Fro-yo girl here. I started noticing new froyo cube shops opening in Asia and Australia in early 2022. The first one in the US that I knew about was in Seattle. For a history of the thick cut yogurt cubes and slices trend, read IFYA’s post, New Froyo Trend: Froyo Cubes and Yogurt Slices. Froyo cubes and slices are made on freezing pans in one piece and then cut into shapes after the freezing process.
I found a local milk tea shop that started offering froyo cubes in 2022. L2 Tea Club opened in November 2021 in San Gabriel, CA. L2 has six flavors of fried yogurt. The available flavors were: Jasmine Lady Meteor, Rose Lychee O’hara Garden Meteor, Mango Diamond Meteor, and Osmanthus Peach Wonderland. One order is $11.95 and comes with 6 big yogurt cubes. One yogurt cube was about 3” length x 2” height x 3” width. I was told that the yogurt cubes were made earlier that day.
They were out of Sun Galaxy and Moon Galaxy yogurt cubes.
Rose Lychee O’hara Golden Meteor Fried Yogurt Cubes: I was pleasantly surprised! The yogurt was very flavorful and very tangy. It’s dense and icy but refreshing. Also, the cubes did not melt quickly. The top of the cubes had dried rose petals. The cubes had bits of lychee and also chewy mochi. Rose and lychee are such complementary flavors.
Bring a friend to share an order because you get a lot of froyo in one cup. I wish they had a smaller size and also allowed you to build your own cup by selecting multiple flavors. The cubes were huge too. I’d prefer a cube that was bite-sized.
You could try making froyo cubes at home with ice cube tray.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* L2 TEA CLUB: 1635 S San Gabriel Blvd, Unit D, San Gabriel, CA 91776
Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.
Fro-yo girl here. Yu Cake, my favorite cake and Asian dessert shop, just added daifuku to the menu. Twelve flavors are available, including three yogurt ones: strawberry yogurt, blueberry yogurt, and blackgrape yogurt. They weren’t on display, so you have to ask for them (they’re in the back). When I ordered it, I was told it would take 10 minutes. They’re not making them to order, so they must be defrosting them to order. I think the price was $6.50. The daifuku are large.
I didn’t eat the strawberry yogurt daifuku right away and by the time I made it home, it was an hour later.
Strawberry yogurt daifuku: The rice cake shell (glutinous rice/mochi) was very soft, thin, and chewy. Though it was blue, I don’t think the rice cake shell was flavored. The center was still frozen and seemed like tangy frozen strawberry juice. The strawberry center was surrounded by a thick layer of yogurt cream. The yogurt cream was creamy and rich. It also tasted like coconut cream. Yu Cake’s daifuku is heavier and bigger than your typical fresh strawberry daifuku. While I appreciated the fact that the yogurt cream was tangy and tasted like yogurt, the frozen center threw me. I prefer the traditional strawberry daifuku with a fresh strawberry center. Maybe if they blended the strawberries into the yogurt cream and put something not frozen in the center like fresh fruit or jelly, I would like it more. I think yogurt daifuku is worth trying but I’ll stick with their yogurt cakes.
They also added Creamy Mochi with nine flavors of mochi. None of the new Creamy Mochi flavors are yogurt.
Cream filled and even yogurt cream daifuku seem to be popular. There are several videos on YouTube that show you how to make them.
Daifuku and creamy mochi are currently only available at the Yu Cake in San Gabriel.
YU CAKE: 301 W Valley Blvd, Ste 111, San Gabriel, CA 91776
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.
Yogurtland, San Gabriel
Fro-yo girl here. With a population of about 42,000 and a size of 4.09 square miles, San Gabriel is one of the smaller cities in San Gabriel Valley. It’s very diverse but predominantly Asian (61.4%). Yogurtland is currently the only frozen yogurt shop still open in San Gabriel. That location, located at 927 E Las Tunas Dr., Suite D, opened in 2013 in the shopping center anchored by 168 Market. It’s been a consistently good location – good about getting the new flavors on time, friendly service – but it’s considerably more expensive than Yogurtland Alhambra. Yogurtland Alhambra closed last fall though.
Former Froyo Shops in San Gabriel
- Nubi Yogurt, 140 W Valley Blvd, was located in San Gabriel Square, the shopping center anchored by 99 Ranch Market. The self-serve shop opened in 2008 and closed in 2012.
- Peach House was a counter-serve Pinkberryesque froyo concept. The San Gabriel shop, located at 531 W Valley Blvd, opened in 2007 and closed in 2009.
- YoGood, 704 W. Las Tunas Dr., Suite E3, was a counter-serve nonfat froyo shop that opened in 2008 and closed in 2009.
And that’s all…not many froyo shops opened in San Gabriel but it is a smaller city.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.
Fro-yo girl here. Nomad Ice Pops opened this past summer in downtown San Gabriel, CA. The owner uses fresh, whole fruits and showcases them in seasonal ice pops that are low in sugar and all natural. The handcrafted pops were inspired by the paletas he countered in Guatemala.
Most of the 14 ice pops flavors that were being offered the day of my visit were vegan. There were fruit flavors like Strawberry Mint, Mango Chili, and Berry Peach Lemonade, and non-fruit flavors like Coffee with Almond Milk, Salted Peanut Butter & Honey, and Pumpkin Pie. Each pop is about 3 oz, the standard ice pop size. Only one of the pops had yogurt, Honey Blackberry. Prices weren’t posted but they’re under $4 each. The chocolate dipped ones are a bit more expensive.
* Honey Blackberry ice pop: The pop didn’t look like it had yogurt, because the color was super dark, like the color of blackberries. I liked the tartness of the pop. It didn’t taste like much sugar or honey had been added and it tasted like it was made with a lot of blackberries. However, I didn’t taste the yogurt. I assume it was in there but just a small amount.
I wasn’t a fan of the salted peanut butter pop because the chocolate coating tasted like cocoa powder and coconut and it was sweeter than I expected. The popsicle wasn’t creamy (probably because it was vegan?). The vanilla coconut blueberry popsicle was better – the coconut cream was rich and complemented the blueberry.
* NOMAD ICE POPS: 415 South Mission Drive #A, San Gabriel, CA, 91776
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.
