Yomie’s Rice x Yogurt Finally Opens in Arcadia, San Gabriel Next

Fro-yo girl here. Yomie’s Yogurt opened in Rowland Heights in April 2021, becoming the first dedicated purple rice yogurt drink shop in the Los Angeles area. I drove over there a few weeks ago to try it and the shop was closed for maintenance that day. Very disappointing. According to the reviewers, it’s not an authentic Yomie location but a knockoff. The name is certainly very similar to the Australian chain that started the purple rice yogurt craze in Sydney’s Chinatown in late 2018: Yomie’s Yogurt vs. Yomie’s Rice x Yogurt.

The real Yomie’s Rice x Yogurt expanded into multiple countries and just opened branches in California this year. The first US location was in Bellevue, Washington. The California shops are in Arcadia, Millbrae, and San Leandro with locations opening soon in San Gabriel, Westfield Valley Fair (Santa Clara, CA), and Portland, Oregon

They say that they make the yogurt fresh in the store. I noticed there was a big refrigerator that seemed to be being used as a yogurt maker. The other places I had purple rice yogurt did not make their own yogurt.

Yomie’s Rice x Yogurt opened in Westfield Santa Anita on Friday, May 28. They took over the old Matcha Matcha space. Thought they just arrived in SoCal, they were already swamped with orders. They're known for the purple rice x yogurt drinks but also have fresh fruit tea and other yogurt drinks with durian, red bean, oats, jujube, salted egg, avocado, etc. The drinks come in one size and you can specify normal or less sugar.

Purple rice x yogurt ($6.15, less sweet): The sweet purple rice is nice and chewy and the yogurt lightly tangy. I like how the rice wasn't in tiny bits or clumped together. There was also a lot of rice, so every sip had yogurt and rice. The yogurt was a bit mild for me though (like mine tangier). It wasn't an icy slushy, so I liked that too. While I liked the drink, I wouldn't wait an hour for one and it feels a little overpriced. I'd rather have a froyo. But I'll be back to try a few more drinks.

For a history of purple rice yogurt drinks and health benefits, see IFYA’s post, Now Trending: Purple Rice Yogurt Drinks.

* YOMIE’S RICE X YOGURT: 400 S Baldwin Ave, Space 2203, Arcadia, CA 91007

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.

More Purple Rice Yogurt Drinks! Gotcha Tea House in Rosemead, CA

Fro-yo girl here. There are so many boba tea shops but very few offer purple rice yogurt drinks. I found another one though, Gotcha Tea House in Rosemead, CA. Gotcha is a Taiwanese brand that farms its own tea. The tea comes from a single tea plantation in Mount Ali, Taiwan.

The Gotcha menu includes many types of drinks, including Yakult tea, yogumuji yogurt, slush, macchiato slush, milk tea, brown sugar drinks, fruit tea ad brewed tea. Some drinks are available hot or cold. Choose from medium or large size. They also have your typical add-ins: boba, jelly, pudding, red bean, popping pearls, cheese foam, aloe vera, etc. 

Purple rice yogurt is part of the Yogumuji drink series. These drinks are made with fresh Japanese style yogurt. I’m not sure how the yogurt is Japanese style. They don’t make their own yogurt. He mentioned that they use Greek yogurt. The fruit flavored Yogumuji drinks are flavored with fruit flavored syrups.

Purple rice yogurt ($4.75, large): The drink is not sweetened (you can ask for it to be sweetened though). They put yogurt, lots of ice and steamed purple rice in a blender. I am not a purple rice yogurt drink expert because I’ve only had it one other place but I prefer The Alley’s version where the rice isn’t blended into tiny pieces. Part of the appeal of purple rice yogurt is the chewiness of the rice. Gotcha blended the rice so much that there was nothing left to chew on. And they used a lot of ice. The drink was thick and icy. It was mildly tangy and I could taste the yogurt and a bit of nuttiness from the purple rice. The Alley’s version was more like a shake, whereas Gotcha’s was like a slush.

For a history of purple rice yogurt drinks and health benefits, see IFYA’s post, Now Trending: Purple Rice Yogurt Drinks.

I’m hoping that Meet Fresh, which has purple rice drinks but not purple rice yogurt drinks, will add purple rice yogurt drinks. Fingers crossed.

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

* GOTCHA TEA HOUSE: 3524 Rosemead Blvd., 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.

 

Purple Rice Yogurt Drinks in Los Angeles (Finally) at The Alley

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve been looking for purple rice yogurt drinks in Los Angeles for over a year now, with no luck. A new purple rice yogurt was about to open in Arcadia last spring and then the pandemic struck. I don’t think they ever opened? Then one of my Yelp friends mentioned ordering a purple rice yogurt drink from The Alley. I’ve actually been to The Alley’s Pasadena location but at the time, they did not have purple rice yogurt drinks.

The Alley Pasadena has original purple rice yogurt, matcha purple rice yogurt, peach oolong purple rice yogurt and a create your own yogurt (drink) option. The drinks are $5.95 each and feature fresh yogurt (not made in-house) and sweet glutinous purple rice, aka forbidden rice. You can specify your desired sweetness level. It’s a cold, tangy yogurt shake with chewy bits of sweet rice.

Original Purple Rice Yogurt: I was a fan since I obviously love yogurt and I appreciated the simplicity of the yogurt flavor with the chewy sweet rice bits. I’m sure they added ice too, because I encountered some icy bits. The yogurt is plain and sweetened (I asked for 25% sweetness and it was plenty sweet for me) but not super thick. It tastes like lightly sweetened plain yogurt that’s mildly tangy. While the basic purple rice yogurt might be too simple for some but it’s also healthier than boba drinks (apparently). And they have variations in case you’re looking for more flavor. I think I’ll try another one soon.

For a history of purple rice yogurt drinks and health benefits, see IFYA’s post, Now Trending: Purple Rice Yogurt Drinks.

The Alley, a Taiwanese chain, has locations in Southern California, Las Vegas, New York, Hawaii, Taiwan, China, Japan, Canada, France, and Australia.

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.