In 2015, we took a look at current froyo trends in Asia. Those trends included adding fresh honeycomb as a topping for soft serve or frozen yogurt, taiyaki filled with soft serve or froyo, fancy froyo parfaits, cotton candy clouds on top of froyo and black frozen yogurt made with activated charcoal. This post is an update on trends in Asian froyo.
Activated Charcoal Frozen Yogurt
Since then, the honeycomb with froyo trend has faded. The first honeycomb froyo shop in Singapore, opened in 2014 and closed in 2015. It seems like the lines have moved over to the trend of the moment, black activated charcoal yogurt shops.
Sour Sally in Indonesia invented activated charcoal frozen yogurt in 2015 and it now has over 45 locations. Other shops that specialize in activated charcoal frozen yogurt have since opened, including BLK 513 (Philippines), Empty Tasty (Thailand), Neighbour’s (Thailand), Black Mamba (Singapore), and Kokopanda (Korea, Singapore). BLK 513 now has four locations in the Philippines.
Activated charcoal is said to have detoxifying properties and it’s also a popular addition to waffles, juices, buns, and other foods. It does not affect the flavor of the food product. For images of charcoal frozen yogurt, check out our Pinterest board, Activated Charcoal Froyo.
Interestingly, the innovative Sour Sally has just introduced another first, the world’s first white gold yogurt gelato.
Froyo Filled Taiyaki
Aboong got its start in Korea serving taiyaki (fish shaped waffles) filled with froyo or soft serve. It has branches in China, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The waffles are available in different flavors, like red velvet, chocolate, and matcha green tea. The base of the fish waffle has red bean or custard.
Raindrop Cakes
The Waltz in Macau, a new shop which opened in January 2016, has created the prettiest cups of froyo ever, with a layer of flavored jelly as the base. The jelly is similar to the raindrop cake which is very popular in Japan and became an Instagram sensation in the US.
Durian Puffs
Taste Better, a chain known for freshly baked one bite durian filled puffs, started in Malaysia in 2009 and now has over 20 locations in Malaysia and Singapore. They also serve “yogurt ice cream” with live and active cultures. You can enjoy a durian puff with froyo.
