All Like Banana Chips – Spicy Barbecue

Saw this the other way at i-Tec (supermarket) the other day and thought it would be interesting. In Singapore banana chips are quite common actually but they are usually quite sweet and can be very hard to bite into. Not a big fan myself. I am guessing it is because the type of banana being used. So when I found this that actually looks like a pack of potato chips, I just have to try it. Note that this is a little more expensive than your regular potato chips. I paid like S$3 for one relatively small pack. Around 45 grams? But I am always in to trying new stuff, especially snacks.

The All Like Banana Chips pack. Made from 100% real fruit, which makes real sense as well. I probably won’t want to buy banana chips that aren’t made from real fruit. However it is interesting that most potato chips are actually made directly from potatoes. Apparently quite a lot of manufacturers use potato starch – the white powdery stuff which you get after washing potatoes. If you look at the ingredients list, you should be able to spot this potato starch.

Flavour is Spicy Barbecue. Actually not too bad. And it does taste a lot like potato chip. Yes it can be a bit harder to bite but I am guessing since they made this so thin, you probably won’t know the difference if you never knew this was made from bananas. I guess the spicy barbecue flavour overwhelms everything. This is probably meant for those who are slightly more health conscious. I mean it is made from bananas and bananas are supposed to be healthy right?

Yes! No MSG! No Preservatives. No Cholesterol. No Artificial Colours! And it is Super thin. Although I am not too sure whether the no cholesterol claim is true or not. It has to been fried somehow right? Unless it has been baked, but the texture of the chip do not suggest it has been baked. Not that it is very oily or anything, but it is rather obvious that the banana chip has been fried in oil.

The back of the pack. Looks like it is made in Thailand. Again this makes sense as Thailand is one of the world’s biggest producer of bananas. And they are pretty creative as well.

I like the short ingredients list – just bananas, sugar, vegetable oil and BBQ seasoning. This is usually a good sign that the product is at least “genuine”. Some of those mass produced foods that we see so common in the supermarkets are packed full of whatever ingredients which I can’t even pronounce. But see, there is indeed some oil involved. Of course some people might claim that vegetable oil is still cholesterol free. Maybe it is indeed healthier to use vegetable oil rather than palm oil or whatever other oils that are higher in saturated fat.

Not too sure what Gros Michel bananas are but they certainly don’t taste like anything here. Only just a slight crunchier feel to it. The Barbecue flavouring just makes this taste like a potato chip. And I actually like it. If it was slightly (just slightly) thicker cut, I think it might be better. At least I should be able to enjoy some banana “taste” in this product.

Yes it sure looks like a potato chip. But I wonder how they get the banana chip to have a shape like that. Perhaps they cut it at an angle to have a bigger surface area? Most of the other banana chips we have here in Singapore are smaller and more circular in shape as well. Anyway kudos to them for making this feel like a potato chip. I will never spot the difference if no one told me that it is a banana chip.

Another banana chip for you guys to gawk at. Yes I ate the entire pack in just one sitting. 45 grams isn’t exactly a lot. Actually just a few pieces inside the pack which is quite disappointing. The spicy barbecue flavour is basically the normal stuff. Not really spicy anyway, even to my standards. But I think this is a very enjoyable snack and at least you will feel healthy afterwards.

Take care all. I will be looking out for more interesting food items to showcase to you guys. Check out my Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Review here. Bye for now.