Garrett in Dubai : Caramel-Crazed Popcorn

have you tasted garret’s popcorn that’s creating a buzz in klcc malaysia right now?

been seeing 'garret' in dubai since forever, but never had the urge to buy or even try, because it's so expensive here! however, since i heard they just opened one in our beloved klcc in malaysia with a loo—oo---ng----g line of people buying, thought i tried it here in dubai where nobody cares! haha.

(also, jealous finding out my sisters dah rasa dulu! hohoho)

 

garrett’s caramel crisp popcorn

 

we went to the one in dubai mall – well, i think the only garrett in dubai IS in dubai mall. there are two actually, one is in the candylicious opposite the aquarium, and the other one is at the exit heading out to the musical fountain.

 

kahfi & khaleef with our popcorn. khaleef was delightfully obsessive about his pack of popcorn haha

 

established since 1949, it is stated in their fb page that garrett is a “chicago tradition, unchanged for 60 years, handmade fresh every day, one batch at a time, using only the highest quality ingredients.” wow. did they really hand-mixed all those popcorns in special copper kettles? classic!

well, 1949 tu! malaysia pun belum merdeka!

 

 

there are a few regular flavors or types of garrett popcorn like the classic caramel crisp, as well as sweet caramel-coated popcorns with nuts you like – almond, cashew, macadamia or pecan, and even cheese popcorn! and they even offer a new ‘spicy cheese corn’ flavor!’ popcorn, spicy? that’s really something.

it seemed that the most popular one is ‘chicago mix’ – a combo of caramel crisp popcorn and cheese corn. sounds tempting, but for a first-timer, i wanted to try the very basic, and then go from there.

 

pricey!

we got ourselves the LARGE caramel crisp, at aed34 per bag (i think more or less RM10 more expensive than in msia). and look at the price of the biggest gallon of caramel crisp – a whopping aed758! even for a big party i wouldn’t dream of spending that much on popcorns!

 

those people must really be caramel-crazy to buy this much!

 

 

i was fascinated with the packaging. 3 layers! first, the popcorns are packed in a clear plastic bag, rolled down air-tight. this was placed in a cute striped paper bag with cool taglines like ‘heavenly obsession’, and ‘gone in 60 seconds’, ‘rite of passage’, ‘unchanged for 60 years’ and ‘the pursuit of happiness’ and my favorite – ‘selfish gobblin’! hihi.

finally it’s placed in a fancier bag to take home. fancy!

 

 

* * *

alright.

so we finally tried this so-called best popcorn in the world hailed from chicago.

VERDICT : the caramel-freak boys (and i'm talking about MR. KHAIRUL and khaleef) love it, but it's too much la for me. ok, here’s my first meeting with the popcorn people will line up for :

1. i’m amazed at how big the popcorn kernels are
2. every single one popcorn is wholly covered in caramel
3. it’s hot! so it tasted really fresh when you pop one in
4. i tasted one, and WOAH – it really is one of the best popcorn i’ve ever tasted! (at first…)
5. i tried some more, and it can be quite addictive especially if you’re a sweet-tooth person – i’m sure you can’t stop popping them
6. but TO ME, really, after 4-5 more scoops of garret caramel popcorn, i gave-up the sugar rush – too sweet! too much caramel for my liking!
7. also, the caramel after-taste was so overwhelming, even after i stopped eating them, it felt like i just drank a whole cup of caramel drink or something. the caramel taste is so strong!
8. but it’s nice that none of the popcorn kernel has a hard part. all crispy crunchy popping all the way. sickeningly sweet way!
9. my eldest boy khaleef and mr. khairul are the caramel-popcorn-freaks in the house – they can even sit with a bucket of regular popcorn rummaging thru it looking for ONLY the brown caramel-coated popcorns, leaving the white tasteless ones for me huhu – so they’re ABSOLUTELY HYPNOTIZED already by garrett popcorns haha
10. interesting fact : my youngest boy kazim – who can eat anything from m&m’s to doughnuts to nasi goreng tomyam – tried one, and spit it out. he wouldn’t try again. hmm.

 

 

my final word on garrett’s caramel crisp – it’s definitely too sweet for me to eat a lot off, but seriously, who in the world could go back to regular jagung bertih TGV or reel cinemas popcorn after a taste of sweet-sticky rich heavenly caramel at garrett’s? right?