Snack shopping in a foreign country is hilarious. Who knew that Lay’s potato chips made a popular flavor called “India’s Magic Masala” in Asia?
During our India tour, my brother eagerly bought a bag of the snack, shoved a handful of chippy goodness into his mouth then screamed: “SPICY!”
“What did you expect?” asked our guide with a grin. “Masala usually means spicy here!”
We moved down the snack aisle and came face to face with a snack called “Nylon Sev.” WHAT? Why would you desire nylon in your mouth? And what, pray tell, does “sev” mean? With terrified fascination, we placed the snack in our cart.
Onto the van we hopped, popping the bag open once we sat. We peered in. Nestled below the sparkly silver of the bag, the Nylon Sev stared up at us in thin golden curls.
“Wow,” I murmured. “How the heck do you eat it without getting covered in crumbs?”
My husband, Colin, bravely dove in, pouring a yellow stream of Nylon Sev into his hand. See it below? (And see his fake wedding ring that we busted out to stay low-risk during travel?) Colin brought his hand to his mouth and munched.
“Not bad!” he said. “Nylon Sev tastes… crispy.”
At that point, my brother, David, went wild on the bag. He scarfed it with delight, down to the crumbs.
So there you have it: Nylon Sev does not taste like a pair of wind pants!
What about you? Have you ever tried these snacks? Would you? What other foreign munchies have made you smile? (Besides chicken feet, of course…)

The author, Lillie Marshall, is a 6-foot-tall National Board Certified Teacher of English, fitness fan, and mother of two who has been a public school educator since 2003. She launched Around the World “L” Travel and Life Blog in 2009, and over 4.2 million readers have now visited this site. Lillie also runs TeachingTraveling.com and DrawingsOf.com. Subscribe to her monthly newsletter, and follow @WorldLillie on social media!
Lindsay
Saturday 14th of September 2013
I love snack shopping in foreign countries! Nylon Sev looks like ramen noodle crumbs. In Central and Eastern Europe, I've fallen in love with bacon and paprika chips. In Serbia they have kajmak chips (kajmak is a regional dairy product similar to cream cheese or marscapone) We're in Bosnia now and recently saw hot dog flavored chips. Sounds terrible but they're probably delicious.
Lillie
Saturday 14th of September 2013
Amazing!
Wilson Samuel
Thursday 8th of August 2013
Did you visit Pizza Hut or Mc Donalds in India?
You will be up for a big surprise in the menu and taste..
Btw, there is a Mc Donalds in Mumbai, which serves only Vegetarian Food .. lol
They serve much better food there, and staff is really courteous and the restaurants are really really clean.
Regards
Lillie
Thursday 8th of August 2013
We didn't, but that's so interesting!
Shubhangi
Wednesday 15th of May 2013
hello!! i am an Indian ...and its lovely reading your adventures :)
Lillie
Wednesday 15th of May 2013
Thanks so much for reading!
Reg of The Spain Scoop
Monday 6th of May 2013
Yes, I saw those wild flavors while in Mumbai and the South. Funny that the 'Spanish' flavor is 'tango' and that tango is from Argentina, not Spain.....Should have been 'Flamenco Flavor'! I tried some of the chili, spicy chips while there and they were very HOT, like most of the food. Oh India!
Amber
Sunday 28th of April 2013
Love this! And, would love to try the Masala chips. I enjoy checking out the local flavors of chips when I travel, particularly with the love affair with prawn flavored chips in Southeast Asia, but Masala, that's wonderful! Enjoy!