i finally had my first pinkberry experience. we were driving through the westside on one of the hottest days in a while, and needed a bit of a respite, so we thought it was about time to check out the whole fro-yo or whatever pinkberry is thing. not really knowing where one was, i called information and asked for the shop, and when asked which location, i just named the street i was on, and the operator asked which of the three locations did i want? beverly hills? again, the operator: which of the two on the same street did i want? sheesh. overexpanding much? we picked a location--which was empty and about 15 degrees warmer inside than the already boiling midday--picked out our treats, and headed for the shade of a nearby park. i ended up with green tea topped with fresh raspberries, pineapple and (canned?) lychee, my cousin picked out plain with raspberries, kiwi, and granola. we were both surprised that neither were particularly tart, considering what we had read, and the flavour of the green tea was pretty non-existent. it was a disappointment flavourwise, and it melted far too quickly, but the iciness and fruit were very refreshing on a hot day. and dammit if i'm not craving the darned stuff despite its shortcomings. crackberry, indeed.
i have to say though, if i'm craving an icy treat on a warm day, i'd rather head on over to olympic for the korean version of the filipino halo-halo or hawaiian shave ice. it's called gwa-il bingsu, and generally consists of a hill of finely shaved ice, preserved sweet red beans, fresh fruit, and condensed milk. cake house makes a fine version with the red beans, condensed milk, fresh berries, canned fruit cocktail, and jelly candies, but if i have the time for tea and a bit of sit down, wien's version with red beans, kiwi, watermelon, strawberries, green grapes, kinako (roasted soy flour), and ice cream instead of milk, really sort of hits the spot for me. i love the texture of the cellulosey grapes and watermelon against the snowy ice and gritty kinako, and the ice cream substitution keeps the whole thing from getting too soupy too quickly.
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if you have a preference for either or, don't get confused by the similar names (wien's full name includes the phrase 'cake house'), addresses or phone numbers; cake house in on the westside, wien in koreatown to the east.
pinkberry
too many locations. time to thin the herd.
cake house
11301 w olympic blvd
la 90064.
310.914.0404.
google mapped!
wien
3250 w olympic blvd
la 90006.
323.766.0404.
google mapped!
i have to say though, if i'm craving an icy treat on a warm day, i'd rather head on over to olympic for the korean version of the filipino halo-halo or hawaiian shave ice. it's called gwa-il bingsu, and generally consists of a hill of finely shaved ice, preserved sweet red beans, fresh fruit, and condensed milk. cake house makes a fine version with the red beans, condensed milk, fresh berries, canned fruit cocktail, and jelly candies, but if i have the time for tea and a bit of sit down, wien's version with red beans, kiwi, watermelon, strawberries, green grapes, kinako (roasted soy flour), and ice cream instead of milk, really sort of hits the spot for me. i love the texture of the cellulosey grapes and watermelon against the snowy ice and gritty kinako, and the ice cream substitution keeps the whole thing from getting too soupy too quickly.
*
if you have a preference for either or, don't get confused by the similar names (wien's full name includes the phrase 'cake house'), addresses or phone numbers; cake house in on the westside, wien in koreatown to the east.
pinkberry
too many locations. time to thin the herd.
cake house
11301 w olympic blvd
la 90064.
310.914.0404.
google mapped!
wien
3250 w olympic blvd
la 90006.
323.766.0404.
google mapped!
