road trip

so summer is once again gone (bummer… well i guess it depends).  it only seems like yesterday when the days where the triple digits and the sun was roasting all of us like marshmallow in a fire.  well now the weather is much… i mean MUCH cooler, you can sit back, relax, and recap all of the excitement summer was.

as most of you know, this was the first summer for Fro yo in fort worth and was also the most anticipated one too at that.  for most, if not all the fro yo places in Ft. Worth, this summer was to be the benchmark. this summer was the one that will tell everyone how much Ft. Worth likes Fro yo in the hot summer days.  No one, not even us who lived 17yrs and still lives in Ft Worth knew what it might be like.  of course, we can all guess and estimate and project the out come, but in the end it was just all numbers and figures that may be right or wrong perhaps. quite honestly, whether you’re big national franchise or you’re a local indie, everyone was just about anxious and excited about this past summer.

so, thank you everyone for a great summer!

now that the crazy busy summer has moved on, we took a little road trip to cool off a bit. and what better place to cool off from the texas heat than far north Chicago?  here, it was barely 78 – 83 when its  98+ back at home! and people in chicago still called it summer weather!

us among this amazing cooler weather, we thought it would be smart to prepare for the fall/winter. and with this brilliant idea, we set out to discover the chicago’s fro yo.  we set out with this great anticipation and so little out come the reality brought… does chicago even have fro yo?! the question started to fill our minds with utter disappointment. oh, and tired legs don’t really help either. with that we changed course… and it was a great choice. we decided to see what else is out there in chicago. looking for unique indie places that makes chicago great, just like yogolait makes ft worth little sweeter. =)

1st)  Molly’s Cup Cake.

first up is Molly’s Cupcake.  this was a proof that using YELP works. i know a lot of people here in fort worth dont use this app so its pointless to use it here, but its a good tool when people actually use it and really leave ratings. HINT* HINT*.  this place is good. its located in Lincoln Park and it will probably be the best cupcakes you will EVER try.  nothing else comes even close to this amazing place. i mean their cupcakes are soft and comes with fillings inside… i mean their cupcakes just make sprinkles cupcake look like mortar & bricks.  i usually never ever enjoy cupcake(s), but man, i think i had 3 back to back. interior is nicely de-cored with retro styling with their own unique style.  love the swing set they have which also works as a bar stool type seating in the store.  they have been located in lincoln park for the past 3 years and now they are preparing to open up in NYC next year.

2.) second on our list is Wow bao.

so what is bao? well according to wow bao, bao means asian bun(s).  bun(s) can be filled with meats, such as kung pao beef or sesame chicken or red beans. sounds weird…?  well to most of us in TX, yes it will sound weird or not imaginable.  but it is utterly delicious. this place gets packed everyday and especially during lunch hours, its almost impossible sometimes to get what you want because they sell out.

so if you’re not too interested by the buns you can go for their famous drink, the ginger cider.  im not much fan of ginger so i wasnt too excited to try this menu the first time around.  although the second time i tried it, it wasn’t bad. i think i would rather stick to coke or pepsi, but here in the windy city, i think ginger is just a natural remedy to beat the brutal cold winter weather.  because for some reason you feel like you are heating up when you eat this.

oh and if you can tell by the picture on the left, they also put thin ginger pieces and ginger syrup on their frozen yogurt.  yes ginger as a topping.  its probably not as popular as chocolate or caramel syrup, but its good enough to be popular on its own.  my personal opinion, its an acquired taste.

oh and sorry for not having any pictures of the buns… it was so good that we forgot to take a picture first before eating them… sigh. =)

3) intelligentsia

like coffee? want something different other than the usual “cookie cutter” starbucks?  well you are in luck because this place has very good vanilla latte, and only place thats superior to it would be the THINK COFFEE in NYC.  to be able to get someone to say that is a good thing. plus these days it seems like whether you’re 50 or 5 yrs old, everyone drinks starbucks!  this place perhaps may be the same with people in chicago, but for me it actually makes you feel like its actually for people who are grown, for people who want the taste not the image projected.  for once it actually feels like its a good thing to be picky on taste, and sort of makes you become picky as far as your coffee goes. why? because no coffee ordered here has less than 15 syllables to its name and they make that seem to be the normality.

perhaps if you are a straight black coffee drinker like some of us, you might want to add a name of a country that you have never knew that existed in front of the word coffee when you order. because when you say regular black coffee, you get the feeling that “am i too bland…?”

4) giordano’s

well chicago is famous for their deep dish or stuffed pizza right? well there is a reason why i guess, its huge!  i mean its a small size whole pizza and its still 14″ pie. plus its about 1.6″ thick stuffed with the toppings you ordered.  when we say stuffed, we mean stuffed.  although i prefer my pizza the “original” way but this sure is good. the crust seems to have the unique combination of doughs that make this crust seem like a pie and pizza at the same time.  in other words its bit flaky but pizza crust like…. its good.  tomato paste sauce is bit on the tangy side but with all the cheese, meat, and veggies, it adds a nice complement to everything within.  our advice, its good so go hungry. you will need the room.

5) st. alps

if you are a boba tea fan then this is your must try in chicago.the st. alps in chinatown chicago is the place to go for boba tea.  and who here in TX tried it as a hot drink and not iced?  well if you havent then you only know half of the story.  while boba tea is good cold, its far beyond good when its hot. its like knowing there is another world out there than the one you knew… its that good.

the combination of their brewing method, the usage of the tea kind is by far beyond of what boba tea places in TX offers.  i mean, i did not know that such effort and ingredients go into a simple milk tea.

 

part two coming later…

wth…

ok so before i say anything about everything, or blab about how good the food is in austin… i just want to get something off of my chest.  so a lot of  ”asain” business owners think that in order to have a successful business with in the current population, you (asian-owner) must be hidden.  i have had countless number of people come and tell me the same story over and over again… and just about had enough of it.

most of them (other asian owners) think that even if i am part of the society,  the so called “melting pot” culture of community, i must be hidden form the fore front.  on top, it is my benefit to give the assumption to the customer that this business of mine is owned and operated by the “non-asian” or one would simply put it “white”owned. so most of them hire some teen, or at least some young Americanized asian girl because owner cant or is afraid to speak english.

to a point i do understand. i mean i would feel weird if some “white” or “non-asain” person was running a chinese or sushi restaraunt(s). i mean i would actually say ” um… does he know what he is doing…?”.  but like all of you know, thats not the reality. i see a lot of hispanics or white guys making my pei wei take out orders, cooking my hibachi dinner on weekends, and grilling my burgers at lunch.  so how come thats ok, but it is wrong for me to make tacos? or burgers?  or better yet make fro yo?!

but of course even if i could i wouldn’t try to make and sell ethnic based item that is far from what i am based on and try to make my living off of it. but yogurt? come on, everywhere from africa to asia and to america(s) has yogurt. so here is to all of you asian fro yo shop owners, dont just hide in the back thinking no one would see you, or try to make it  seem like some other dude is in there… because if your shit is good no one gives a damn what you are.   and even if your stuff sucks, just be damn proud of what you got to offer.

start punching!

ok so most of you yogurt fans have been waiting for this for quite some time now…

so starting JULY 7th you will be able to obtain one. =)

what is it???  details coming soon.

road trip TX

alright, so its been like what… 3 -4 months since anyone has seen this blog being updated?  to be honest, things got a little busy around yogolait and it should not be any excuse but it is.  all that said, couple of weeks ago we took a little road trip (being summer and all) down to weird but always cool austin… then to houston… and then back home.

so in houston we found this pretty nice looking candy store… i mean candy bar.  out of all the candy venue that i have seen this seemed like the one that looked the best. its conveniently located in the galleria (thats if you can get your car a parking spot…) on the second floor. after a quick glance at everything,  we found something that was pretty interesting and decided to purchase some for yogolait.

and surely after swipping yogolait’s fake plastic money this is what we ended up with….

yeah its chocolate covered coffee beans! i dont think i have seen anything like this at a kid focused  candy shop. but it was pretty darn good so we thought it would be an awesome topping to go with our espresso flavor yogurt. and of course you would really have to be a coffee fanatic to enjoy it but … you never know.

so far i think the coffee beans have been a hit… well at least to those who like that sort of stuff that is.

after a nice candy buying experience and little look around, we found our selves on bel air driving down through the “china town” of houston.  believe it or not, somewhere on bel air there is a really popular dessert shop that sells shaved ice.  from what everyone says… it is the best and yet its simple but so darn good.  to find out we went out on a search for this place. it is called the JUICE BOX.

yeah  and like expected… it was packed.  and to find out what was so good about this place but soon after a bite… i mean a single spoonful, i was sold. it was good.  what this place offers is the best shaved ice topped off with fruit toppings like yogolait does. and just like yogolait they are not canned, not frozen, and cut or chopped there in front of you.  by far this was the best… because everyone from yogolait on this trip dont eat fruits that are or were preserved.  i would definitely drive back down just to try it again.

so enough of houston… whats there in austin eh? well to be honest austin i think is the place to go for some good excellent dining. and especially for some really good taco(s).  and i even have someone  that flew over an ocean, changed 4 planes for some good tacos. but more about that in the part 2 of the trip, austin coming soon.

be local…

couple of weeks ago, us here at yogolait started out in helping with LIFE GATE MISSIONS MINISTRY.  its a small local ministry supported by few local churches here in Ft. Worth.

main area this ministry focuses on is the Lancaster Ave., area where Union Gospel Mission is located and many those that reside in the area are homeless or less fortunate. here the ministry serves a good healthy lunch sacks with good dose of God’s word… you know the hope giving… life saving… the good ole’ news.

lately, the growth of beaurocracy, bad economy, and growth of those in need has put this ministry at hard times. so since we here at yogolait had decided to help out those in haiti from the tragic earthquake before, we now thought that our local home area is in need of help as well.

its always good thing to help the ones in need, but it is wise to help with in our selves first. sounds a bit selfish but guess no good structure stands on a weak foundation… or something along the lines of that.  so whether you are a God believer or not, home is home… and no matter what you may have faith in or believe in, doing good thing makes any body feel good… or at least not feel bad for doing it.

so from this week on starting on the 26th, every friday, all the tips and generous givings will go to this mission.  and the funds gathered will be used very next day starting at 9:30 am. it will help out in purchasing goods to hand out, use in warehousing, fees/registration, and etc.

we dont mean to make you start something, or give a heavy burden to enjoy some yogurt.  just simply keep doing what you have been doing… we just like to let you know that as much as all of you have supported us, we would like to support back in many ways to others at need.  plus it never hurts to know that part of what you do goes to a good deed. =)

the good kind of feeling…

so like most of us know if not all, about the recent tragedy that occurred not too far away was pretty bad. until recently, the tragedy that occurred was only a story thats being broadcasted on TV, internet, magazines, etc. etc etc… and didnt really have anything to do with me at all.

do i feel bad? yes.

do they need help? i guess they could use a little.

do i want to help? well…

am i going to put some good effort towards the situation? think not

this is me thinking in my head talking to my self and the opinion that i had towards the whole situation. i guess you can simply be blunt and put it in a less of a word by saying, FLAT OUT DONT CARE.

about  a week ago now, couple of TCU students came by and asked if i was willing to help out in raising money to help those who are in need from the tragedy… you know,for those that are in real need. although the effort that i or should i say us here at yogolait had put in is probably like a single grain of sand, but im sure every bit helps.

so long story short, if all those busy TCU students can find time to create an event and find ways to help those that they have never seen or even will ever get to know is pretty darn (or at this point the word damn is needed) awesome of them. so yogolait has decided to help out these students in raising money by donating 1200 oz of yogurt to help the fund raising event at TCU.  i know lately the tragedy has been a side story in the mainstream media but the real needs never become a side story or anything less of what it really is. so if you feel the  want to help you should.  and it is true, you do feel good helping those at need.

honesty, the best policy… still

so after watching the CES convention ( consumer electronics convention type event) on CNET, i was really amazed by how our electronic products get better and better so fast.  well one of the items that were reviewed on the website gave me an idea.  an idea to conveniently, yet intelligently communicate with all of our customers.  since we have opened, we have provided a nutritional chart for all of our honest to goodness flavors, but i have to admit, kind of hassle and out of the way to get to it and read them.

well so the old way of just telling you the facts about the flavors with our lips weren’t so convincing.  i mean, who would believe me when im barely giving you back the correct change at a reasonable time. =)

ever since, all of us here always had a feeling that we should be able to provide all of the information honestly as possible for the consumers to see, read, and decide on.  im sure everyone could tell you that our flavor tags were doing the minimum job of just letting you know whats going to squirt out in front of you and thats pretty much it.

and yes many people say “its bad” to provide ALL of the information to customers. but wouldn’t it be nice for a change that someone did?  and i think if you are especially selling a product you have to believe in it 100% whether if its bad or good.

so from here on, whether that might be tomorrow or in 1000 years, we have decided to provide all of the information about our product by providing an easy to read nutritional chart and flavor indicator all in one. yes now you can conveniently stand in front of any of the flavors that we offer that week and read and taste at once.

that way if you are calculating for Weight Watchers, you can do it in while sampling.  or if you are simply curious of what you are about to consume you can look and get all the info right where you are.

so yes like always honesty is the best policy.  and if you are curious as to how this is done, you are more than welcome to come by next time and look for your self… i think many of you already have. =)

be sweet…

for this valentine’s day make sure to be sweet and give something thats cool.

for the next 7 days we will be offering a special chocolate + gift card together.

whats in it?

your choice of 1  Bloomsberry Chocoalte or Oral Fixation Mints

10 oz Yogolait gift Card.

all this for $10.00 ( comes wrapped if needed =) )

pinkberry

wow… i think it has been really long time since anyone of us here posted anything new.  a lot has happened since the last post. many new flavors have gone by, 2010 came around, changed up the store fixtures, and etc.

well its been about 4 -5 months since we opened our doors here in the great Ft. worth and thought it was time to update the store a bit.  like everyone always says, its not only about the looks and the feel… we also need to check where we stand overall. so with that in mind, we sent one of us to NYC.

with a quick ride on the subway, we made our way down to 32nd st w here the famous pinkberry exists.  been hearing lately that they are making their way down to texas, so i had this great anticipation to visit and see whats new.

well the first thing i noticed was that they had few more flavors to offer… compared to 2 yrs ago when i first visited them.  are they good…? well… at first it is… but now that i can compare and know more about the flavors of the yogurt(s). i was kind of disappointed. the tart wasnt tart… pomegranate wasnt like it at all… and the toppings were a bit on the “too little” side. i also did not like how the yogurt melts too fast… i mean we are talking about yogurt melting in NYC winter temps here.

but what i do love is how they look. not only in terms of the “decor” but the way the business runs. to me it seemed like a flawless yogurt building assembly line with a personality and character. all in all the most important part is that they are missing the key factor, the do it your self factor.

the feel or the looks that we have  might be a bit blah compared to pinkberry but i think that just creates the room for the customers to create their own yogurt and character.

so they told us…

so like the title says… everyone said its NOT a good idea.

not a good idea to put comfy couches and comfy chairs as seating arrangements, so they said about 6 months ago when Yogolait only existed on a piece of paper. well last couple of weeks we went by few places that previously existed before us and found out that something had changed…

if it was 6 months ago things that changed would be something that is very wrong and just not right. it seemed like all of their plasticky, so called contemporary looking seating arrangements has been puffed up with comfy cushions covered in sleek leather. and far as i can tell… they look like something i would actually like to sit in and stay. and most of all something that my ass would actually thank me for sitting in a such nice piece.

so then… why weren’t they used before?

well in the world of selling frozen yogurt, many of them have said

“we need to have high turn around rate…” and we need to keep the people moving, like an assembly line. so then this could only mean that they deliberately placed uncomfortable seating arrangements on purpose…? but who are we to say anything… i mean, life in LA and NYC are totally different from here and i guess people just move along in those places. oh and for some reason, dont know why, Dallas tends to mimic the same.

and if all these places have this “assembly line” perspective, where they just want you to move along, in and out. then what about the rest of their business? their products…? something tells me that seating arrangements are just the start of something we probably dont want to know…