Waffles in Footscray at Snow Tree

Is it a hairdresser?  Is it a chemist?  No - it's a cafe!!!

Snow Tree is a totally awesome addition to Footscray.  Just opened in Leeds Street, this cute-as-a-button store serves six flavours of frozen yoghurt, waffles, espresso coffee and iced tea to the boppy strains of K-pop.

Small frozen yoghurt, $4.50 and short black, $3.30

If you wept for Yoghurt House, weep no longer - Snow Tree serves frozen yoghurt in such varieties as mango, "fourberry" and our choice, pineapple and coconut.  Toppings (fresh fruit, M&Ms and more) are 50 cents each.  And I am thrilled to report that this short black was excellent, carefully extracted with no sugar required.  Great coffee and frozen yoghurt in Footscray - colour me happy!

Snowtree Belgian waffle, $7.50

The lovely folks behind Snow Tree are Korean and there are a few unusual delicacies like bingsu (a "sundae" of red beans, ice, jelly and more, a bit like Korean ais kacang) and Korean rice and cinnamon drinks, as well as "pink lady" and "blue lady" iced tea.  We loved this house special, light-as-a-feather waffles with tasty, really fresh fruit, whipped cream and strawberry froyo.

I am thrilled to the back teeth that such a unique little business has opened in the heart of Footscray.  And we *almost* have the late-night coffee shop we crave - they're open til 8 pm every night!

Snow Tree

Shop 12/119 Hopkins Street, Footscray (entrance on Leeds Street)

Hours:  Daily 7.30am-8pm

PS:  A little something you may be interested in.  If you're not a hospo insider, the big names are: Peter Gunn of Attica, Anna Quayle of the Duchess of Spotswood, Lindsey Fush and Jeremy Shiell of the Royal Mail Hotel, Vanessa Mateus of Pope Joan, and James Kummrow, formerly of the Royal Mail and now of The Bank.  With such an impressive fixture, this will be a most delicious evening!  It's open to the hospitality industry and also the general public.

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.