This busy shop was the third shop I visited out of about 10+ in HK (see my other reviews). Unlike the first two shops I visited, this is not really a shop, just a street counter really. I actually did a little homework before I visited and found that the owner of this shop is some sort of celebrity so she probably got a lot of free press, which may just be hype. I also read the other reviews on OpenRice before writing this and I find it very amusing that quite a few of the negative reviews were foreign English-speaking/writing and the positive reviews mainly Chinese locals. This is notable I think. Locals still don't know what real frozen yogurt is, and possibly shops like this have set a sort of standard, which is sad. While foreigners have had the real stuff in the US and Europe, this Crumbs shop is the most evidence to me of why REAL frozen yogurt still is not really here yet, and I'll explain why.
Walking up to the counter of Crumbs was interesting. There's a lot of kids just standing around so after making my way through these crowds, I asked about the froyo. It was interesting that the owner herself was right in front and I knew it was her since I have seen her photo featured in an article before. Well, she was nice enough to give me a sample with some crumbs (a signature topping it seemed) as a topping to try. that was appreciated. I ordered the smaller size of the two offered.
Now, I have been trained in making frozen desserts, especially gelato and yogurt, so I have an idea for the ingredients and it seemed that Crumbs frozen yogurt is not really yogurt. It's creamy texture and stale taste gave me the impression of a dead (not active,nor live cultures) frozen milk product. I couldn't completely determine if it's because the milk was not fresh or if it might even have been powdered milk, but it definitely was not frozen yogurt in the pure sense. Not even close to Pinkberry (anyone in HK know what that is? It's called real frozen yogurt!) Now, Crumbs may have a little yogurt in it, but it's definitely not fresh. Fresh milk and/or yogurt does not have this type of texture nor taste. So now if this is what all of the youth and possibly some adults, think what frozen yogurt is, then it's SO SAD. As for the tart / sweetness ratio, it's off balance. It is not the correct ratio for what it should be, to taste good. But based on the traffic at this shop when I was there (around 7 pm), I pretty much think this shop is "critic-proof". It's trendy and cool, and as I've written before, that's the sad state of yogurt in HK.
But I won't actually give Crumbs the lowest rating because the service was actually good and it looked clean in there. Disappointment with the tiny variety of toppings and lack of flavors, but props for the simple menu and the scones. I actually think the scones are the product people should try. It's nothing special, but for the price, it's a decent value. Scones are hot and there's a few flavors to choose from.
It's too bad that they can't produce the same quality with their yogurt as they do with their scones. this stuff is okay, but not great.
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