mel in the milkyway: Food Tour Party - Yoghurt Story Ponsonby

currently: listening to 'Love Alone is Worth The Fight' by Switchfoot.

Auckland is a beautiful city, but it does have its problems. Our public transport system needs some fixing, parking in the city is expensive, and it's hard to tell what the best froyo place in Auckland is, especially when you have a new froyo place opening every month.

So I've made it a Food Tour Party mission (in other words, my goal) to look for the best froyo place in Auckland; because it's important to know the great from the gunky. (Also, my mission to find the best ice cream place in Auckland was easily won by Giapo on Queen Street).

Close to my work is a Ponsonby branch of Yoghurt Story, which only opened up last month. During lunch yesterday, some of my workmates were talking about what they thought the best yoghurt place was, and some of them suggested Yoghurt Story. And, well with a bit of convincing from my workmate, we made a quick trip to Yoghurt Story after lunch.


Yoghurt Story still has that new shiny look about it, with everything still clean, crisp and a little bare. From their big glassy windows you could see kids sitting on the tall bench to the left(it's school holidays right now), and to the right were tables with seats swinging from the ceiling.

Source: Yoghurt Story Facebook

On entering, the one girl working there greeted us immediately, and asked us if it was our first time. I'm pretty much a pro at it now, so she told us that she'll be around if we needed any help. Off we headed to the cups, and it was there I had to pause.

Most froyo places have a range of cup sizes, your usual small, medium to large. At this Yoghurt Story it was one large size for all. Like it was a clever trick to make me put more into my cup (which is why the photo up top is not filled with a lot of yoghurt.) It's a smart move by them, but on the up side there's no risk of spilling froyo (unless you felt the need to overfill the large cup).

Between the ten flavours available (like original, pistachio, vanilla, and tiramisu for example) there was a nozzle in the middle of a two flavour pairing, creating flavours like Blood Orange + Mango = Blood Mango. Or Original + Pisatchio = Orisachio. To be honest, I don't really see the point of mixing flavours, but if you are into blending, the 10 flavours instead turn into 15.

I chose Blood Orange, Mango and Apple Pie (not blending any of them) and moved on to the toppings bar. I don't think it's the biggest toppings bar I've been to but there definitely was a great range, especially of fresh cut fruits, museli and cereal which I don't think other stores had such a range for. I sprinkled chunks of pineapple, raisin museli, coconut, passionfruit sauce, and a chocolate fish for good measure.

Altogether, my serving cost me $5.10 (I was aiming for $5, but it was close.) And with my nice large cup they gave me a pretty decent spoon - not one of the cheap white plastic ones, but a spoon that looked to be made of a decent reusable plastic.

Heading back to the office to eat, my coworker and I were stopped by another worker in our building who spotted our yoghurt cups. She asked us if we liked it so far, and said that when she took her kids the other day, they didn't like the Blood Orange flavour in particular, and didn't like it enough to finish their froyos.

Well, that opinion made me feel a bit regretful for choosing Blood Orange. But it was the first flavour I tasted, and for a bit it tasted a bit sour. But I don't think it was too off-putting. The mango was nice, not as strong of a mango flavour I was hoping for. But the apple pie flavour, that was the clear worst. The problem with those sorts of flavours is how odd and artificial it tastes, and well I guess that is to be expected with a flavour called Apple Pie.

As for the toppings, the museli was nice, but a bit soft (probably from sitting out in the toppings bar), the pineapple a bit tart, but the shaved coconut was good, and the chocolate fish didn't taste cheap or fake.

My coworker on the other hand (who chose vanilla, original and pistachio) said she really liked hers, especially the pistachio flavour which she loved. But she did agree that with a taste of my apple pie flavour, it wasn't something that tasted right.

On reflection, it feels that the flavour of froyo needs to be considered, especially if they're more 'eclectic' flavours. And I think I'd be willing to return to Yoghurt Story again, with different choices of course. I've also noticed that there weren't dairy free/sorbet options at this place (the only one so far being YOGG) and if I were to take someone who was vegan or dairy intolerant, well they would have to walk out.

So Yoghurt Story, I may see you again soon. Unless another froyo place opens in Ponsonby...

Food Party review:
Money friendliness - Reasonable - if you control your serving and don't get fooled by the big cup.
Purchase fun - The toppings bar seemed so good in appearance, a good half/half of healthy and unhealthy options. No sneeze guards over the food though.
Deliciousness factor - Decent flavours if you pick the right ones, and would still be good on a hot day or for a sugar craving.