Taste & Sounds on South Lake Avenue (Pasadena, CA) Recap

Fro-yo girl here. I’m back from Taste & Sounds of South Lake Avenue which was held today, Saturday, September 29, from noon – 5 PM. The event provides a nice reason to stroll down South Lake Avenue in Pasadena, CA and check out the local businesses. 

Businesses are constantly opening and closing in the area, it seems. For example, some new businesses that opened this year include Cauldron Ice Cream, Panda Express + Tea Bar, CAVA Grill, Urbane Café, Kreation Organic, Maquina, and Mercado. Businesses that closed this year include Wahoo’s Fish Tacos, Abricott, SECO, etc. Speaking of new businesses, Mendocino Farms is opening on October 11, with a special sneak preview on October 8. They were giving out buy one, get one free coupons at the event. 

The format was a bit different this year. There wasn’t a big vendor village though there were still some vendor booths near Macy’s. Yogurtland didn’t have a booth or a table outside. Some businesses had tables outside of their storefront. Prize wheels were very common. Samples were provided by Jersey Mike’s, Mendocino Farms (they had the longest line), Nothing Bundt Cakes, Urbane Cafe, and Which Wich. Other businesses had special discounts. For example, Yogurtland (Lake Ave.) is offering 25% off from 12 PM – 5 PM today. Samples are always free at Yogurtland. There was a trivia game and a chance to win raffle prizes.

I met Hello Kitty and she was in the cutest Halloween dress. I also got a Sanrio headband, coupons, and an Urbane Café water bottle.

The main reasons that I attend the South Lake Avenue events are (1) they’re close, (2) Yogurtland participates. It’s not the most exciting neighborhood but it is nice and it does have some good restaurants and stores. The South Lake Avenue Business Association also puts on elaborate events. Today’s event featured live music, cooking demos from celebrity chefs, family friendly activities, samples, special discounts, etc. Admission is free and so is parking.

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.

World Smile Day 2018 Celebration at Menchie’s on Friday, October 5

Fro-yo girl here. Menchie’s is celebrating World Smile Day this year on Friday, October 5. Here’s their message: “CELEBRATE WORLD SMILE DAY WITH BOGO FROZEN YOGURT! Harvey Ball created the smiley face in 1963. This image is the most recognizable symbol of goodwill in the world. He also created World Smile Day, believing we should devote one day each year to smiles and kind acts throughout the world. This year, World Smile Day falls on October 5th. Visit any Menchie's location from 4pm - 7pm on October 5th for buy one, get one free frozen yogurt. At Menchie's, our mission is to make you smile!”

Who are you going with?

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.

Remaining CUPS Frozen Yogurt Locations in California Have Closed

Fro-yo girl here. Last August I wrote about NJ based froyo chain, CUPS Frozen Yogurt, which at the time had two locations left in California. The Torrance and Westminster, CA locations closed earlier.

Cups Irvine (8581 Irvine Center Dr., Irvine, CA) held its grand opening in May 2016. Their last Facebook post was in July 2016. By late 2017, the shop had irregular hours. It closed earlier this year.

The Northridge location (9301 Tampa Ave #146, Northridge, CA) managed to stay open for three years. It is now called Cool Creations and is no longer affiliated with Cups as of earlier this year. Cool Creations still carries frozen yogurt, as well as shaved ice, Dippin’ Dots, smoothies, acai bowls, and frappes.

Last August, the Cups website listed 2 locations in Florida, 1 in Texas, 5 in New Jersey and 1 in New York, for a total of nine locations. Now it shows 3 locations in NJ, 1 in NY, and 1 in FL. The Texas location closed and rebranded. It's called Sweet Frozen Bar now. One wonders if they’ll have any locations left by this time next year.

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.

Kefir Cheese from Achadinha Cheese Company

Fro-yo girl here. I spotted the Achadinha Cheese Company stand at the Silver Lake Farmers Market in Los Angeles. Achadinha is a family dairy in Petaluma, CA (Sonoma County). They make their own cheeses by hand. They also make kefir and cultured butter.

The farm has about 250 goats and 60 cows. Their products are made with a blend of cow and goat milk, which seemed unusual to me. But it’s probably blended to reduce the strong taste of goat milk? The goats are fed brewer’s grain and hay. The resulting products have no hormones, antibiotics, or pesticides.

There were a few flavors of kefir cheese in plastic tubs. The tubs did not have flavor labels. I think the flavors were fig, lemon, plain, Bavarian, jalapeno, and strawberry? Three small tubs were $22 but the kefir is very rich, so a little goes a long way. Goat milk is higher in fat than cow milk. They also strain the kefir to give it a thicker consistency.

The ingredients on the label: goat/cow milk, cultures, fruit, sugar. No nutritional information was provided.

Bavarian: The texture threw me. It was whipped, creamy and thick – similar to the texture of cream cheese. It tasted like a rich pastry cream, only tangy with a sweet/sour aftertaste and hint of vanilla. So good! I would eat this with spread on toast with fresh fruit.

Lemon: Tangier than the Bavarian flavor, the texture was also thick, smooth and very creamy. There were bits of lemon rind. The lemon flavor pervades the entire tub.

This kefir cheese is very rich and feels like something that should be used more as a condiment than eaten in large amounts. But, it tastes amazing.

You can find Achadinha Cheese Company at select farmers markets in the Bay Area and Southern California. See: https://www.achadinhacheese.com/famersmarkets

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.

Taste & Sounds on South Lake Avenue Returns to Pasadena, CA on Sept. 29

Fro-yo girl here. San Gabriel Valley’s largest culinary community event, Taste of South Lake, celebrates its 10-year anniversary. This year’s event is called Taste & Sounds on South Lake and will take place on Saturday, September 29, from noon – 5 PM.

This free event includes live music, cooking demos from celebrity chefs, family friendly activities, and the chance to taste the offerings of over 20 South Lake Avenue restaurants, including Yogurtland, Mercado, Nektar, SunLife Organics, SanSai, Urbane Café, The Counter, Du-Par’s, and Mendocino Farms. Mendocino Farms hasn’t opened its Lake Ave. location yet.

Free admission and free parking.

For a list of participating businesses, musical acts, and cooking demos, view the event flyer: http://www.southlakeavenue.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/tastes-sounds_flyer-web.pdf

I can’t wait to see what Yogurtland (Lake) brings (pumpkie pie froyo?).

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.

Samlip Mamade Blueberry Yogurt Big Chou Review

Fro-yo girl here. I remember when Beard Papa first opened in San Francisco. Many people were excited to try fresh cream puffs. After eating a few cream puffs, I lost interest. But then I spotted Samlip Blueberry Yogurt flavored cream puffs at Hmart in Arcadia, CA and I was intrigued.

One bag comes with four cream puffs. The puffs are imported from Korea. Hmart was selling one bag of puffs for $2.99. They had some other puff flavors too, but only one yogurt flavored kind.

The puffs can be eaten frozen, at room temperature or even baked in the oven. I had to try it frozen because then the filling can be considered as frozen yogurt (but with no yogurt cultures).

Frozen chou: I was impressed by the ample amount of filling. The chou shell was light and dry/chewy. The blueberry frozen yogurt filling was creamy, dense, heavy, and smooth. It tasted like blueberry ice cream w/ a hint of yogurt from the addition of yogurt powder. The filling was sweet without any tang. I could taste the blueberry though the flavor was not intense. The filling and the chou were not too sweet.

Room temperature chou: The filling softened but stayed dense, thick, and creamy.

The list of ingredients is crazy long. Two puffs are 200 calories, 15g total fat, 14g total carbs, and 2g sugars. One puff is round and 2 inches in diameter.

4 out of 5 stars.

* HMART: 1101 W Huntington Dr., 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.

Complete Short Frozen Yogurt Survey for a Chance to Win Froyo Gift Cards

Fro-yo girl here. There's still time to be part of the Second Annual National (US) Frozen Yogurt Consumer Survey before time runs out. The survey closes at midnight on Wednesday, September 19, 2018.

For a chance to win froyo gift cards, just complete the short 5 minute survey:
http://tinyurl.com/2ndfroyoconsumersurvey

The survey is open to anyone over 13 who lives in the US. Responses will remain anonymous. One response per person please.

Five winners will be selected. Each winner will receive a $30 froyo gift card to a froyo shop of her choosing. The shop must sell online gift cards.

Be sure to tell your friends and loved ones to take the National Frozen Yogurt Survey too! 

The International Frozen Yogurt Association would like to hear from frozen yogurt consumers across the country about their frozen yogurt consumption, attitudes, and preferences. The results of the survey will be shared with frozen yogurt stores and others in the frozen yogurt industry.

Share the Survey URL to Gain Access to the Survey Results

Anyone who is interested in the survey results simply needs to share IFYA’s pinned Facebook post (https://www.facebook.com/froyoassociation/) by midnight PST on September 19, 2018, and then send a private message with an email address after sharing. * NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited by law. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. For complete rules, see: http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/second-annual-national-frozen-yogurt-consumer-survey-official-rules/

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.