Snack Attack - Calbee Potato Chips from Family Mart

What do you do when you're confronted with a long holiday like the one we just had during the recent Raya and Labour Day holidays that lasted at least 5 days for most people or possibly 9 days for some others?

Well, you get ready some snacks on the side to take you through the long holiday of binge eating while you park your tushy in front of the idiot box, of course.....wuahahahaha!  Ah, what bliss!  Ok-lah, maybe not quite binge eating as I was somewhat well behaved and exercised some control.

Ever since I first tasted Calbee's brand of potato chips (Calbee Potato Farm's Jaga Pokkuru or Hokkaido Premium Potato Fries), I've been a fan.  So, while browsing through Family Mart one day, my eyes were drawn to some Calbee potato chips on their display shelves.

I started with these lightly salted potato sticks for my first try.  I mean I've had my fair share of Japanese (specifically Calbee) potato chips before but I most probably wouldn't be able to recall and find them again since the packaging usually has Japanese wordings only.  But these ones are much easier to recognise as there are English wordings + the packaging is colour coded for easy identification.

These potato sticks are super crunchy but also slightly harder in texture coz they're in the form of fries.  Lightly salted, they had quite a concentrated potato flavour (but not as concentrated as the Jaga Pokkuru I once ate, of course).

Encouraged by the taste of the potato sticks, I got the lightly salted potato chips next.  If the previous one came in light blue packaging, this one is recognisable by its darker blue packaging.

Now, this one is even more delicious with its chips being super thin, utterly crispy and lightly salty.  It's so thin that it feels very light to eat...meaning you can finish the whole pack (maybe even two) in one go without even realising it.

Next, I got the thick cut potato chips with sour cream and onion flavour.  This one comes in green packaging...again conveniently colour coded for us for our easy recollection, how nice.  

You can really taste the sour cream and onions with this one and though this one wasn't lightly salted, I liked that the chips weren't overly salty either.  It had just the right amount of saltiness with the fragrance of onions and taste of sour cream for a well balanced, tasty chip.  If you want chips that have the most robust flavour, this is the one.  I absolutely loved this one.....my favourite of the four (and my son's too). ^o^

Finally, I got a non-potato type to try, the full flavoured shrimp chips in red packaging.

This one is similar to the many local brands of prawn chips (that's similarly shaped but thinner).  This is one of my favourite crispies to eat but find many of them just super crunchy without any prawn flavour.  This one was just as crunchy but at least you can taste the shrimp flavour.  I likey! ^.^

Although these Calbee chips are very affordable at only RM6.60 except for the sour cream & onion flavour which costs RM6.90, the amount of 70 - 80g in each packet is hardly substantial as it's quite easy to go through the whole packet in one go.  I'm now addicted to these chips and no trip to Family Mart is complete without me coming out of the store with one (or more) of these in my hands.  Hmmm, I wonder if there are more flavours for me to try.  You bet I'd be looking out for more (if any).

I try not to buy these snacks too often but potato chips is my ultimate weakness...and making it so easily recognisable and available, it's difficult to refrain myself since it's just a stone's throw away in my taman.  I've been buying them....too regularly for my liking. >_<  You have to agree that they make the perfect snack for a couch potato (no pun intended), don't they?  Happy weekend.....and happy snacking! ;D