I was always in awe whenever I went grocery shopping as a newly international exchange student here in Waterloo, coming from at least 12,878 kilometres away from home. With that distance separating Indonesia and Canada, there are lots of snacks produced in the USA or Canada that, when imported, prices get ridiculously high back home. The selection was either Goldfish Crackers or Jelly Belly beans. So here I am, spending most of my pocket money on groceries (I tracked my spending and counted them.) Here is a list and my honest reviews of all the snacks I’ve tried so far.
1. Tostitos and the Salsa Con Queso
This is the first ever snack I grabbed when visiting the dollar store. When I entered the store, the first rack was the limitless selection of Salsa and chips with different shapes. As a cheese lover, I immediately picked Salsa Con Queso and the Tostitos scoops-shaped size. My first reaction was how savoury the cheese and chopped jalapeños were, making it the best creamy dip I’ve tried, and how convenient it is for the Tostitos to be shaped like scoops to make it easy to take in the dip. I finished it in around five days, changing the chips with small peeled baby carrots that I bought just for the sake of my health. I still ate more of the chips than the carrots, naturally.
2. Smart food popcorn white cheddar
I got the small size at the gas station when I returned to Waterloo from a four-day Montreal trip. I had zero expectations since the packaging did not pique my interest; the white cheddar and my cravings for popcorn led me to buy it. I am an absolute fan after buying it. The flavour of white cheddar was strong in my mouth and in a good way. I cannot leave Dollarama without buying the big size and finishing it in around two days. I tend to snack a lot when doing my assignments.
3. Werther’s caramel
Believe it or not, I tried to make my own caramel candy apple at home after seeing it in St. Jacobs Market. I did try the store-bought, but I also searched for the recipe, and someone said to just buy Werther’s caramel, melt it, put a few tablespoons of milk and lemon juice to make it more liquid, and dip the apple. I might have failed in making it, but the caramel itself was great, with a bit of salty flavour. Planning to bring some home for gifts to share with peers back in Indo!
4. Takis
Sad to inform you of this, but I’m not exactly a fan of this. The sour flavour that was supposed to be combined with the savoury-dominated flavour left a bad aftertaste in my mouth. I
have a friend who is an ultimate fan of Takis, and she bought it almost every time. I always asked her why she liked it so much, but I guess people just had different tastes. Takis was just not exactly my cup of tea.
5. Eggo
Eleven! Stranger Things! I was a big, big fan of Stranger Things, and my first initial response upon going to exchange study in Canada was, “I am going to buy Eggo just to see why Eleven loved it so much.” My dream came true, and I tasted it. It was… Okay. Certainly, a great waffle, but I wish I could see what is more to it to say that it is my favourite thing ever. But I understand now why Eleven loves it so much.
6. Veggie Straws
Hold on, I promise this is the last and my favourite snack so far, to the point I plan to bring back to Indonesia 42 packs of 1-ounce Veggie Straws packs so that I will not miss the taste when I get back home. Whether Veggie Straws have the vegetable portions that they claim to or not, or if it’s really made of 100% vegetables and no potato, honestly, I couldn’t care less about it. I’ve tried every Veggie Straws flavour by Sensible Portion, except for the cinnamon, and I can assure you that none of them disappoint. I really, really like how some of it still tastes a little bit like baked carrots combined with either cheddar cheese or zesty ranch. It fits, crunches and melts perfectly in your mouth. If anyone ever asks me what my favourite thing in Canada is, I have found that so far it is Princess Cinema in Uptown Waterloo and Veggie Straws.