Big Bro – Crayfish Flavour Glutinous Rice Crusts

As I work my way through the Big Bro catalog of goods, I find myself wondering about regional varieties, and given that it’s largely a Chinese brand, if they have more crazy and wider assortments over there. I also find myself wondering if those will ever make it over here to the frigid North, and if it does how long I’ll be waiting.

Once the cloud of overthinking passes, I am brought back to reality by another new flavour I have yet to try. I should add that most of the snacks and food in a lot of parts of China are spicy, and very much so. It’s for that reason that I fear a little that this one might hit me hard, but I feel the need to try it. For science of course.

This one comes in a very vibrant, almost angry red packaging. I’m sure that means it’s going to be spicy. A reminder that each pack only has 2 squares, compared to the original and spicy flavours that had 3 in each for a total for 24 pieces. It’s the reduced piece count that leads me to believe these are supposed to be marketed as a “premium” version so to speak. I do also wonder what the logic is behind that, since realistically the only change would be the seasoning on one side. Is the process so pricey that it would cost us 8 squares worth of snack??

Visually, the squares look just as red and angry as the packaging suggests. Well, at least one the one side. I suspect this is to balance things out given that that seasoning does look quite strong and coating both sides may be a bit too much for normies like me to handle.

The seasoning is pretty heavy handed admittedly, and reminds me of something you would find in an instant noodle packet. It’s got a bit of sweetness to it, but mostly its savoury and has a shellfish quality to it, if that makes sense. It’s noticeable enough that if you don’t like the seafood taste, you might not like this. There’s also a very distinct heat and kick to it, which reminds me of a spicy seafood stew, with hints of shrimp and chili. It’s not quite “clutch my throat and struggle” hot but it is “breathe in heavily to try and cool down a bit” levels of spicy. It’s manageable for me, but I’ve since learned maybe I’m not as big of a spice wimp as I thought. At least in comparison to some coworkers.

The texture is no different from the other Big Bro flavours, and it has a nice satisfying crunch to it. It’s satisfying both in the way it crunches and cracks, but also in that it feels satisfying and after a few pieces you don’t feel the need to continue snacking. That could be due to the gluttonous rice, but the point is these make you feel sated.

It looks like so far Big Bro is 4 out of 4 for all the flavours. While this one is good, I wouldn’t say it’s my favourite but I can see someone who enjoys seafood flavours liking this a lot. For me it’s mostly texture and I’m not too fussed with flavour, but I liked all of them and this one is no exception. If only they gave more pieces…