la Huancaína and Lomo Saltado

Peru is running a fun flavor contest called "Apasionados por nuestros sabores" aka "Passionate for our flavors". It seems to be a voting competition between 2 typical Peruvian flavors: "Papa a la Huancaina" and "Lomo Saltado".
"Papa a la Huancaina" is a dish that derived from the Peruvian Highlands; a cold dish of yellow potatoes, served with Huancaina sauce which is a cheese based sauce. The potatoes are usually served on a bed of lettuce and come with Olives on top.
"Lomo Saltado" is a yummy dish of stir fried steak strips with bell peppers and onions, that comes with thick cut french fries on the side.
I love that both of these flavors come with potato on the plate; that is usually a good sign of a successful flavor in the bag.
The contest started running this month, so both bags should be available now in Peru.

Lay's USA Kettle Cooked Olive Oil & Herbs

MEH

Here's Kettle Cooked Olive Oil & Herbs, a bag in the current US Flavor Swap competition.

It's not good.
The bag smells powerfully of Olive Oil, and the first chip or two has the Olive Oil flavor, but the other seasonings overwhelm the subtlety of Olive Oil. The herbs are there, but more potently you get a LOT of Garlic powder. I could feel it on my finger tips and I could taste it accumulating on my palette. The more I ate, the less this bag tasted of Olive Oil. It began to have almost a cheesy taste to it. But it was just too much Garlic powder. The bag is also over salted.
I complained that Spain's Olive Oil bag could have benefited from some salt to enhance the flavor of the potato... but this skews in the complete other direction. Too much Salt, too much Garlic.
On top of that, the chips are not cooked well AT ALL. I always have been appreciative of the cook on all the chips in the Kettle Cooked line, but these ones fail terribly. They are more like stale thick cut chips than the usual kettle cooked.

I don't know what went wrong here. I anticipated this being one of my favorite flavors, but in my opinion it's a wasted opportunity.

BOOOOOOO

Lay's USA Southern Biscuits and Gravy

Here's 2015 Do Us a Flavor competition's Winner: "Southern Biscuits and Gravy". This is by far the best of this bunch that I have tried. It REALLY tastes like Biscuits and Gravy. Lay's always succeeds when it does Bread/Sandwich based flavors... like the "Cheesy Garlic Bread" Flavor. This one is no different. The potato chip plays the part of the biscuit, and the gravy flavor comes from cream and spices in the seasoning. The flavor is creamy but not too much like "Sour Cream and Onion" flavor. The spices are super authentic and I detect a little heat in the back of my palette that builds as you eat more. I really don't know how they hit this so perfectly on the head, but they did and I'm into it.

These should be available until Summer here in the US. Grab em, they are awesome!