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Remember when Yogen Fruz was the only froyo player in town? As much as I don't mind the place, we wouldn't be blessed with more flamboyant and interesting options until the appearance of Scoop! and then the explosion of froyo with Qoola, Pinkberry and Menchies. To be honest, as much as I don't mind the occasional serving of candy-ladened froyo, it is far too sweet and artificial tasting. This is where On Yogurt enters the fray, offering Canada's first "ice-fried" yogurt (with certain similarities to Marble Slab). Along with other bloggers and IGers, I was hosted by Jacqueline for a menu tasting.
We got right down to it with a couple of Yogurt Shakes including the Strawberry Banana and Passionfruit. For me, I loved the smooth consistency and the fact it didn't even taste like yogurt. I found the passionfruit to be really sweet with its classic tang. It was super potent and probably could've been dialed down a bit in terms of sugar. For that reason, I preferred the strawberry banana as it was more subtle and aromatic from the bananas.
As for the yogurt, we started with the Green Forrest with matcha, red bean & condensed milk. This was smooth and relatively mild-tasting with only a purposeful amount of green tea bitterness. I found that the condensed milk was necessary in adding sweetness to the lightly flavoured yogurt. Naturally, the sweetened red bean was a nice compliment. Next, we tried the Chocoholic with chocolate, Kit Kat, chocolate chips & syrup. Despite the appearance of being sickingly sweet, this concoction was not. There was definitely enough chocolate in play due to the ingredients. I liked the crunch of the Kit Kat and firmness of the chips.
One of my favourites was the Passionate Peanut sporting Almond, Cashew, Peanut & Caramel. This tasted as described with an aromatic nutty creaminess that was easy on the sugar. Naturally, the crunch of the nuts added texture to the smooth ice-fried and rolled up yogurt which didn't interfere with the creaminess. If this was crunchy, the next one, aptly named Crunchy Bites was even more so. It sported original yogurt with Oreo, Skor pieces and caramel. I found this one much sweeter due to the ingredients involved. There was definitely texture and sweetness added from the Skor and Oreo pieces.
Possibly because it was fruity, the Juicy was a refreshing change. It consisted of peach, pineapple & popping pearl strawberry which again was sweet, but not to the point where it overshadowed the fruity flavours. Personally, I would've preferred fresh fruit as opposed to the canned variety, but I guess the price point would've went up considerably. Looking even more colourful than the juicy, the Rainbow sported marshmallows, banana, rainbow sprinkles & caramel. Due to the addition of such sugary ingredients, this ate rather sweet. For me, this wasn't my favourite due to the amount of processed sweet items.
We also wanted to try their monthly feature in the Salted Caramel with puffed rice Brazilian sea salt and caramel. Although fairly sweet, I liked this as the caramel was appealing salty and only sugary enough. I loved the addition of the crispy rice as it provided a light crunch. Right beside it we had the Earl Grey with Oreo, cashews and cheesecake. I found the tea flavour to be evident while the rest of the ingredients added a bit too many competing flavours. To end things off, we got a fruity one with the Blueberry topped with more blueberries. Nothing complex about this one other than it was a refreshing and lightly sweet way to finish things off. Personally, I was more fond of the fruity creations rather than the heavily candy topped versions. That way I could actually taste the individual flavours with a lower sugar content.
*All yogurts were complimentary*
The Good:
- Different take on "frozen" yogurt with a firmer texture and not as sweet
- Lots of combinations available
The Bad:
- The house creations with lots of candy and toppings muddled up the flavours a bit
There is no doubt in my mind if there was a Menchie's located closer to my house, my daughter would beg me to go every day. She practically lives on the stuff. On the other hand, my son has been a bystander on every visit. You couldn't pay him enough to eat froyo. But with the introduction of the Oreo Cookie flavour, there was hope. You see, his treat of choice is Oreos. So if one combines a preferred food item to a non-preferred food item, there is the possibility of acceptance. We raced to the nearest Menchie's to test this theory out.
So without further ado, we pounced on the Oreo Cookie froyo and he proceeded to top it off with even more Oreos in the form of bits and a whole cookie. Marshmallows, white chocolate chips and Reese Pieces were thrown in for good measure. Just like the old commercials with Life cereal... "he likes it, he likes it!!!". Yes, he ate it willingly, success! Personally, I thought it was rather sweet, but what do I know, the kiddies seemed to love it. My daughter was allowed to make her own which helps explain why it wasn't exactly photogenic. She went for the Blueberry with assorted sour candies, marshmallows and chocolate chips on top as well some waffle pieces. I usually dislike anything blueberry flavoured because it just doesn't have much impact. Well, this one wasn't bad and not overly sweet either.
For #MenchiesMyWay creation, I went for a combo of Peach Sorbet and Mango froyo with fresh strawberries, pineapple, mochi, popping pearls and a fuzzy peach gummy (my daughter's idea). I liked the mango as it was creamy and purposefully sweet. As expected, the peach sorbet was sweeter and really didn't taste too much like real peach. I liked how it wasn't icy though, even for a sorbet. Now here comes the good part, for a chance to win a Menchie's Summer VIP Pass (with 7 complimentary visits to any Menchie's across Canada), follow these 2 steps:
- Follow @Menchies_CA and @sherman38 on Twitter and/or Instagram
- Tweet/share an image of your own Menchie's creation with the hashtag #MenchiesMyWay: "Name of your creation" @Menchies_CA @sherman38
Deadline for entry is July 27th at midnight. I will select the winning entry based on presentation and an awesome name for your creation. Good Luck!
*2 of the 3 froyos were complimentary for this post*
The Good:
- Plenty of choice for froyo and toppings
- Smooth and not tart
The Bad:
- Some flavours are quite sweet (but the kids seem to like these the best...)
- Can get pricey if you pile it on
Menchie's
146 Brew St, Port Moody
(604) 492-0707
Our original plan after downing pizza, ribs and poutine at Big Daddy's was to go for a second course of poutine at Big Reds Poutine truck only a few blocks away. Of course we experienced an epic fail because the truck wasn't there! Ultimately, it was a blessing in disguise as we would've been overloaded with fries and gravy as a result (is that necessarily a bad thing?). Our backup plan was to return to the Valley Fair Mall for some refreshing froyo at Yumi's, a couple of doors down from Big Daddy's.
Looking like a clone of Menchies, but on a smaller scale, we had no expectations for Yumi's. Even with the in mind, we were pleasantly surprised with the pricing as none of our creations cost over $5.00. I decided to try the Berry Cheesecake with strawberries, raspberries and kiwi. I found the froyo to be creamy and smooth with only a purposeful amount of sweetness. Although masked partly by the natural tartness of the yogurt, I still got some background cream cheese flavour. The fruit was pretty ripe and sweet, but the raspberries looked a little overripe. Bam Bam got inspired by the Peanut Butter Cup froyo and loaded it up with Reese Pieces, mini peanut butter cups and peanut butter cup chunks. One taste and it was pretty clear why he chose that flavour. It was creamy and powerfully peanut buttery while not being sickingly sweet. Of course it worked really well with his chosen toppings.
Dark Helmet went for a trio of flavours including the aforementioned Peanut Butter, Cookie Monster and Fat-Free Chocolate. He simply added shaved almonds to complete his treat. As smooth as the rest, we were surprised with the fat-free chocolate. Keeping with the theme as the other flavours, the sugar content was conservative. Well, I guess we were meant to miss Big Reds, because we would've have returned to try Yumi's otherwise. What a surprise that the froyo was on point and the cost was reasonable.
The Good:
- Smooth, purposefully sweet froyo
- Reasonably-priced
The Bad:
- Limited fruit options
Posts
Remember when Yogen Fruz was the only froyo player in town? As much as I don't mind the place, we wouldn't be blessed with more flamboyant and interesting options until the appearance of Scoop! and then the explosion of froyo with Qoola, Pinkberry and Menchies. To be honest, as much as I don't mind the occasional serving of candy-ladened froyo, it is far too sweet and artificial tasting. This is where On Yogurt enters the fray, offering Canada's first "ice-fried" yogurt (with certain similarities to Marble Slab). Along with other bloggers and IGers, I was hosted by Jacqueline for a menu tasting.
We got right down to it with a couple of Yogurt Shakes including the Strawberry Banana and Passionfruit. For me, I loved the smooth consistency and the fact it didn't even taste like yogurt. I found the passionfruit to be really sweet with its classic tang. It was super potent and probably could've been dialed down a bit in terms of sugar. For that reason, I preferred the strawberry banana as it was more subtle and aromatic from the bananas.
As for the yogurt, we started with the Green Forrest with matcha, red bean & condensed milk. This was smooth and relatively mild-tasting with only a purposeful amount of green tea bitterness. I found that the condensed milk was necessary in adding sweetness to the lightly flavoured yogurt. Naturally, the sweetened red bean was a nice compliment. Next, we tried the Chocoholic with chocolate, Kit Kat, chocolate chips & syrup. Despite the appearance of being sickingly sweet, this concoction was not. There was definitely enough chocolate in play due to the ingredients. I liked the crunch of the Kit Kat and firmness of the chips.
One of my favourites was the Passionate Peanut sporting Almond, Cashew, Peanut & Caramel. This tasted as described with an aromatic nutty creaminess that was easy on the sugar. Naturally, the crunch of the nuts added texture to the smooth ice-fried and rolled up yogurt which didn't interfere with the creaminess. If this was crunchy, the next one, aptly named Crunchy Bites was even more so. It sported original yogurt with Oreo, Skor pieces and caramel. I found this one much sweeter due to the ingredients involved. There was definitely texture and sweetness added from the Skor and Oreo pieces. 
Possibly because it was fruity, the Juicy was a refreshing change. It consisted of peach, pineapple & popping pearl strawberry which again was sweet, but not to the point where it overshadowed the fruity flavours. Personally, I would've preferred fresh fruit as opposed to the canned variety, but I guess the price point would've went up considerably. Looking even more colourful than the juicy, the Rainbow sported marshmallows, banana, rainbow sprinkles & caramel. Due to the addition of such sugary ingredients, this ate rather sweet. For me, this wasn't my favourite due to the amount of processed sweet items.
We also wanted to try their monthly feature in the Salted Caramel with puffed rice Brazilian sea salt and caramel. Although fairly sweet, I liked this as the caramel was appealing salty and only sugary enough. I loved the addition of the crispy rice as it provided a light crunch. Right beside it we had the Earl Grey with Oreo, cashews and cheesecake. I found the tea flavour to be evident while the rest of the ingredients added a bit too many competing flavours. To end things off, we got a fruity one with the Blueberry topped with more blueberries. Nothing complex about this one other than it was a refreshing and lightly sweet way to finish things off. Personally, I was more fond of the fruity creations rather than the heavily candy topped versions. That way I could actually taste the individual flavours with a lower sugar content.
