A new yoghurt chain from China just opened in Singapore serving a sticky (or silky) version of yoghurt, and I wanted to try it namely for an interesting yoghurt flavour - Black Five Grains Yogurt. This was a grey yogurt, and I love the flavour of grains in various foods such as Maeil Soymilk from Korea, so I was excited to try it. And not only did I really love it, but as a bonus, discovered other interesting pairings with yoghurt that is unique to East Asia or Chinese culture and now have a favourite yogurt place to revisit.
I went to the outlet at Millenia Walk, and the first time I went, there were relatively fewer toppings, so I went for refreshing grass jelly, which came in huge satisfying chunks. The grey yogurt is barely seen under it. The second time I went, there seemed to be a lot more toppings, so see how much more colourful my bowl was.
Black Five Grains Yoghurt
Reviewing the yogurt itself, it was one of my favourites ever. The first thing that struck me is that, unlike Western yogurts, this yogurt was really not very sweet. It felt like a 20-30% or even less on the sugar scales of bubble teas. Just enough to be noticed and to pair with other flavours, and not any more than that. So it can truly boast to be relatively healthier than other popular yogurt brands.
Furthermore, the flavour was very mellow, comforting and addictive. The yogurt flavour is more of the natural type of yogurt, like Greek yoghurt. (In contrast with some frozen yogurt brands that taste more like Yakult or Vitagen.) For the Black Five Grains flavour, there was a mild malty flavour with a what seemed like a hint of salt, which was the perfect balance in my view. Online descriptions mention it being nutty with a hint of black sesame, and while I didn't notice the nuttiness, I would agree that there was probably black sesame in there. It is very mild and at first I didn't notice it, but it is definitely nicer than normal plain yogurt. The grainy flavour also paired well with the slight sourness and milkiness of the yoghurt.
The texture was also amazing. It was best described as silky, and the texture is closer to a sauce or a very silky room temperature plain yoghurt that has been stirred. Because of this, the yogurt ended up being a very nice and mellow complement to the amazing fruits... almost like a wonderful fresh fruit bowl with the perfect yoghurt sauce.
Inside, there were also little pearls of some slightly sticky and grainy tasting liquid within a jelly-like membrane that popped in your mouth. I could never find them visually, but noticed them once they were in my mouth. They seemed to be the same flavour as the Black Five Grains taste, whatever that was, because it felt like a more intense taste of the same thing. They provided an interesting and pleasant texture and experience.
Fresh Fruits & the Best Grapes Ever
The other thing that really impressed me were these huge green grapes. You might not notice in the picture, but they were HUGE. the largest ones were possibly 1-inch to 1.5-inches in diameter! At first, I was hesitant because I was worried about seeds, but the staff assured me that there were no seeds. Then I proceeded to pile them on.
It turns out that the grapes were super sweet and flavourful, apart from being so plump and juicy. One of my favourite grapes ever. Very little sourness - just enough to balance it out. But they were the perfect complement to the not-so-sweet and slightly sour yoghurt!
The other fruits I had were an orange melon (I think cantaloupe) and pink dragon fruit, both of which paired well with the yoghurt.
The fruits ended up being what addicted me to coming back a 2nd time, and now a 3rd.
Fragrant Flower and Other Flavoured Toppings from Chinese Cuisine
On my second visit, there seemed to be more toppings of different colours, so I decided to try them. They came in intriguing flavours. My favourites were the floral and fragrant ones, and although all paired well with the yoghurt (like they would with milk teas), I thought different ones paired well with different fruits. Furthermore, they didn't come across as sweet compared to other toppings I've tried - at least, I didn't notice them being sweet.
The pink pearls at 12 o'clock (in the image above) were rose-flavour liquid wrapped in a jelly membrane that burst in your mouth for an amazing pop of texture and flavour. The floral rose fragrance paired really well with the cantaloupe, which also had a hint of floral fruitiness, and the pink dragon fruit.
There were 2 osmanthus flavoured toppings: the darker brown one at 10-11 o'clock were osmanthus pearls, which were like chewy, slightly diluted konyaku jelly that was bouncy in texture. The lighter one between 6-9 o'clock was also osmanthus flavoured, but like chunks or sheets of aiyu jelly or gelatin jelly in texture. Both were extremely refreshing on their own. I think these osmanthus toppings paired well with all 3 fruits and the yoghurt.
The green transparent balls between 3-4 o'clock are sour plum flavoured pearls. In texture, they are similar to the rose pearls - meaning they are flavoured liquid in a jelly membrane. Inside, there seems to be a little chunk of fruit-like bits, which I'm not sure what it is. It seemed somewhat apple-like in texture. But overall, it tasted clearly like fragrant sour plum that was just a tad salty but with a very strong plum fragrance. This one paired very well with the green grapes mostly.
The opaque light green balls at the 2-3 o'clock position was some type of sago. I think it was called emerald sago. I couldn't discern the flavour, and I hated the hard starchy texture, so I spat most of them out.
Below are pictures of the toppings from my first visit, which didn't seem to have as many types.
Great Healthy Feeling Overall
I didn't calculate the actual calories or glycemic index, but if you picked the jellies, they probably had relatively low calories, especially if they had low or no sugar, like the grass jelly topping. But more importantly, I filled my bowl mostly with fruits, so it was mostly like a fruit bowl with interesting toppings. It felt like I had eaten a nice acai fruit bowl. 100% agree with the slogan in the image - delicious and healthy!
Self-Service Style
Unlike other yoghurt chains, you actually get to help yourself to the fruits and toppings. The staff only helps with pouring the yoghurt, and even so you get to tell them how much of it you want.
You also get to sample the yoghurt flavours, much like in ice cream parlours. Just ask them for samples before ordering.
The ordering procedure/steps are:
- Pick your bowl size (S, M or L). I had M, which was like 3/4 of a meal for me so I was very full. You can pay first at the kiosk or pay as the last step.
- Help yourself to the fruits. If you love more yoghurt and less fruits, make sure to leave enough space for the yoghurt.
- Tell the staff which yoghurt you want and how much of it you want. You can either tell them to fill it to the brim and skip the toppings (such as pearls or jellies) or to fill it up less and help yourself to more toppings.
- Help yourself to the toppings such as jellies, pearls and sago.
- Help yourself to other toppings such as cereals and other sweets. These seemed unhealthy, so I skipped them and didn't take pictures. I mostly stuck to fruits, jellies and pearls.
- Osmanthus Rice Wine Milk Tea by Tastea
- (mentioned) Maeil Soymilk (Original Flavour) from Korea
- Classic Rose Pastry by Jiahua Flower Cake from Dali, Yunnan, China
- Rose Tea Latte by Greybox Coffee
- Rose Sun Cake by Ru Yi Tang
- "Double Black" Soymilk
- Genmai Milk in Kyoto
- Brown Sugar Plum Latte by Luckin Coffee
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