A love affair with froyo.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 @ 12:45 AM

You dig desserts, but you also want to stay fit and healthy. Ugh, right? This used to be a dilemma for a lot of people especially to the ladies but not anymore because a yummy dessert that is also healthy to eat has conquered the metro! You no longer need to feel guilty and feel like such a glob for wanting dessert. Hoooray for frozen yogurt! ♥

Frozen Yogurt (Frogurt, Yogart, Froyo), is a frozen dessert made from, or containing yogurt or other dairy products. It is a little more tart than ice cream, but is lower in fat because it uses milk instead of cream. In the 70's, it was introduced as a soft serve dessert by H.P. Hood under the name Frogurt. In 1978, Brigham's, a Boston-based store developed and introduced the first packaged frozen yogurt under the name Humphreez Yogart. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frozen_yogurt

It has long been in the market, but it only BOOM-ed here in the Philippines last 2009. Froyo places have sprouted everywhere around the Metro. Some of them are Red Mango, White Hat, Golden Spoon, I Heart Froyo, California Berry, and Qoola. I, myself, got introduced to it only last year after one of my best friends brought me into I Heart Froyo in Teachers' Village.  That first encounter is what I only needed to start my love affair with froyo. So, allow me to share my two-cents worth on the different froyo places that I have tried.


Red Mango

It started in South Korea in 2002. It now has 150 stores worldwide from Asia, to the United States, to South Africa. They have six branches here in the Philippines (Greenbelt 3, Eastwood, Trinoma (2), SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia). They say that their all-natural frozen yogurt is a treat that is not only good, but is also good for us. 






Out of all the froyo places that I have visited, I like Red Mango the best. I like the balance between the sweetness and the tartness of their frozen yogurt (Original and Green Tea). They do not only offer a good variety of toppings (Fresh fruits, Nuts, Cheesecakes, Mochi, Cereals, Syrups, Chocolate, etc.), they also put a generous amount of your chosen toppings into your cup. Also, their price list is reasonable. It's worth every ounce of their yummy frozen yogurt.  Their branch in Greenbelt 3 is my favorite. It looks so posh yet comfortable. It even has a veranda with couches wherein you can eat your froyo while stargazing or simply appreciating the Greenbelt-scape. There's free wi-fi too! :) However, I find their branches in Eastwood and Trinoma (the one in the 3rd floor) not very inviting to go to. The one in Eastwood is too small. It gets too cramped in by customers that you just want to finish your cup as quickly as possible. As for the one in Trinoma, I don't know, I guess I just don't dig eating in plain view of everyone in the third floor of the mall. Good thing they opened another one in the second floor beside Max's and Gilligan's. Despite that little iffy-ness about some of their branches' structure, Red Mango is still the one for me. It has never failed to satisfy me every time I crave for a froyo fix. :)


The White Hat

It originated here in the Philippines. It is named as such because of the hat-like shape that forms on top of a cup of frozen yogurt. They pride over serving authentic Italian frozen yogurt which they say is the best among the frozen yogurts. It is very white (They say that the whiteness of the yogurt is an indication of its good quality), and it is 98% fat-free.  It currently has 19 outlets where some are in the provinces (Cebu, Davao, Baguio, and Laguna). 


A lot of people like The White Hat, and I'm a fan of Italian food, so I was so excited to try their frozen yogurt. Yes, it tastes good, but I didn't fall in love with it unlike when I got my first froyo cup in Red Mango. I guess it's too sweet and too heavy for a yogurt for me. It is still worth trying though. They have a lot of toppings, some of which are their original creations, like their homemade cheesecake and granola. Their price list is also reasonable.  However, I hope that they try to make their stores look more attractive. The one in Glorietta 3 looks so plain. :|


California Berry


It is an American company as you can see from its name. It's cheap and affordable. Their price starts at 60 php for their small cup, and you can get three toppings for only 30 php. However, if I think that White Hat's froyo is a little on the sweet side, I think that California Berry's too tangy for my taste. I, involuntarily closed my eyes after I ate a spoonful of their frozen yogurt much to the delight of my friends. :)) Also, I find their toppings too limited although they did give a generous amount of them in my cup. Lastly, their branches are not too accessible for everyone to go to. They have stores in Paseo, Libis, and Greenhills but as of today, they don't have stores in Ayala or SM malls yet.


Golden Spoon  



Golden Spoon differs from other froyo places because it offers different flavors of frozen yogurt aside from the plain one like Cake Batter and Boysen Berry. If you choose their flavored froyo, you may opt to no longer add toppings on your cup, so you can save money, but in my case I still did.  Haha. A very good thing about them is that they offer a taste test to make sure that you will like the flavor that you will choose. Sadly, I only found out about that after I've already ordered. They have a lot of toppings to choose from too. Their staff are friendly. They've got a nice place in Ayala Triangle Park. It's spacious, well-lighted, and has lovely red furniture. Unfortunately, I find their frozen yogurt too bland for my taste. It's quite ironic since I chose a flavored one. :( I was really disappointed that their product didn't match the one in Red Mango because the place really looked so nice. I hope they do something quick to improve the taste of their froyo. 


I Heart Froyo



I Heart Froyo introduced me to the wonderful world of frozen yogurt. Rania, one of my best friends, brought me to this place in Teachers' Village about a year ago. Thank you, dear. :) She frequents this place because the owners are her friends in law school. She even has a picture posted on their wall. :)

I like their frozen yogurt, not only because of my best friend, but because it really simply tastes good. No pretensions whatsoever. Their apple cinnamon topping is a must-try! They also offer the cheapest frozen yogurt in town. You can get a large cup of froyo with a topping under 100 php. Nice, right! Sadly though, they can only be found in Quezon City. I hope they branch out more in the future!


Qoola


If there's one thing I can say about Qoola, it is that it is posh. It is located in the heart of Greenbelt near Cyma, Barcino, and Pancake House. It has a large place with two floors which is equipped with hip furnishings and yummy-to-the-eyes interior design. You can also eat outside while enjoying the garden-like ambience. I love that they got a fountain near them and that they have wifi! :) Qoola has a do-it-yourself feature. You get to twirl your own frozen yogurt in your cup. 75 php for every 100 grams. This is quite tricky though because it's not that easy to control the amount of frozen yogurt that you get to twirl out of the yogurt machine especially if you're a first-timer. They offer flavored froyo, and you can combine different flavors in just one cup. When I went there, I chose the one with dulce de leche while Mau, another best friend of mine, chose the blueberry-flavored frozen yogurt. Their array of toppings is to die for. I felt like a little kid full of excitement that night! :))) However, my giddiness got toppled over by my shock that my cup costs 250 php. Oh my, I guess I got too carried away. :)) Lucky me though, it was a treat from my best friend. Haha. :) Unfortunately, I didn't like the taste of my flavored yogurt. It was too sweet that it no longer tasted like yogurt. My best friend's froyo tasted better, but it's still nothing close to the one in Red Mango.  We were really disappointed that night because we spent quite a lot for froyo, but we didn't get that much satisfied. Oh well, at least we enjoyed the ambience. :)

Frozen yogurt is one of the things that I sorely miss since I took a vacation from the city life. I hope that a couple of  good souls will soon start a froyo place here in our province. I promise to go to church if that happens soon. Teeheee. :)

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