MYSTERIOUS OF THE AYALA TRIANGLE: THE SEARCH FOR THE GOLDEN SPOON

We have a deal that anywhere we go, our cheeks must always be touching.

It's sweet, yes, but it makes going to the bathroom a bit difficult.

        Can I be honest about something? I don't get the big deal about frozen yogurt. I have friends and office mates that go ballistic at the sound of the words "Red Mango" or "White Hat", but I just don't see what the hype is all about. Isn't it.. umm.. too Sour? "It tastes just like ice cream!", my friend explained. "So.. umm.. Why didn't you just buy ice cream?", I replied. "Because it's not non-fat!", my friend answered back. I stared at the cup she was holding, loaded with chocolate sprinkles, huge white chocolate bits, and drowned in some sort of caramel syrup. Sorry, but I couldn't believe that what she was holding, was not hazardous to her health. Considering she was firm in her belief that what she was holding was as healthy as a protein shake, I was seriously contemplating finding a bridge I could sell to her.

     I actually find regular yogurt better than frozen, or "Fro-Yo" as it's now more popularly known (See, I'm "down" with the times?). I even like that fruit yogurt with Jelly inside. Its possible it could be because I'm annoyed with this whole fad. I sometimes think people see places such as "Red Mango" as a status symbol, more a "place to be seen" than anything else. 

      I'm an ice cream lover, so if I wanted a frozen treat, I would march straight to Gelatissimo instead, but that's just me. I would probably even prefer a scoop of Better Than Ice Cream's (BTIC) Banana Pecan, than something from Red Mango.

       Basically, you get it. I'm not a fan of Frozen Yogurt.

     So you can imagine that I was less than enthused when my brother Ryan told me to try Golden Spoon. "It tastes like ice cream!" he said. "Yeah, I know, I've heard that before.", I yawned back. "No Rich,", Ryan said as he looked me straight in the eye, "It REALLY tastes like ice cream." My brother and I have almost the same taste in food, with him being less picky than I, so i take his food suggestions seriously. But this time he said it with serious conviction that belonged on a member of the Harvard Debate team. And we were talking about Yogurt.

     His passion for Golden Spoon got my attention, so I asked him, out of curiosity What flavor he got that he seemed to love so much. Than he said the two words that would forever change the way I looked at Frozen Yogurt..

    "Cake Batter".

Once again, baffled by the number of people still alive and kicking at this hour. 

I'm such a fuddy duddy.

      There are plenty Golden Spoon outlets out right, but Rina and I went to the one in Ayala Triangle, immediately after trying out Bon Chon Chicken (I was looking for something sweet, please don't judge me). Just like Bon Chon and the other restaurants there, such as Bon Chon, Wee Nam Kee and Banapple, there was still a surprisingly large amount of people, despite it being around 11pm on a week day. The new improved Ayala Triangle is obviously paying dividends, much to the dismay of its resident joggers, but me, I'm still pissed off that the Sabrett cart is no longer there (Someone's job should be on the line with that decision).

fat-free my ass

        Golden Spoon has the same Non-fat promise like others, except with a disclaimer this time.. The asterisk on "Non-Fat" is for the "Non-Fat Flavors Only". Naturally, the fine print isn't in big black letters like the other words on it, but it's the thought that counts. Of course having a non-fat base doesn't matter when you're loading up your Frozen Yogurt cup with mounds of Chocolates, gummy bears and other assortment of sprinkles.

Cake Batter Yogurt, Where have you been all my life?

          Finally, a frozen Yogurt place I can get on board with! Yes, I finally found a Frozen Yogurt place that people say "tastes like ice cream", and guess what? It actually does! THIS is what Frozen Yogurt should be like. Cake batter has a nice creaminess to it, without being too rich. To me, it was the ideal base. I couldn't really think of what I wanted with it, so i played it safe and went with Nestle's Crunch. Despite the evident lack of creativity, (I panicked ok?) It matched perfectly!

There's more than just granola there, I promise

          Rina ordered the Belgian Choco with Crunchy Granola on top. If you're a lover of dark chocolate (I'm not), this would be right up your alley. She ordered the crunchy granola in order to keep with the "Yogurt is healthy" theme. The granola tasted closer to rice crispies than actual granola to me, which was  a good thing.

Cheesecake with Cheesecake.

     I went again a few weeks later with my Ryan, and he ordered the Cheesecake Yogurt (Cake Batter wasn't available) this time. As a testament that us brothers seems to lack in the creativity department, he filled up his cheesecake flavored yogurt with.. you guessed it - Cheesecake bits (and he calls himself a baker). As you can see, Ryan dove into it before Rina could take a picture, so yes, I think it's safe to say that he enjoyed it.

Whenever Rina sees Yogurt she goes all "healthy" on me.

     Rina Ordered the Good Old Fashioned Vanilla with some mixed berries. I was surprised with her ordered because she usually goes for anything chocolate, while I'm the one that goes all fruity when it comes to desserts. And true to form, she didn't seem to enjoy it as much as she did the Belgian Chocolate. It didn't help her cause that she had to watch me devour THIS:

Something I like to call "Eating La Cookie Dough Roca". Corny?

       I ordered the Old fashioned Vanilla flavor with cookie dough and Almond Roca, and I really loved it! The cookie dough is chunky enough so you get the full flavor of it, while the Almond Roca added a nice crunch to it, plus the taste of the toffee was evident. I think this would have worked even better with Cake Batter though. (Cookie Dough.. Cake Batter.. don't these guys ever finish what they bake?)

     In case you're a fan of the usual sour taste of Yogurt, they still have the "Simply Tart" option. 

      In a country where there's a frozen yogurt stand popping up at almost every corner, you'd be confused about which is the best one. In case you have any doubts about which is the best one, let me make it simple for you. There's Golden Spoon on top, and below that, there's everyone else. 

GOLDEN SPOON MENU

FYI: The menu changes from time to time.