Yogurt House

UPDATE:  Yoghurt House has closed down :-(

My father and I share a love of words - not so much great literature but rather cryptic crosswords and a terrible love of puns and silly sound-alikes.  Our mutual delight at the most tragic of these are so bad my husband calls them "[maiden name] jokes".  When I come up with one, he looks at me, rolls his eyes and says, "Hmm, the [name] sense of humour!  Better call your dad and tell him that one."  So in true [name] spirit, I present to you Yogurt House, which took up residence in the old optometrist's premises.  Was eye screen, now ice cream!

Are you still there, dear reader?  Sorry.  OK, I promise no more [name] jokes.  Yogurt House is a DIY soft serve yoghurt parlour that opened fairly recently in Footscray.  The decor is a bit odd - lots of bright colours and empty space - but Billy tells me it looks very much like trendy places in Vietnam.

Brendan put Yogurt House's taro yoghurt in his top 5 places in Footscray and surrounds.  Flavours change regularly and there's a mix of Western, like cookies & cream and chocolate, and Asian, like the aforementioned taro as well as green tea and...

Dun dun dun!  I love the echoes underneath, like a scream...  "Durian, nooooooo!"  Durian is a huge spiky tropical fruit loved across much of Asia that has a scent described as anything from smelly socks to rotten onions.  My mum used to buy wafer biscuits from Little Saigon in Richmond for our school lunch and we got the durian flavour quite often, but I must say those biscuits really had no strong durian flavour, just tasting vaguely fruity.  On the other hand, the durian yoghurt here at Yogurt House is pretty intense.  To me it tastes like really overripe fruit or like very rich, stinky cheese, neither of which things I like very much.

The idea is you take a cup from the stack near the window and just go down the line filling it up with whatever flavours you desire, just like a slurpee at 7-11.  You can have as much or as little as you would like.  There's a whole spread of toppings which again, you can add as much or as little as you like.  As well as sprinkles, lollies and Tim Tams, there are lots of fruits in syrup and various jellies.

Pricing is on weight with 100 g for $1.50.  I think it is genius!  Especially with kids, everyone can have the perfect portion.  I just wish they recycled the plastic bowls - am I a freak because I take mine home with me to put in my own recycling bin?!

Some of the flavours are hit and miss - I was not mad on the strawberry or the chocolate, they tasted too watery.  Coconut and the plain yoghurt flavour itself are great, as is the taro, which is purple and has an earthy flavour not unlike sweet potato.  I love frozen yoghurt much more than ice cream.  Why?  Because I'm cultured!

Yogurt House
Cnr Barkly St and Albert St, Footscray (map)
Open:  9am - 9pm 7 days, until 10.30pm Fri & Sat

Wheelchair Accessibility
Entry:  Level.
Layout:  Spacious.