Mooberry Dessert and Breakfast Bar, Neutral Bay

It's funny remembering back in 2012-2013 when there was a new frozen yogurt shop opening in nearly every suburb around Sydney. In 2014, the opposite has happened when you begin to see the closures of froyo shops here and there - most notably the original Moochi store in Strathfield. I could remember a few years ago when everyone lined up outside Moochi and Noggi in Strathfield like a nightclub when that was the only place you could get it. So it's interesting to see some froyo brands still doing strong despite the change in market such as Mooberry, which opened their Neutral Bay branch early this year.

Unlike the original Mooberry Newtown branch, the Neutral Bay store was actually the flagship dessert and breakfast bar with three levels of seating to chill out on a cold and wet evening. It actually feels very spacious with lots of cute decorations here and there (especially those little cows at the checkout downstairs omg!). You could also check out the great view of Neutral Bay's busy Military Road if you decide to sit at the top floor.

While the first thing you think about is froyo when you hear about Mooberry, you could not be further from the truth. Upon glancing at the laminated menu on the table, you could see that there is so much more that Mooberry offers. If you are there for breakfast, you can get classics like deluxe bacon and egg roll, breakfast waffles, ham and cheese croissant and even eggs benedict! Name me one froyo bar that has eggs benedict on the menu. For their dessert selections, Mooberry has their signature sweet classics such as the coconut affogato, churro sticks and chocolate fondue. 

Froyo: L-R: Chocolate, Salted Caramel (Mini: $4.50, R: $7.50, L: $14.50) 

We met Jamie the store manager who treated us to a froyo of our choosing for starters. My pick was the chocolate while CC decided on the salted caramel flavour. We both found that the froyo was light, smooth and refreshing. As usual, I like to go overboard with various chocolate toppings (and watermelon balls hehe) for my chocolate froyo while CC was more health conscious with her fruity toppings. Bonus points for Mooberry offering unlimited toppings for $1. Then again, I always preferred the fixed sizes and prices system than the "fill up your own froyo" system like Yogurberry and Yogurtland which gets too pricey even when it's half-full.

Belgian Hot Chocolate (R: $5.00, L: $5.50)

Mooberry offers a generous selection of hot drinks including four different hot chocolate flavours. These hot choc flavours include Belgian, Coconut, Salted Caramel, and Mint. Since it was a Thursday night, it got fairly busy so there was a bit of a wait for our hot chocolate and waffles. When it arrived to our table, I literally had a massive smile on my face from its presentation. Particularly the chocolate swirls on top. It was smooth, creamy and not too rich or intense. Good balance of flavours with the chocolate and the milk. So good to have on a cold night.

Wicked Waffles ($14.90 for 1 waffle, $17.90 for 2 waffles)

Our sweet journey ended with the Wicked Waffles, which was decadent chocolate heaven for the chocoholic especially with the many drizzles of milk and dark chocolate across the plate. This was served with lots of strawberries and bananas for a bit of fruit in your system. There was also a coconut froyo on the side but we were getting very full from the crispy, rich and dense waffle. While there was a lot of chocolate, the waffle itself wasn't as sweet as we expected. This made it slightly easier for us to manage. 

Even though I am personally not much of a froyo fan these days, I was impressed by what Mooberry delivers. Like its Newtown store, Mooberry has distinguished itself from the other franchises in delivering way more options than just froyo, whether it's breakfast or a late night dessert. While Neutral Bay is too far for me to get to, it's a suitable option for dessert if you are a local or happened to be around the area for work or any special occasions.

The Random Foodie Vault: Check out my experience at Mooberry Newtown back in 2013!

Disclaimer: The Random Foodie dined as a guest of Mooberry Dessert and Breakfast Bar, courtesy of Jenny. Opinions are however, my own.

Mooberry Dessert and Breakfast Bar
Shop 2, 164 Military Road, Neutral Bay NSW 2089
(02) 8957 9758
https://www.facebook.com/MooBerryFroyo
Sun-Thurs: 8:00am - 11:00pm
Fri-Sat: 8:00am - midnight

MooBerry, Newtown

Last year, I was addicted to frozen yoghurt. I was one of those many people making regular trips to Moochi, Noggi or Yogurberry like a pilgrimage back when you could only find them in places like Strathfield or Chatswood. Fast forward to 12 months later and times have changed. In about a year, froyo shops have pretty much dominated nearly every single suburb in Sydney (especially the George Street area near Town Hall) to the point when you literally sigh every time yet another froyo bar opens. As of now, the froyo craze has affected Newtown severely to the point where it is now more known for having way too many froyo joints (at least 5 I think...) rather than its soulful attitude, alternative culture and the many Thai restaurants back in the day. 

There are froyo franchises of the usual brands popping up everywhere (Moochi, Yogurberry, Yoghurtland, Noggi etc). Then there are independently owned froyo shops, like Mooberry in Newtown. In fact, this is the creation of John X and Janine who run this as a family business for the love of froyo and desserts. So when I got an invite to a tasting session at Mooberry by John X, I was curious to see how this compared to all of the ever-increasing competition around Sydney. It took a while to happen because I was getting sick very often this season. The last thing I wanted while having a terrible cough, epic sneezing and a sore throat was something cold like frozen yoghurt. Eventually I finally found the time to check Mooberry to see what was so different to the other froyo joints. It was also close to V's birthday and he was equally curious to try this out. 

While there is still some of the usual decor that you would expect from a froyo bar (crystal clear colours that dominates the store, neon sign, EDM background music lol), Mooberry adds a few touches to make it a bit more interesting with grass walls, deer head models, picture frames with interesting pics and messages, mirrors and even some empty milk bottles. Kinda makes you think that you are entering into a cafe instead of a froyo bar for a second. 

We were intrigued by the promotional deals that Mooberry offers but were sadly disappointed that it's for students only. A good thing to note is while some froyo bars have deals for high school students, Mooberry has deals for uni students with their College VIP card and unlimited toppings for $1 on Tuesdays. Damn you uni students.

The service was impeccable, enthusiastic, helpful and friendly on all the times I've been there since it opened in December 2012. It turns out that Mooberry uses real yoghurt and proper ingredients to make their froyo - none of that artificial stuff. Yes there are the standard froyos and a decent range of smoothies. Yes there are waffles too...but with froyo on the side! But what really stood out was the amount of decadent desserts that they offer. This includes desserts like dark chocolate souffle (which was sadly unavailable on the night), single or double hot shots (e.g. honey, chocolate, espresso and warm nutella) and a coconut affogatto? Helloooooo coffee!

This is for everyone on Contiki...you know why

Forgot to ask for toppings on the night but from previous visits, they do offer a generous selection including pearls, choc pieces, golden gaytime crumble and even mini macarons for 70c extra. You can also get Belgian mini wafers for $1 extra. 

Toppings!

The way Mooberry works is similar to Moochi and Noggi's model where you order your froyo flavour/s at the counter and the staff makes it for you rather than the self-serve and weigh model like Yogurberry. V and I preferred this method as it is cheaper and we tend to overstuff our froyo tubs. While the Original and Coconut flavours were often available, most of the froyo flavours at Mooberry change on a regular basis. On the night, we got to sample Original, Coconut, Watermelon and Tiramisu (which was their newest flavour). 

Tiramisu and Watermelon froyo

I personally enjoyed all the flavours while V thought that the watermelon froyo was his favourite but we definitely enjoyed the range of treats that Mooberry offers. The tiramisu froyo had that sweet and creamy taste that I like from a tiramisu dessert while the watermelon had that fruitiness that I immediately noticed. I even liked the vanilla one which tastes like real Vanilla (that I really love) rather than the artificial Vanilla that generally leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It was smooth, soft and creamy though I would try to eat it as soon as possible because it melts pretty quickly.

Original froyo

Although the churros and the souffle weren't available on the night, there were still waffles! At Mooberry, you get waffles with 2 toppings and a froyo on the side and drizzled with melted chocolate. Sounds very rich and dense if you ask me. We went with Mooberry's famous coconut flavour as our choice of froyo for the waffles with strawberry and banana toppings. Everything on this plate worked so well together from the smooth, heavenly and rich Belgian chocolate to the warm and crispy waffles to the fresh strawberries and banana. And as for the coconut froyo? Tastes like real coconut with a balance of sweetness. Definitely the highlight of our evening.

Belgian waffles with melted chocolate, froyo and two toppings ($12.90 for one/$17.90 for two)

Despite getting full from the froyos and the waffles, we must not forget to try Mooberry's signature coconut affogato. This came with an espresso shot to pour over the coconut froyo. While V was generally not a coffee person, he thought this treat was nice to have on a warm evening. As you can see I poured a bit too much espresso that the froyo was drowning in it. Thankfully there was that balance between the bitter coffee, the sweet coconut and the refreshing froyo. For some reason we didn't get the coconut shavings in the coconut affogato though I was too exhausted from work to notice this. Despite that, I wouldn't mind ordering this again next time. 

Coconut affogato ($6.50)

After all the food, we realised that we were still thirsty...and surprisingly hungry for savoury food. We couldn't help but wanted to try out one of the 9 flavours of smoothies that they have. They even have "Sneaky smoothies" for the chocoholics. Like myself when I ordered the'Cheeky Chocolate , which consists of Belgian chocolate, Tim Tams and froyo :p. It was thick, cool and refreshing for my liking. Good to try once the warmer weather hits our shores. 

V decided to go with the Mango Passion smoothie (Mango, Passionfruit and Original froyo), which I've noticed was one of their more popular smoothie flavours. I tried a little bit and thought it has a nice tangy flavour while V gave this flavour the thumbs up. 

While I'm still over the froyo trend that is escalating across Sydney and even as far as Wollongong, Mooberry is actually a breath of fresh air to the tiresome trend with decadent desserts that will satisfy our cravings and decent quality frozen yoghurt. It is these desserts and the real tasting froyo that differentiates itself over the many other froyo bars that are popping up on King Street these days. Will certainly come back here again to try out the dark chocolate souffle and the churros next time I'm in Newtown. 

Disclaimer 1: The Random Foodie and co dined at Mooberry, courtesy of John X and the Mooberry team. Opinions are still personal. 

Disclaimer 2: Some of the items may only be available on their Winter menu. Things may change on the menu now that it's Spring. Sorry guys.

Mooberry - Real Froyo and Smoothies
160 King Street, Newtown NSW 2042
(02) 9557 4208
https://www.facebook.com/MooBerryFroyo

Moochi & Noggi, Strathfield [BOTH CLOSED]

We all go crazy for sweets. Macarons, creme brulee, ice cream sandwiches and now frozen yogurt! Especially in Strathfield (and Chatswood - but that's for another review). Lately, it has been the ultimate hip hangout place for the young and the young at heart. After seeing practically everyone checking in at these places on Facebook and Foursquare on a daily basis - predominantly late nights, I thought it was time to do some exploring. And before anyone starts to go into a froyo war frenzy based on the following review, I should tell you this: I originally was not a fan of yogurt. In fact my own folks will probably be surprised when I tell them that I have now become addicted to this stuff. And to this day I still get froyo cravings.

That night I met up with CC (who is absolutely obsessed with Moochi and Noggi!) for dinner earlier on. I cannot remember why we have chosen to go to Noggi first - I am guessing it was because she loves the biscotti flavour. After a couple of walks around the block, we ended up at Moochi to try out their churros...and the froyo of course!

ATMOSPHERE

Noggi:
At the time I went, most of the people there looked like they are from high school. They also have a special deal for high school kids. Noggi has a bright light green and blue background and design plus they have a spare room at the back which has more seats to chill out.


Moochi:
Pink and White. Enough said. It conjurs images of Wendy's and Donut King with the amount of pink in the design. There was not much room though which may have contributed to the excessive crowds at later hours. The crowd here is generally older than at Noggi but there were a few school kids too. They also show a film on their own TV screen


Both places are pumping with the music you would hear at rnb/hip hop clubs which will explain the epic lines at 10 or 11pm as it does feel like a nightclub. Except with no cover charge and alcohol.

FLAVOURS AND TOPPINGS

Noggi:
Their froyo flavours comprise of Original (Vanilla), Green Tea, Biscotti and Wildberry. In recent visits they seem to have Pomegranate instead of Wildberry though. The toppings here appear to be limited compared to Moochi but they seem to have more fruit toppings than candy. In addition, the maximum number of toppings to choose for your froyo is up to three.

Moochi
Froyo flavours comprise of Original, Green Tea, Pomegranate and Watermelon. They appear to have a larger variety of toppings compared to Noggi with both fruit and sweet candy flavours. Additionally they allow unlimited toppings - at a price.



PRICE

Noggi
Here they have a fixed number of 3 toppings with a fixed price depending on the size. For example, a regular size with 3 toppings is $5.70. A regular size without toppings is $4.20.

Moochi
Moochi did not list the maximum number of toppings but they do have an additional price of 50c. Interestingly on the price board, they listed their sizes in measurements of ounces! This is probably the first time I have seen it used in Australia. Their regular size without toppings is listed as $3.90. With 3 toppings added, this comes down to $5.40. With or without toppings, Moochi's yogurt is shown to be 30c less than Noggi's which is not really a huge difference.

But it all comes down to the taste! (excuse the cooking reality show pun).

TASTE

Noggi
I picked the biscotti flavour with tim tams, oreos and gummi bears as toppings. The yogurt tasted light yet not too creamy like a gelato or sorbet. The biscotti flavour tasted absolutely amazing as you get the creamy taste at first but then the flavour you would expect from a biscotti arrives in the end. To be honest, I wish that Moochi has biscotti as well. I also tried the wildberry flavour which was equally good and was a bit more sweeter than the biscotti.


Moochi
I went chocolate overload by ordering a watermelon yogurt with tim tams, oreos and Flake! The yogurt tasted very creamy similar to an ice cream and the watermelon flavour was very fruity and sweet. It literally melts in your mouth faster than the frozen yogurt at Noggi. If you prefer your yogurt to have a creamier texture then I would suggest this place.


EXTRA EXTRAS!

Noggi
They have waffles and smoothies - known at Noggi as 'Smoogies'. They also have coffee and tea if you are there earlier and need something to keep you up. Did not get the chance to try their waffles but they look really tasty from seeing other customers ordering it. This is served with frozen yogurt, 2 fruits and Hershey's chocolate (oh yummm!)


Moochi
Otherwise check out Moochi for their Moochi churros and chocolate. My friend bought these to share and they looked pretty epic for just four long servings. The melted chocolate dip made it taste even better. They also have coffee and tea plus cold drinks like iced tea and iced chocolate. And they also have smoothies...called 'Smoochies'!


It is sweet that this craze is going around Sydney as it does claim to be healthy compared to lots of dessert options...unless you are a chocolate and candy freak like myself. In the end both Moochi and Noggi have their own advantages regarding the quality of their frozen yogurt not to mention efficient and friendly service (plus cute eye candy!). It is no wonder that frozen yogurt shops are popping up everywhere across Sydney and around the world. Did I mention how addictive it can be? It is best that you discover the hype yourself if you haven't yet. Don't say that I didn't warn you.


Moochi
1/7-9 Churchill Ave, Strathfield NSW 2135
http://www.iheartmoochi.com.au/


Noggi
2/2 Albert Rd, Strathfield NSW 2135
http://www.noggi.com.au/