On Yogurt

*Restaurant is closed*

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
   

 

Menchie's

*Restaurant is closed*

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

Yumi's Frozen Yogurt

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

Menchie's Frozen Yogurt (Highgate)

*Restaurant is closed*

Honestly, what's with the Froyo fad anyways?  Admittedly, I'm not a huge dessert guy, so sweets are not a priority.  However, I don't mind the occasional frozen yogurt, especially with all the self-serve options these days.  Locally, Qoola has opened several locations and I find them to be pretty good.  However, more recently, Menchies, being the bigger player, has come to town boosting some pretty famous customers.  Hey if a celeb likes it, it has to be good right?  As good as Oprah's love of Ezell's Fried Chicken?  Let's hope not at least...

So after our meal at Sushi Oyama, Gordo, Milhouse, Apu and I made our way out to Highgate for some froyo action.  The girls decided to ditch us and head out for some more substantial desserts.  Huh???  Anyways, the place was pretty busy with people scurrying around adding various toppings to their 1 of 14 froyo options including low fat.  In terms of toppings, Menchies has the market cornered in this town as Pinkberry and Qoola don't come close.  However, many people don't remember that the price is based on weight, so if you're not careful, you'll be enjoying a $10.00+ froyo.

For myself, I went for the low fat Blueberry Cheesecake which was pretty smooth and tasty despite the supposed healthiness of it all.  I added my favourite toppings which included mochi and those juicy pearls with a bit of blueberry to complete the theme. I was able to keep it around $5.00 which kept me satisfied in terms of eating.  In terms of comparing it with Qoola and Pinkberry, there is not a significant different in my opinion.  However, Menchies has the most choice, which may influence the final decision.

The Good:
- Lots of flavours
- Lots of toppings
- Relatively large store

The Bad:
- If you don't watch it, you'll be paying double digits

Pinkberry (Metrotown)

*Location is closed*

After our version of the Atkin's diet at Afghan Horsemen, we needed something refreshing to wash it all down.  The thought of dessert waffles was briefly entertained, but that would've been the Mijune diet.  So we ended up heading to a well-known froyo chain out of the US that has recently invaded the Canadian market - Pinkberry. Since we were on Granville Island, I suggested we head to the West Van location, but no one seemed too enthused.  Hence, we headed to the Metrotown store arriving just before closing.

Costanza and Elaine went for the Mango Froyo. It was not exactly smooth as it exhibited some iciness. However, it did offer up a wallop of flavour in the form of tart and sweetness. Add in a variety of toppings (as much that can fit) and this was froyo that ate like a meal. The little juice pearls were a nice little surprise. Viv and I ended up sharing a medium since any order includesThe Coconut Froyo was not as aromatic as I would've liked because the tartness was> the dominant flavour.  However, it was refreshing and not-too-sweet.  It wasn't overly icy either.  We loved the variety of toppings and especially liked the soft fresh mochi. So is Pinkberry worth the money?  The answer is: if you got the cash and enjoy froyo, then yes.  If you feel the need to spend the money on something else, then no.

The Good:
- Variety of toppings which are unlimited (granted if they fit in the cut without spilling over)
- Not too sweet

The Bad:
- Pricey
- A bit icy

Yogen Fruz

After brunch at the Crystal Mall Hilton, we headed over to Metrotown. While Viv was getting a pedicure, I decided to go get some frozen yogurt. Yes, you might be wondering why I'm getting frozen yogurt when I already just went for brunch. Well, it was my intention to get something and at least I chose something relatively healthy. The alternative was CinnZeo and that is 600 calories of buttery cinnamon goodness. In comparison, a large yogen fruz is around 300 calories. Yes, every calorie counts...

Yogen Fruz has been around for quite awhile now, since 1986 in fact. I remember once back in 1995 (yes, that long ago), Costanza and I got some Yogen Fruz on our way to lineup at A&B Sound on boxing day. Yes, we were young and stupid. Just imagine how cold we were. Since then, they've gone through a makeover of sorts lately and you could swear it looks exactly like Qoola (or does Qoola look like Yogen Fruz?). I decided to go for a large strawberry frozen yogurt. I picked strawberry because my daughter (who's only 1 and a half) was pointing aggressively at the strawberries (she loves them). After paying, much to my chagrin, she didn't want any! Luckily, Viv was happy to see the Yogen Fruz and helped me finish it.

The large was $5.00 and honestly, there was quite a bit of frozen yogurt in the cup. However, whoever put it in the cup was probably a Richmond driver because it was all over the place. Look at the picture! Isn't that the ugliest presentation of a frozen dessert in a cup ever??? Even dog poop at your neighbourhood park is more uniform than that (hmm, lost your appetite yet?). Anyways, I began eating the frozen yogurt and it was quite light tasting, not too sweet. However, it was bit icy for my liking. It is not remotely as smooth as Qoola's. Yet, it is a lot cheaper and more plentiful than a comparable item at Qoola. So here is the dilemma. We have an inferior product that is much less expensive than a superior product. Does this mean Yogen Fruz is bad? Not exactly. If you crave the best in everything, then yes, you'll probably be happier at Qoola. But, if you do not want to pay almost double for only a 20% improvement, then Yogen Fruz is more than acceptable.

The Good:
- Reasonable prices
- Light tasting, not too sweet
- Real fruit flavours

The Bad:
- It's a bit icy
- Obviously not as good as Qoola, but costs much less

Yogen Fruz
#1213 - 4700 Kingsway
Burnaby, B.C.
604-434-4222
www.yogenfruz.com