If you follow me on twitter – you will know that I have a huge obsession with frozen yogurt, especially Tutti Frutti, so the fact that there is now a location in Southgate Centre means I am very very happy (and possibly a little scared) considering I live really close by!

Tutti Frutti Southgate’s grand opening was scheduled for July 29 and I was invited down to attend the VIP media launch of the new location – I don’t know if I will ever get used to being asked to attend things as “media” just because of the WWAP blog, but it is a super nice perk and I was thankful to have been invited. Grand opening day meant free fro-yo for all between 12-3 but as VIPs, we were able to sample froyo starting at 11 and presented with lovely Tutti Frutti lunch (swag) bags that included a $2 off coupon, gift card and 4GB USB key. When I arrived at 10:55AM, there was already a line forming for the 12-3 free fro-yo promotion! And when I left the mall at 1, this was what the crowd looked like:

I heard that Tutti Frutti kept the free fro-yo promotion beyond 3pm and gave away a ton of free fro-yo! There were also great giveaways like Murad gift baskets, massages, hair salon gift certificates and more.

So for those of you unfamiliar with the Tutti Frutti concept, it is a self serve fro-yo joint where you grab a bowl and fill it with yogurt and toppings of your choice and then take it to the cashier where you pay $0.54/oz. It is pretty straightforward and Tutti Frutti probably explains it best:

The Southgate Tutti Frutti has about 10 flavors of yogurt to choose from and while they didn’t have my favorites on grand opening day, the flavors do tend to rotate on a fairly regular basis with the exception of TF Tart, which is always available. The flavors on grand opening day were: Taro, Melon, Orange Dream, Banana, Salted Caramel, Green Tea, TF Tart, Blueberry Sorbet, Soy Peanut Butter, and Death by Chocolate. In all the time that I’ve gone to Tutti Frutti on Whyte Ave, I have never tried the TF Tart so I finally sucked up my fear of super tart yogurt and dove right in. Wow I can’t believe I’ve never had TF Tart before – it is really good and not nearly as tart as I thought it would be. It was great with fruit toppings (my usual choice) and the popping sago bubbles (little bubbles with sweet fruit juice/syrup inside). If you don’t feel like fruit or popping sago on your yogurt, Tutti Frutti has got you covered with a multitude of topping options!

I tend to stay in the fruit section but occasionally I do like to toss in a few almonds but I tend to avoid candy as it hardens up in the yogurt really quickly. As you can see I’m really bad at making my yogurt look pretty but it tastes delicious so life is all good!

I had a great time at the launch because I was able to see my fellow foodie friends and also meet the Southgate location’s owner Gene Young and chat with him. I am severely delayed on posting about the grand opening as Marlow Moo and the Kitchen Magpie have both beat me to it! However, I am beyond thrilled with a location so close to home but one downside is that this Tutti Frutti follows mall hours so if you’re craving a 10pm fro-yo, you will still have to pop down to the Whyte Ave location.

So thanks again to Tutti Frutti for the launch invite and I will be back soon… especially since coconut and pineapple are part of this week’s yogurt offerings (who am I kidding? I have a fro-yo date lined up for tomorrow!).

So What Would Argenplath Pay?

Like I mentioned earlier, you’re charged by the ounce ($0.54/oz) at Tutti Frutti, so what you pay really depends on how much you pour into your cup. I think I’ve mastered the $5-$6 yogurt and I find that is plenty filling but one way I will adjust the final price is picking less heavy fruits as toppings. For example if you have a choice between blueberries and mango, you do get more blueberries for the same weight in mango. Sometimes I will also sprinkle graham cracker crumbs instead of tossing in almonds but in the end, it’s really up to you and how much you want to eat.