On Yogurt

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
   

 

Bubble Waffle Cafe (Kerrisdale)

For those who love bubble waffles, it is safe to say that Bubble Waffle Cafe makes a respectable version.  That is essentially what put them on the map with their original location at Aberdeen Centre.  A bustling food stall that not only serves up freshly made bubble waffles, but also a good bang-for-your-buck customizable noodle soups and other various snacks as well as bubble teas.  Now they have expanded not only into Crystal Mall's food court, but they also have stand alone stores located in Killarney, UBC and in Kerrisdale.  I, along with the ChineseBites crew were invited for a visit to the Kerrisdale location.

To get things going, we were served their signature items - Bubble Waffles.  Not sure if this was an appie or dessert though...  From bottom left clockwise, we had the Original, Chocolate, Matcha, Oreo and Cinnamon.  Call me boring, but I liked the original the best since it was mildly sweet with a certain aromaticness.  It was crispy on the outside while appealingly chewy on the inside.  As interesting as the cinnamon waffle seemed to be, the flavour didn't really work for me.  It almost seemed like it needed more sugar for balance.  The other waffle worth noting was the Oreo as it was pretty sweet due to the main ingredient.  However, there wasn't too much of it to make it crazy sweet.

Next, we were served some snacks including Taiwanese Sausage, Takoyaki, Fish Mousse Sui Mai and Stinky Tofu.  Served on skewers, the sausage was sweet and meaty with a touch of greasiness.  The exterior casing exhibited a nice snap.  Other than that, it was wasn't overly memorable.  On the other hand, the takoyaki was actually decent.  The outside was lightly crispy while the inside was fluffy encasing a small pieces of octopus.  I've never been a fan of the fish sui mai as it can be rather doughy and bland.  This was pretty much that, except the sauce added a nice saltiness.  Lastly, the stinky tofu was fairly pungent, but not as stinky as other versions I've had in the past.

Their other items they are known for is their aforementioned build-your-own soup noodles.  At our table, we had the Cilantro and Century Egg Soup, Original and Malay Laksa.  For me, the most surprising soup was the century egg as it was aromatic and clean-tasting.  The rice noodles were nicely chewy while the sliced beef was tender.  Their original fish soup was pretty decent with the natural sweetness of fish and the cloudiness from the boiling of the fish bones.  For me, I selected the laksa with oil noodles, tripe and brisket.  Okay, let me get this out-of-the-way first, this was not an authentic laksa (and really, who was expecting it anyways).  However, with that being said, it was decent with some creaminess accented by a considerable amount of spice and sweetness.  

Of course we also had some Milk Tea which we requested at 1/4 sweet.  As such, I could taste the tea, but it could've been stronger.  Furthermore, I would've liked to see more milk as the drink wasn't that rich.  But once again, there was nothing inherently wrong with the bevvies.  This could be the theme of the place as all of their offerings are definitely acceptable with little fanfare.  Nothing particularly stands out (other than the original bubble waffle), yet at the same time, nothing really offends either.  Hence, the place can be counted on for a reliable and inexpensive quick meal.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:
- Well-priced
- Reliable eats
- Good original bubble waffle

The Bad:
- Don't expect to be blown away
- Milk tea a bit weak