There’s a certain flavour that makes pho different than other Asian noodle soups. If you were to take a bowl of ramen and a bowl of pho, put them next to each other and take a mouthful, I’m sure you’d notice a difference between the two. I would probably describe this difference as heavy and fresh. The ramen has a dense flavour that’s kind of heavy and hearty. The pho on the other hand almost tastes like you’re eating a salad that happens to be a soup. I explain all of this because these chips did not just taste like they were coated with the flavour packet from a beef ramen. That would have been the easy way to try make this work.

These chips on the other hand have some very uniquely pho flavours. I can only describe them as green, or herb like. I can’t really figure out exactly what green herbs they went with, but they’re exactly the flavours that make pho so unique. There is also a slight meaty flavour, but it doesn’t overpower at all. While you don’t get the refreshing soup or slurpy noodles there is something very fresh and very pho like about these chips.

While I would call these chips a success, there is one aspect of pho that’s kind of missing. I know that not all varieties of pho are spicy, but many have at least some kind of kick to them. These chips on the other hand had no spice at all. I thought this was particularly odd since the pho depicted on the bag also had some chilly peppers floating in it. I was braced for a spicy hit, but I got nothing. It didn’t ruin this snack for me, since I don’t really like spicy foods, but there might be some pho purists out there that would be missing it.