The snack food, which has survived many packaging transformations, as well as owner changes (I may be wrong, but did it not use to be owned by a local manufacturer with the letters t, c, p somewhere in the logo? And did it also not belong to the Danone group for a while? It is now parked under the Kraftfoods label), is one of Malaysia’s most enduring (and dare I say, iconic, snacks. Anyone brought up on three channels and a 3pm-5pm belt of cartoons on RTM2 and TV3 will remember the advertisement where kids’ hair jolts upright after a taste of Twisties. In those days there were only the Cheese (red stripes), Curry (brown) and Chicken (green) flavours. And it was just plain luck that the package you bought from the neighbourhood roti man for 20 sen had been sealed well enough to still produce the crunch.
Now the staple three flavours have cooler names and I bet more chemical stuff. I think the chicken one is now Chickenator and the brown one Curry Dude. They’ve also launched a Tomato flavour which I think is a constant part of the signature range.
From time to time Twisties offers some weirded out flavours. I like weird, so I always try. None have been notable thus far. Yesterday’s haul were Peppery Jalapeno & Pickle and Chicken Chorizo & Smokey Sausage.
As I’ve said earlier, I love salty and sour flavours. The combination of a good ground chuck grilled burger interspersed with sliced gherkins or pickles, cheese and Jalapeño rings can send my palate into ripples of orgasmic ecstasy.
My love for pickles stems from the time I used to do the Hard Rock Café rounds as an entertainment journo. I was pretty much a fixture in the club, interviewing bands. I am pleased to say I was never lumped into the category of Fan Girl or musician hanger-on. (Possibly too fat and too intelligent for their tastes, though I still have a postcard from ace bassist Billy Sheehan from Mr Big who told me that I did my job with class and fun).
Anyhow, when at HRC, one of the nest things to have, for me, was the Veggie Burger. These were the days before eat-all-you-can vegan restaurants appeared and before every self-respecting restaurant made sure it had a passable vegetarian selection.
Hard Rock’s veggie burger always came with dill pickles in them. I loved the marrying of the tangy sourness with the lentils which made up the burger patty. As I grew friendlier with the chef, Rocky, I got bold enough to ask for an extra pickle on the side and soon, each time the servers saw me ordering the Veggie Burger, they’d note that it was my order and it always came with a whole pickle on the side.
The wonderful Rocky has now since climbed the Hard Rock Café food chain and is a Manager.
Back to the present. Pickle and Jalapeño make good food mates. Pickles are sweet and salty and jalapenos are hot and sour. That’s about the majority of the taste receptors covered. I was salivating with hopefulness.
Alas, it came to naught. What the Peppery Jalapeño & Pickle Twisties offers is a watered down version of what a bold chip maker like Marks & Spencers would do better. The overpowering taste in the mouth was of pepper. Not even good pepper, with its shades of flowers and fresh mown hay. Just plain hot pepper. To play safe, the jalapeño flavoring was a sprinkle of barely undetected heat, and certainly no gut-punch sour hotness. It was only when tipping over the bag and licking at the flavour granules at the very bottom did a taste akin to Margarita salt manifest. By then it was too late.
I guess ya gets what yer pays for. And RM1.20 isn’t a lot to pay.
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