Fiji Yogurt (San Diego, CA)

Brittany writing.

I don't know if you guys have heard of groupon but my apartmentmate recently purchased a groupon to Fiji Yogurt. You basically buy a giftcard but for half the price. We got a $22 gift card for only like $10 or so. So I decided to finally try it out and here's my review.

Fiji Yogurt is a franchise only in the San Diego area and as of now they have about 4 different locations. I went to the one on Friars road because it got the highest ratings on Yelp and seemed to be the nicest. I went around lunchtime so it wasn't too crowded and the plaza was kind of hard to find. It's on a pretty busy street near some restaurants and shops.

Atmosphere. The atmosphere reminded me of Yogurtworld. They had several machines that held about 8 or so flavors of yogurt. They also had seating around the back and a pretty extensive topping bar. There was a TV with Michael Jackson's This is it playing. Overall, it wasn't your typical pinkberry/yogurtland style with clear tables and brightly colored walls but it was pretty nice inside. They even offered games for people to play while they ate yogurt. One thing I liked was that the sample cups were right next to the cups to get your yogurt so you didn't have to go up to the front and awkwardly ask for sample cups.

Yogurt. The yogurt cost about .35cents which is cheaper than yogurtworld but not as cheap as yogurtland. The flavors they had were plain tart, kiwi tart, dole pinapple non-dairy, oreo, cake batter and some other flavors that weren't tart. I tried the kiwi tart first because I had never heard of it before and it wasn't bad. It tasted slightly like Kiwi and was sort of tart. The dole-pineapple non-dairy reminded me a lot of the pineapple non-dairy that I used to be obsessed with at YogurtWorld and it was fairly firm and icy. The plain tart however was disappointing. It was reminiscent of Red Mango's plain tart. It wasn't tart at all! And it was fairly creamy and watery...not firm and icy the way I like it. Oreo apparently tasted just like oreos and cake batter was not that great according to my boyfriend. The toppings were pretty impressive however. They had mochi which was a plus and tons of fruits, cereals, and candy toppings. The mango however tasted...strange. Like it looked really ripe and good but maybe the juice/sauce it was sitting in was artificial because it didn't taste like fresh mango. The mochi was a tad soft but not the worst I've ever had.

Overall. Fiji yogurt isn't a bad alternative if you're fairly desperate for yogurt. The only thing is the location isn't that great and the place isn't all that inviting to want to stay and hang out. I think I prefer the pinkberry/yogurtland atmosphere bustling with people and bright colors. The yogurt itself isn't bad since they do offer non-dairy options but their plain is forgettable.

Yogurt World (San Diego, CA)

Brittany writing.

So it's about time that I review Yogurt World. This was the first experience of yogurt that I had about 3 years ago. I heard about this place when I came to UCSD and how amazing it was. The first time I went I remember trying the plain tart and thinking it was disgusting. How could someone eat something that tasted like sour milk? I was also glad because Yogurt World had non-dairy flavors like Hawaiian Pineapple which I thought would be good since I'm lactose and it tasted good! I really like all the fruits and when I tried mochi I knew I was in love. From that day on I loved yogurt world and when I came home I remember thinking, where are all the yogurt places? Not to mention the ones I went to weren't self-serve and never had non-dairy or non-tart flavors. Eventually I came to love tart and was grateful that Yogurt World always has a ton of good tart flavors. They have mango tart which is my favorite and even their plain tart is amazing. They also have good atmosphere and toppings!

Atmosphere: I've been to about three different yogurt worlds. The original one on Convoy Street is always crowded and although it doesn't look like your typical brightly colored, clean, modern yogurt shoppes it's pretty cozy inside. The machines holding about 8-10 flavors are lined on the right side of the store and then seating is on the left hand side. The one on campus is very uniquely build with large windows and cool customized wallpaper. The one in Mira Mesa is REALLY nice with a huge area to sit down, couches, and games to play too! Overall, I feel like yogurt world always makes its customers feel at home and makes you want to sit down and enjoy your yogurt.

Yogurt: Their yogurt is by far the best I have found so far. It is firm but still icy and not too creamy and they have a lot of good flavors. They have plain tart, green tea tart, pineapple tart, mango tart, red velvet, cappuccino, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, hawaiian pineapple sorbet, raspberry sorbet, acai tart and many more which usually rotate. Their tart is always the perfect tart level and their plain tart is just the way I like it. Firm but icy. They always have a ton of toppings as well. Practically every cereal, sweet topping, fruit, asian topping and of course, mochi. I feel like they always have what you're looking for and it's usually pretty fresh. It's about 38 cents per ounce which is a bit more expensive than like yogurtland or tutti frutti but I totally feel like it's worth it.

Overall, I'd have to say I haven't found a place that is better that Yogurt World. They continue to meet my expectations with good quality yogurt and toppings and a pleasing, comfortable atmosphere.

Yogurt Fusion (San Diego, CA)

Brittany writing.

So this past week I went to a place called Yogurt Fusion which is near Convoy in San Diego. I got a gift card from there so I decided to check it out. It was located in a strange area and kind of hidden in a plaza. When I first saw it, it looked like any other yogurt place with the bright interior and modern sign. There was actually no one inside for a nice afternoon and the people who worked there wasn't what I was expecting. I was expecting your typical asian teens or people to be working there but there were some middle aged Caucasian people and even an older man. They greeted us as we walked in and sort of stared at us, I'm guessing they don't get many customers, haha. They had about 8 or so flavors and most of them were non-dairy and just fruity but only one tart flavor: plain tart. I actually don't remember how much the yogurt cost per ounce because I just went in and out but I don't think it was that expensive.

Atmosphere: The atmosphere wasn't all that bad, it reminded me of Top This! and Tutti Frutti, it was fairly small inside with yogurt machines in the back and a couple of tables set up against the wall. To be honest, it didn't really make me feel like getting my yogurt and eating there. The decor was pretty nice with bright lighting and colorful walls but all in all nothing I haven't seen before. The place was pretty clean, with a nice toppings bar and yogurt dispensers. Overall, it was a pretty nice yogurt place and didn't seem shady or strange at all.

Yogurt: The yogurt was pretty disappointing. I got plain tart, pineapple, and this one called raspberry pomegranate sorbet which was non-dairy. They had other flavors such as vanilla, chocolate, orange sorbet and strawberry I believe. Like most non-asian places they had a lot of non-dairy flavors which would be good for people like Hannah but for people like me who like tart flavors they had practically none! Their yogurt tended to be on the more creamy side, and it wasn't that watery which was good. However, the main flavor, plain tart, was disappointing. It was strangely icy and watery with hardly ANY flavor. It wasn't tart at all and didn't have the refreshing original yogurt flavor. It was pretty bland, watery, and way too icy. The toppings were also pretty lame. They hardly had any fresh fruit other than some blueberries and no mochi! When we asked, the man said they were hard to get but reading other reviews on yelp it seemed like they hardly ever have mochi. They had plenty of sweet toppings like chocolate chips, cheesecake, sprinkles etc. but no asian toppings like lychee or jellies. Overall the yogurt was pretty bad, the plain tart didn't live up to my expectations and the overall flavors were too creamy and not tart enough.

I'd have to say this place wouldn't be missed, they didn't really seem to cater to the typical asian yogurt crowd but if you like non-dairy flavors then this might be a good choice for you.