Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt, SM City San Lazaro

A few hours after my brother Kien flew back from Singapore, we didn’t waste any time and went out. I was picking up my new baby that day in Manila. Since we’re a few blocks away from SM San Lazaro, we decided to head out and look for a place to hang out or to pass the time and test drive my camera.

I was craving for gelato that day, but we weren’t sure if there’s a store that sells it in SM San Lazaro. So, we were glad we found Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt as soon as we turned a corner by the entrance. We opted to try their froyo instead.

I’ve already tried frozen yogurt from 3 places – The White Hat, Red Mango and Yogiberry. So far, I enjoyed all of their own versions of froyo, Yogiberry topping the list, followed by Red Mango at close second. So, I was really curious how Tutti Frutti’s froyo will compare with them three.

First off, I think I was an (frustrated) interior designer in my past life ‘cause I enjoy taking photos of interiors of food places I visit. This is the table where me and my bro hung out to enjoy our froyo. I love the fun colors they used inside their store and the dotted design of the chairs.

Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt has the same concept as Yogiberry – self-service. They have numerous dispensers with different flavors of frozen yogurt. You can mix flavors if you prefer.

Kien loves vanilla flavored anything so he chose that. I chose coffee ‘cause, well, I love coffee. Plus, he also wanted to try it.

According to what I’ve read about Tutti Frutti frozen yogurt store, they have 50 different yogurt flavors. Every week, they change flavors of the froyo they have available at the stores. A fun experience for frozen yogurt lovers indeed.

The other flavors they had available when we were there were Death by Chocolate, Original Tart, Very Berry Raspberry, Lychee, Taro-bly Delicious and Strawberry Banana.

Kien said he was wondering why Tutti Frutti deviated from their concept of “all fruits”. We were expecting that their frozen yogurt flavors will all be fruity. I was hoping they had peach ‘cause I absolutely loved Yogiberry’s. But, I guess I’d have to go back to check out what other Tutti Frutti froyo flavors I could try.

Now, on to the toppings. This part, I enjoyed. They’ve got a lot of toppings to choose from. First off are these cereal toppings – Frosty Stars, Coco Crunch, Fruity Loops, Corn Flakes, Fruity Flakes and Rice Crispies.

Then, we saw these syrup coatings. They freeze as soon as you drizzle some on your froyo. We both preferred the caramel coating. I should’ve tried the chocolate, eh?

Since my froyo flavor is coffee, I stuck with toppings that will taste well with its flavor. They’ve got fruits, nuts and candies as toppings including marshmallows, walnuts, almonds, cashew, crushed graham and Oreo, mocchi, coco jelly, cherries, mandarin oranges, blueberry, peach, lychee, cherries, etc.

They also have flavored syrups you can top your froyo with. They’re those in big gray bottles.

After you’re done with your froyo toppings, time for weigh-in. Tutti Frutti charges Php 20 per oz. A bit more expensive than Yogiberry’s at Php 15 / oz.

Here’s mine, weighing 7.315 oz., I paid Php 146. My bro’s weighed a li’l lighter. I can’t remember how much we paid for his, but I think it also cost me about the same amount.

For my frozen yogurt toppings, I chose cookie dough, coffee jelly and the caramel coating.

To be honest, Tutti Frutti’s frozen yogurt is a bit bland for my taste. I was expecting it to be more flavorful, a li’l sweet, a bit tutti fruity (my bro’s, not mine). BUT, I still enjoyed the bitter taste of the coffee-flavored yogurt and coffee jelly mixed with the sweetness of the cookie dough and caramel coating.

My bro was also disappointed with his cup of vanilla-flavored yogurt. We barely tasted any vanilla. Good thing he added a tad more toppings than what I got on his froyo.

Tutti Frutti’s frozen yogurt also melted quickly. The texture reminds me of Wendy’s frosty. I guess we were comparing it too much with the other 3 froyo places we’ve been to.

By the way, you can get this loyalty card where you can get free yogurt with 2 toppings. The limit is 6 oz. so you’re going to pay if you exceed that. I just hope their staff were more proactive in handing this out to customers ‘cause my bro had to take the card himself and give it to them to sign for our 2 cups of froyo.

Anyway, I don’t think we’ll be frequenting Tutti Frutti that much. I mean, they’re more expensive at Php 20 / oz., and their yogurt doesn’t really taste like, well, yogurt. I still prefer my froyo with a hint of sourness mixed with the flavors.

The loyalty card can only be used at the branch where you got it. And I don’t think we’ll be coming back to SM San Lazaro anytime soon. We only went there ‘cause I wanted to buy new silver earrings. No, nothing expensive like Playa Del Carmen jewelry but just from Silverworks or Unisilver. I ended up not buying anything though ‘cause they didn’t carry the hoop earrings I wanted.

Going back to Tutti Frutti, maybe next time we drop by any of their branches, I might try their other yogurt flavors like Death by Chocolate and Original Tart. I’ll give them another chance to satisfy me with their other froyo flavors. For now, I’m giving them 3 stars.

Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt

• Ground Level, SM San Lazaro, Manila
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