Back in the day, I used to work in a company located in Shuwaikh.

I spent many years there, enough to notice them emptying the lot, preparing for what was to be a new City Center Hypermarket.

They had already begun the construction work by the time I left.

I switched jobs and consequentially locations, and never got to check out the Shuwaikh branch of City Center… until now.

Truthfully, I was on the hunt for hangers.

My closet was finally finished and I needed a ton of hangers and was looking to buy them in bulk.

While I did not find any decent hangers, I did manage to grab a few “healthy” snacks.

Popchips – Sea Salt & Vinegar

This stuff was neither good nor memorable. I suppose I’d say it was just meh.

Sensible Portions Garden Veggie Straws – Zesty Ranch

This was what my 2.5 year old niece had fed me, one fine day during the lockdown and I had become obsessed with finding it ever since.

For whatever reason, it was nowhere to be found (neither online nor in-store)!

I’d find different versions (shown below) but not the stuff that came in a bag (shown above).

As you can imagine, I was ecstatic when I finally managed to find it! Needless to say, it was so good!

Sensible Portions Garden Veggie Chips – Sea Salt & Vinegar
Sensible Portions Garden Veggie Chips – Sea Salt
Sensible Portions Garden Veggie Chips – Cheddar Cheese
Sensible Portions Garden Veggie Chips – Sour Cream & Onion

I’d picked up this canned version earlier (here) but only as a substitute for the bagged version, which I couldn’t seem to find anywhere.

The green ones (Sour Cream & Onion) legit made my stomach hurt. The rest were just okay, nothing special.

Old El Paso Tortilla Chips – Fajitas
Old El Paso Tortilla Chips – Cheese

I picked these up to go with the Salsa from my previous haulage (here).

Simply 7 Organic Veggie Chips – Ranch

Hard. As. Rocks.

Kitco Bliss Veggie Straws – Zaatar with Creamy Yoghurt

It sure didn’t take long for Kitco to come out with their version of the Sensible Portions Garden Veggie Straws.

I really wish they’d stop copying and start innovating, but this is Kuwait.

Hunter’s Gourmet Snap Pea Chips

I tried these earlier from Saveco but they came in different packaging (here).

I enjoyed them then and I enjoyed them now. Nice, light and crispy!

Perfect for binge-eating while binge-watching a new show on Netflix ^_^

Natureland Noreez Sea Vegetable Snack

Another repurchase (here).

Again, nice, light and perfectly crispy!

Hunter’s Gourmet Baked PretzOs – Sea Salt
Hunter’s Gourmet Baked PretzOs – Honey & Mustard
Hunter’s Gourmet Baked PretzOs – Pizza

These were new to me. I fully trusted them because Hunter’s Gourmet was the same brand that made those addictive Snap Pea Chips.

I couldn’t decide between the available flavors so I got all of them.

Initially, I quite liked PretzOs but once the novelty wore off, I kinda’ got bored of them.

Alalali Sodium Bicarbonate
Blue Dragon Oyster & Spring Onion Stir Fry Sauce
Natureland Pomegranate Syrup
Natureland Instant Yeast

My home-made Teriyaki Beef was already a favorite in our household (here) but I figured there was no harm in experimenting with the Stir Fry Sauce.

The Sodium Bicarbonate was a must for baking. It’s not my preferred brand, but I’ll take what I can get.

The Instant Yeast was also for baking. I thought these tiny little sachets were just so practical!

The Pomegranate Syrup was a total fail! I needed it have a much thicker texture, but this stuff was straight up liquid-y. I also needed it to taste tart, not just sweet.

I was literally in the middle of cooking a new dish (Okra & Lamb Stew), when I had to drop everything and rush out to our local co-op to get Yamama Pomegranate Molasses (tried and true favorite)!

I’ve seemed to notice that Natureland products can be quite hit or miss. When they’re good, they’re great but when they’re bad, they’re awful.

Maggi Kabsa Mix
Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

As I said in my Chef LuLu Part 10 Post (here), by January, I was making Kabsa on a weekly basis and this Maggi Kabsa Mix was a nice lil timesaver!

I was intrigued by the Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix and decided to give it a try (at 3am in the morning lol) but thanks to our horrible oven (as mentioned here), they ended up burnt on the outside and raw on the inside :(

That was that. I was buying a new oven, the next chance I got!

Oreo Thins
Milka Oreo Minis
Meiji Hello Panda Biscuits with Chocolate Filling
Aero Chocolate Bars

Most of these were repurchases.

Oreo Thins were not so much light as they were nice and crispy. When you quit smoking, texture becomes a “thing” as I found myself constantly craving crunchy snacks.

Same goes for the Panda Biscuits (childhood memooories) which were nice and crispy lol Notice a theme here?

While Aero is a chocolate bar and I tend to despise chocolate, Aero comes across as less rich than the other alternatives and I find myself craving it from time to time.

What was new to me was the Milka Oreo Minis which I thought for sure would taste awesome! Sadly, I was very wrong. In fact, it’s what prompted me to bake the Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookies at 3 in the morning.

Vaseline Lip Therapy Creme Brulee Lip Balm

How stinkin’ cute!

The thought of sticking my finger in anything and then touching it to my lips (no matter how many times I’ve washed my hands) skeeves me out but I just couldn’t resist this lil cutie!

I mean, Creme Brulee! Need I say more?

All in all, the Shuwaikh branch of City Center was nothing special and not worth a revisit.

I was back to eating Takis (dis) with a vengeance (our driver would buy me huge packs that contained the smallest available size) and I was looking for healthier alternatives but most of these were meh.