sweet corny cheesiness.

harumphh.

i have been very busy this past week. and i have eye bags under my eyes that i kinda look like a panda. i guess that's mostly my fault - i got into this bad habit of going to bed at 1am but having to wake up at the ungodly hour of 6:30 am every weekday. which is why i absolutely love weekends cos i get to sleep in!

so my busy-ness is due to..

01| apartment hunting - NEED to find a cheap and nice place to live in for next year. btw i think i am leaning more towards downtown chicago. must be the visit to christina's cozy place last weekend.

02| revising some stuff from college. it's been almost two years and i have barely used any of my knowledge at my current job. sounds nerdy but it needs to be done.

03| a few house errands.
04| admiring the cherry blossoms, flowers and what not. spring is here!

05| complaining about the damn "spring" weather - which is not very spring-like. freaking chilly for what is supposed to be nice weather!

05| other stuff that i can't mention here.

anywho, now that is out of the way, tried cheese popcorn before?

"...say whattttttt?" some of you might say.

yup, you read it right.

cheese popcorn!

chicago is the home to the famous popcorn chain located throughout chicago and new york called garrett popcorn. they have the usual selection of flavors such as caramelcrisp, butter and plain but they also have unconventional flavors such as cheesecorn and (insert nut name here) caramelcrisp namely macadamia caramelcrisp or pecan caramelcrisp. but suprisingly they don't have the regular kettle corn at this store. (like wth right?) kettle corn is reminiscent of the popcorn i could get in malaysia but with added salt - so it's slightly sweet but has a salty note at the end.

as described on their website:

caramelcrisp: "taste the best: rich butter notes, sweet and sultry brown sugar and a crème brulee crunch that is as sophisticated as it is irresistible."

cheesecorn: "freshly melted sharp cheddar cheese (we would never use a powder!) is generously stirred into our kettles of hot air popped popcorn."

when you mix those two popcorn together gives the most popular selection at garret: the chicago mix.

i've never really thought much about garrett and their popcorn choices. i was more into kettle corn but secretly wishing there wasn't any salt in it (i do love my malaysian popcorn). so what sparked the change in my view of the chicago mix was when i went home to malaysia for my three week break last month. i was trying to think of something that was native to chicago but also something that my family has never tried before. that was when garrett popcorn came into the picture. plus i love that the mix is called chicago mix - gives it a more chicago feel. lol.

before i bought a whole few gallons to bring it back to malaysia, i had to try some first myself to see if i like it. the first time i tried it was more like a love-hate relationship. well, actually it started more like a confused relationship. i couldn't really decide if i like it. i started off with a cheesecorn first (never had those before so i was very curious about how it'd taste). first bite was very savory - strong flavor of cheddar that i didn't know what to make of it. i thought it was too salty but then after i popped a few more of those in my mouth, the saltiness started to mellow down and i was hooked. then came the sweetness of the caramelcrisp. to some it might be too sweet but with the constrast of the cheesecorn, it was fun alternating the sweet and the savory or have them both combined! true to its name, caramelcrisp popcorn is slightly crispy from the caramel. in short, the popcorn have pronounced sweet and savory flavors that some might either love it or hate it.

ryan was sceptical about cheese popcorn cos the ones he had before were dry because some companies used cheese powder. he was pleasantly surprised that the ones from garrets were moist and buttery that he had trouble to stop munching. it could potentially get messy when you eat the popcorn cos it leaves a distinct cheddar color on your fingertips. but fear not, licking the cheesy cheddar flavor off your fingers is pretty satisfying.

i warned everyone who is trying it for the first time that the first taste of cheesecorn could potentially be overwhelming but they need to try more before forming an opinion on it. in fact, my mom thought the same as i did when she tried it for the first time and now she loves the cheese popcorn quite a bit, much to my relief :)

definitely try some when you are in chi-town. i know a few ppl who loves it and some who hates it but if you like cheese and you like sweets, you can't really go wrong. it is pretty pricey for popcorn though. think my family was a lil shocked when i told them how much it was.

a fair warning though, it could get addictive.

disclaimer this is written based on my personal experience and opinion. experiences and taste buds may vary for others