Junk Food Nation, Columbus Day is OVER!  Back to work…unless you weren’t a government employee, then you were already at work yesterday.  Well, I guess if you were a government employee, you’re likely NOT back to work today, yet.  Unless you’re a State employee, then you probably ARE back at work today. Ugh, this Shutdown is so confusing around the holidays.

Do you wanna talk about baseball?  I wanna talk about baseball.  Let’s talk baseball.  I was disappointed that the Pirates and A’s weren’t able to make it.  The four remaining teams, the Dodgers, Cardinals, Tigers, and Red Sox, are all power teams, and were probably the four that MLB wanted in the postseason most of all.  MLB’s ideal World Series matchup is likely LA-BOS, to ensure max big market coverage.  Me? I’m hoping for a Detroit-LA matchup. I have my reasons re: Boston. Not hating on STL at all; I actually see the Dodgers as the underdog in that series – hence why I’m rooting for them.

My prediction, however?  I wouldn’t be shocked to see a Boston-St. Louis World Series.  Detroit has amazing pitching, but their bullpen has been a problem all season long.  Their power pitching NEEDS to go 7-8 innings every game in order to keep their bullpen OFF the field.  I think that will be the key to the series, because I just don’t see the Detroit pitching remaining so sterling against those Boston bats. Plus, what the hell, Austin Jackson?  Get a hit once in a while.

On the NL side, I just think STL has it all.  Pitching, bats, and bullpen.  They lost last night, but that’s just because the bats were quiet.  Overall, the Cardinals ability to get on base and score runs will just be too much.  Matt Adams? Matt Carpenter? Matt Holliday?  I see a pattern here.  Trust me, I’m strangely rooting for Mattingly’s blue men, but I have no confidence in Ricky Nolasco and I think Zack Greinke, despite his success this year, is still a 7-run inning away from another total breakdown.

Today’s junk food: Lay’s Thailand Lobster Plate Potato Chips!

Lay’s Thailand Lobster Hot Plate Potato Chips: The Money Shot

Another offering from my friend Karen’s friend!  Previously, I reviewed Lay’s Thailand Hot Chili Squid Potato Chips.  Liked them a lot.  Today it’s Lay’s Thailand Lobster Hot Plate Potato Chips!  What is a lobster hot plate? Well, I can say honestly, Junk Food Nation, that despite my Asian upbringing, I have no clue what this is referring to.

Lay’s Thailand Lobster Plate Potato Chips: OCEAN WAVES!  Great design.

Lay’s Thailand Lobster Plate Potato Chips: That is one freaky lobster

Lay’s Thailand Lobster Plate Potato Chips are apparently based on the dish above, which looks like a steamed lobster with its tail exposed, no claws, over simmering veggies.  I mean, I’ve had lobster before, and I’ve even had lobster in Asian cuisine, but I’ve never eaten a dish that quite looked like this.

Has anyone else? Can someone shed some light?

Lay’s Thailand Lobster Plate Potato Chips: yeaaaah………no.

Lay’s Thailand Lobster Plate Potato Chips: nothing particularly lobster looking

When I opened the bag of Lay’s Thailand Lobster Plate Potato Chips and sniffed, I got…well, a rather weird smell.  At first it smelled like an old foot, but when I really broke down the aroma, I realized that it was a seafood smell.  It reminded me of the reddish liquid that you get when you have a lobster boil – a bit of spice, and a bit of lobster brothiness. I don’t know, it was still hard to peg.  Maybe the flavor will be easier…

Lay’s Thailand Lobster Plate Potato Chips: speckled with…seafood?

I crunched on some of these Lay’s Thailand Lobster Plate Potato Chips, and the first taste I got was a sort of barbecue y sugar-y fish-y taste.  Yeah, that’s a lot of –y’s, I know.  Although I was confused about the flavor, the aftertaste as I smacked my tongue and lips did remind me of lobster that had been poached and maybe seasoned with a bit of spice.  The initial flavor was sort of fishy like the dried cuttlefish / Hot Chili Squid chips, but with more of a briny seafood-y taste.  Ok, I know this is an awful description, but it’s because this flavor is difficult to describe.  Basically, these chips had a generally amorphous seafood flavor, with a bit of sugar and spice to give the whole taste a sort of BBQ-ish tinge.  Yes, if someone told me this flavor was BBQ Seafood, I’d believe it.

All in all?  Not my favorite.  Interesting, but I’ll stick to Hot Chili Squid, thank you.

PURCHASED AT: Somewhere in Thailand/Vietnam

COST: Some sort of Thai/Vietnamese Currency

Thoughts? Please comment below or hit me up on Twitter @junkfoodguy or LIKE my Facebook Page and message me there. Also, you can always email me at junkfoodguy@junkfoodguy.com. Let’s do this.

Sincerely, Junk Food Guy