Nubi Yogurt, located inside Focus Plaza in San Gabriel, opened about a month ago. If you haven't heard about the SoCal fro-yo craze, you can catch up by reading my Pinkberry - Los Angeles (Koreatown) post. Ever since I read Elmo of Monster Munching's post on Yogurtland in Fullerton, which charged 30 cents an ounce, I've been eagerly anticipating a similar place to open in the San Gabriel Valley.
Well, it's not quite as cheap, since Nubi charges 38 cents an ounce. But Nubi boasts 12 flavors, 14 fresh fruit toppings, and 20 other toppings. During its grand opening, it was 23 cents an ounce. You can get coupons if you sign up on their website. And if you live in the San Gabriel Valley, keep your eyes peeled for coupons in the mail.
Unlike Pinkberry or its copycats, the by-the-ounce fro-yo places are self-serve. Grab a container, load up on as many flavors of frozen yogurt, tart or sweet, as you'd like, add as many toppings, healthy or not, as you'd like. You can even swirl the flavors.
While I normally shun the junk food toppings in favor of fresh fruit toppings when I'm at the other frozen yogurt places, I couldn't resist adding a few chunks of cookie dough or Andes mints here. That's about it though but you can certainly fill up on cereal, nuts, or candy if you wish.
They offer a generously-sized free sample so you can try all the flavors before putting them in your cup. I like taro tart, green tea tart, original tart, mango, and Dole pineapple. The pink-colored flavors such as strawberry and raspberry-pomegranate are quite watery. Pistachio just tasted very fake to me.
My cousin said she was too embarrassed that her cup didn't look very photogenic.
Another trip. Mine is the bottom one without toppings. After the initial visit, I've been a little more choosy about frozen yogurts and toppings. A less than $3 cup is just the right amount for me.
Also, because of its location in the same strip mall as 99 Ranch Market and Sam Woo, I noticed a lot more families and little kids here than at other frozen yogurt places.
Can you tell which one is mine?
Except for the pink flavors, the frozen yogurt has been pretty consistent. If you're used to going to Pinkberry for original and green tea flavors, this is pretty comparable. Dole pineapple is my favorite.
Since Nubi is the cheapest frozen yogurt in town, I haven't tried any new fro-yo places. I wonder how long before the others drop their prices? And when are we gonna get a Yogurtland. Because you know, 30 cents an ounce beats 38 cents an ounce. ;)
Who else ate at Nubi Yogurt?
Cousin Q preferred the original flavor and advised portion control.
My other frozen yogurt posts:
CeFiore - Los Angeles (Little Tokyo)
CeFiore - Monterey Park
Peach House - San Gabriel (Closed)
PinGo Yogurt - Alhambra
Pinkberry - Los Angeles (Koreatown)
Pinkberry - Pasadena
Pinkberry - Rancho Cucamonga
Silver Spoon - Alhambra
Nubi Yogurt (Multiple locations)
Focus Plaza
140 W. Valley Blvd, Suite 118G
San Gabriel, CA 91776
626-573-9988
Open Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. - midnight
*****
1 year ago today, banh u nuoc tro (lye water dumplings) and banh ba trang (the Vietnamese pronunciation and spelling of Chinese bak chang (meat dumplings)) for Tet Nua Nam (Vietnamese half-new year which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month on the lunar calendar).
2 years ago today, two of my cousins graduated and we all dined at Zen Buffet in San Gabriel.
Your fro-yo is on the right!
ReplyDeleteWhat a strange concept it is ...
I keep meaning to visit the Yogurtland in Fullerton, but never remember to! It is nice, though, that you have several places to choose from in the San Gabriel Valley.
ReplyDeleteMy friend informed me that Yogurtland is now open in Little Tokyo... I checked their website and they are also planning to open locations in San Gabriel on Valley and Monterey Park on Atlantic.
ReplyDeleteI've been driven crazy with the large amount of fundraisers at Nubi lately. Literally every club at my school is having one at Nubi's, so I've been here quite a few times. I don't really like the yogurt that much, it's almost comparable to the "bleeeeh" tasting yogurt at Rippaille (Monterey Park.) Most of my friends opt to not go there, either, but you can't beat 38 cent per ounce fro-yo in SGV. Overall, I liked that the toppings were somewhat fresh, the environment was pretty nice, (except for the long lines at 9PM on Sat. nights) and there's a flavor for everyone, even if they don't like fro-yo.
ReplyDeleteGah, longest comment I've posted here ever, haha.
This is so much like Yogurtland in Irvine... I LOVE the self serve concept, but it's so far, and Red Mango is just down the street from my apartment...
ReplyDeleteMy favorite topping combo is kiwi, mango, and mochi. yum.
Oanh,
ReplyDeleteGood guess. Ah, you know me so well. ;)
Nikki,
I can't believe you haven't visited Yogurtland yet when you're so close.
Q,
I knew about the SG and MP openings, but there's no date set, so until then, this is the cheapest fro-yo in town.
Tiiiiinaaaaah,
I don't like their inconsistency either, but at those prices, it's a small complaint. The Dole pineapple, original, and green tea flavors have always been consistent though.
Nomnomnom,
I feel that way sometimes about some of the closer fro-yo places too! Especially with the price of gas these days, that factors into how much you're really saving.
So it's finally caught on up there eh? Down in Orange County, we're suffering for a breakout of Yogurtlands. There's like one in every city now!
ReplyDeleteI like the name of this one though.
Elmo,
ReplyDeleteIt only took a year and a half! Hehe. But Yogurtland is opening several locations around here so it'll be interesting to see what happens to the competition then!
Hi Wandering Chopsticks,
ReplyDeleteFrom the post from Pingo, you asked about Nubi. I did went there. It was not bad at all, but I was PO'd about their mochi (rice cakes) topping. It was a generic out of the bag version that can be bought in a supermarket. The starch was overwhelming and the powder was all over the yogurt as I put it on top.
Why am I complaining so much? It ruined the taste of the yogurt for me.
Oh, about 30 cents per ounce. Right now, some of the Yogurtland chain and Yogurberry chain are 30 cents per ounce. Both of them are self serve yogurt with 12-20 flavors at each location. Yogurtland has taro and blueberry flavors that I loved.
My favorite self serve Yogurt place is in Buena Park called Berry Cool. They got the better Taro flavor than Yogurtland. It's also more tart and less of a icy wet taste. Berry Cool is more smoother and creamier.
My grade for Nubi? 2.5 stars out of five. LOL My favorite yogurt place in SGV? CeFiore on Atlantic and Garvey.
Pepsi Monster,
ReplyDeleteMost places serve the mochi from packages. When Pingo opened they served in-house mochi that were so hard and awful. I think they learned their lesson. Although, yeah, they could have sifted some of the flour out. I'm waiting for the Yogurtland in Alhambra to open! One of my cousins really likes the CeFiore in Monterey Park as well.
Wanderingchopsticks,
ReplyDeleteI agree, Nubi's original is pretty comparable to Pinkberry! Per your recommendation, I tried Dole Pineapple and liked it. It seems like everyone else likes it too. Many people had Dole Pineapple on their cup during our visit.
ETE,
ReplyDeleteDole pineapple is definitely my favorite. Seems like Pinkberry's been taking a beating with this economy and all the copycats.