New Bubble Waffles at Pinkberry Studio City

Fro-yo girl here. One of my froyo wishes, bubble waffles served with froyo, for 2018 came true. I’ve seen bubble waffles on the menu of Pinkberry locations in the UK, Canada, Africa, Middle East, Turkey, Philippines, etc. but not in the US. They’ve had bubble waffles for years. However, US Pinkberry locations didn’t offer bubble waffles. Bubble waffles have finally arrived…at least, Pinkberry Studio City, CA and New Orleans have them.

At the Studio City Pinkberry, the bubble waffles aren’t sold separately. They’re an additional $3 with the purchase of any froyo cup. The waffles are made fresh to order and are served warm. For those of you that haven’t had a bubble waffle, aka egg puffs, egg waffle, Hong Kong waffle, they’re from Hong Kong. They have a unique egg shape because of the shape of the waffle iron.

I’ve had bubble waffles many times. The good ones have soft and spongy puffs and crispy bits in between the puffs. It’s more about texture than flavor. They taste like fortune cookies. I thought Pinkberry’s waffle was pretty good though a little softer than I personally like. The puffs were tender and spongy. Some of the puffs were deflated and the in between bits were a little lacy. I think they just needed to add a little more batter to the waffle iron. Since it was warm, it did cause the yogurt to melt faster and the dark chocolate crisps melted too. Still, I think it was a satisfying addition. I like how the waffle wasn’t that sweet. 

On a different note, the swirl wasn't that nice.

Could Pinkberry Pops in the US be far behind? Fingers crossed!

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

* PINKBERRY: 12044 1/2 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, CA 91604

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.

New Frozen Yogurt/Ice Cream Shop: Sweet Lab in Rosemead, CA

Fro-yo girl here. Sweet Lab opened recently in Rosemead; they use liquid nitrogen and KitchenAid stand mixers to make your ice cream or frozen yogurt to order. One order gets you two scoops and they use cookies, nuts and cereal to make cute faces on your ice cream or frozen yogurt. You can get liquid nitrogen ice cream or frozen yogurt in a cup, waffle cone or Hong Kong style egg waffle cone (aka egg puffs, HK waffles), milk teas, and hot spicy dip (which I think it’s like a hot pot?)

There aren’t that many ice cream and yogurt flavors to choose from but the fruit flavors are made with real fruit. Froyo flavors ($5.50-$5.95): Double berry (strawberry, blueberry), Strawberry, Blueberry, Papaya, Mango

I recommend getting the egg waffles – they’re also made to order. The waffles look kinda like bubble tape. The bubbles are soft and the batter in between is crispier. People like the contrast between the warm waffles and the cold ice cream or frozen yogurt.
* Strawberry yogurt ($5.50): A little simplistic but natural tasting; imagine adding fruit to yogurt and freezing it. The frozen yogurt wasn’t too sweet and it was actually sour and tangy. The texture was soft and smoother than a mix in style yogurt. Some parts were firmer. 

* Egg waffle cone ($1): Very nice, the soft parts were soft, the crispy parts weren’t too crispy, the batter wasn’t too sweet and it had a hint of coconut, just $1 with your froyo or ice cream order, it’s totally worth it

I think my favorite part was the egg waffle cone but I don't think it would go well with soft serve froyo because the froyo would make it soggy.

$15 credit card minimum.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

4 out of 5 stars

By Lolia S.

* SWEET LAB: 8526 Valley Blvd. # 112, Rosemead, CA 91770

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.

Rock It Swirl Takes Over Eggettes in Glen Park

Fro-yo girl here. Eggettes Glen Park recently remodeled and rebranded. Rock It Swirl, the self-serve fro-yo area within Eggettes has now taken over. The store is still in transition but the eggettes (Hong Kong style egg puffs) are gone and so are all traces of the cute Eggettes mascot. At one point the Eggettes mascot was on the Rock It Swirl cups (they have plain cups now) and you could get a side order for eggettes for $1 with a fro-yo purchase. The sign above the door (a temporary one) says Rock It Swirl. The fro-yo section hasn't grown and the decor hasn't changed that much. They still have the same furniture and vending machines with cutesy toys (e.g., Hello Kitty, Disney, Winnie the Pooh). The walls are red now. The receipt says Rock It Swirl.

The menu has changed. They added a new gelato case with Gelato Classico. You can still get boba drinks (but not as many varieties as before) and savory snacks - but no eggettes. The eggettes were my favorite thing they carried.

Does this move signal an increased commitment to their fro-yo concept? Not sure - we'll see.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

* ROCK IT SWIRL: 2810 Diamond St. San Francisco, CA

Eggettes Meet Fro-yo

Fro-yo girl here. Eggettes added the spaceship themed self-serve fro-yo area called “Rock It Swirl” to their Glen Park, San Francisco location, making it easier than ever to enjoy Eggettes (fresh off the griddle egg puffs/egg shaped waffles) with fro-yo. Choose from six flavors of fro-yo (well, technically one was a gelato but you know what I mean) a day and three flavors of Eggettes.

They might let you add fro-yo directly to your Eggettes but I opted to order the Eggettes first and then quickly get a cup of fro-yo once my order was ready (6 minutes). The Eggettes cool off quickly but the fro-yo also melts quickly so timing matters. The combination of tart fro-yo and Eggettes wasn’t as good as I anticipated but perhaps the trick is to stick with their sweet fro-yo.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

* ROCK IT SWIRL: 2810 Diamond St, San Francisco, CA 94014