Crazy Bananas, our last stop on the frozen yogurt tour, is located in Korea town (between 5th and Madison). On our way to the mom and pop shop, Gloria announced that she could no longer participate in the yogurt tour; after braving the harsh winter winds for the entire day, the tour found out that she was also lactose intolerant. She was such a trooper throughout the entire day and we were really lucky to have her join the tour! Crazy Bananas’ store front:

One thing I’d like to mention about Crazy Bananas - if you go to the fro-yo shop, be sure to check out their “lucky” phallic symbols enclosed in a little shrine by the window. I think there might be a bobble head penis as well!!

1. Size of hole test:

The hole is somewhat noticeable, but it’s not a completely devastating because the hole is on top of a solid frozen yogurt patch.

2. Tanginess vs. creaminess: On a scale from 1 to 5 (one being tangy and five being creamy), Crazy Bananas scored a 3.5, leaning more towards creamy.

3. Topping Variety:

Crazy Bananas fruit toppings and dry cereal toppings like the other yogurt shops we visited. They also have raspberry and blackberry purees; Oko had a variation of the puree (although it might have been syrup there). I think syrups/purees are more popular in Asia - frozen yogurt shops in the US haven’t picked up on the trend (I’ve seen a person ordering Red Mango in Korea and there are lots of syrups you can choose from). We ordered raspberry puree on top of our frozen yogurt, which was a tangy topping (raspberries and water blended together without sugar can be a little tangy/tart).

4. Fruit quality: On a scale of one to five (one being over/under ripe and five being perfectly ripe), Crazy Bananas scored a PERFECT 5!!

5. Calories per ounce: Crazy Bananas had 23g calories/ounce.

6. Price per ounce: Crazy Bananas clocked in at 72 cents/ounce.

7. Atmosphere/quality of service:

8. Iciness vs. Smoothness: On a scale of one to five (one being icy and five being smooth), we rated Crazy Bananas a 2.5; slightly more icy than smooth.

9. Number of flavors: Crazy Bananas carries plain, blueberry, and cranberry, but when I sampled cranberry, I thought it tasted exactly like plain.

10. Resilience to heat:

The yogurt was VERY resilient to heat and we saw very little melting.

11. Topping Quantity/Presentation:

The frozen yogurt was beautifully topped with a nice drizzle of raspberry puree (which added a really pretty color to the yogurt!). Also, look at how many blackberries the owner gave us - TEN BLACKBERRIES. Red Mango, please take note!

We ended our tour on a semi-high note; Chris, David, and I all liked Crazy Banana’s somewhat icy yogurt (not far behind was Bethany, who rated it a 3.75). Crazy Banana’s final score was 3.63/5.0. Later this week, we’ll do a complete wrap up of the frozen yogurt tour and announce the winner (if you’re too anxious, you can go through all of the posts and check their final scores to find the winner yourself). Hope you’ve enjoyed the tour!

Here are all of the entries in order (in case you wanted to jump around):

Day 1: Oko
Day 2: Pinkberry
Day 3:Red Mango
Day 4: Yolato
Day 5: 40 Carrots
Day 6: Very Berry
Day 7: Flurt
Day 8: Berry Wild Smooth and Kindy Icy
Day 9: Crazy Bananas

Koryodang in the heart of K-town, looks like a small eatery when I peered in from 32nd. However, when I walked in, I was pleasantly surprised at the size of the cafe; it’s HUGE! High ceilings, stone walls, and very modern decor make up this popular Korean dessert cafe. Chris and I stopped by on a cold night for some patbingsoo, the Korean spin on shaved ice.

I spent a couple weeks in Korea when I was a kid and had patbingsoo everyday; scoops of red bean topped with ice cream, mochi, condensed milk, mango and kiwi bits on a soft bed of ice. I blame patbingsoo on my childhood weight problems (jk!) but I also have fond memories of going to the same Korean bakery every afternoon before heading back to the apartment where I lived on dial-up and the June 2000 issue of YM! magazine. The patbingsoo at Koryodang came with different toppings - you had the option to choose from fruit, red bean, or green bean (which is actually mung bean). We chose a fruit topping, which came with strawberry ice cream instead of a vanilla ice cream:

The patbingsoo was a little too sweet for me (especially after living off Pinkberry for the past couple of months). Also, the prices were a little steep; patbingsoo was $9!! If you stop by Koryodang, you should try their honeydew popsicles instead; they’re only $1 and they’re a great treat while you try to navigate your way through Herald Square.

How to get to Koryodang:

Koryodang
31 W 32nd St between 5th and Broadway
New York, NY 10001
212-967-9661

We headed to K-town for Mandoo at MANDOO BAR on a recent Friday night. I really like this place, EVEN though it’s like $1/dumpling. The restaurant is very cozy and they make all the dumplings in the front on a daily basis:

We both ordered the goon mandoo (fried pork dumplings) because last time I ordered the kim chi mandoo and I didn’t think they were THAT great. 8 little mandoos for $7.99:

MMMmmm fried goodness:

Mandoo Bar is a better dumpling bar than most Japanese places/Chinese places because their dumpling skin is 1. homemade and 2. extra thick. Their kimchee radishes aren’t that great, but you’re not going to a dumpling bar for their appetizers, are you? It’s almost always packed, but it’s a worthwhile wait.

I love Korean food. Sometimes I kid that I’m actually Korean since I love their food so much. ^_^ I used to go to Seoul Garden once a week when I lived right by K-town, but now it’s only on special occasions. I went with Josh a couple weeks ago (I ate so much crap while he was here I don’t know how I’m still walking right now). He wanted to try Korean food, so I took him to one of my favorite restaurants along the strip of restaurants on 32nd. One of the many reasons I love Korean food is because they always give SO many side dishes. My favorite from the night:

It’s made from mung bean paste and is quite plain by itself, but that’s why you add soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili sauce. When my mom makes it, she also adds apple cider vinegar and cucumbers. I know it sounds incredibly weird, but it’s a healthy snack, I swear!

Since Josh had never had Korean food before, he ordered what I ordered - I stick to the Kimchi soup (usually kimchi chigae, but this time I ordered a combo, which is kimchi soup with short ribs):

My favorite part of the kimchi soup is cracking a raw egg into the soup…if you look closely, you can see the yolk cooking! The short ribs weren’t too fatty and you didn’t have to cook them at the table, which is a huge bonus because then your clothes don’t end up smelling like smoke afterwards. The meal was great (as usual) and I think it’s a safe bet for a solid Korean meal.

How to get to Seoul Garden:

Seoul Garden
34 West 32nd Street between 5th and Broadway
New York, NY 10001
212-736-9002

Crazy Bananas is located right outside K-town and is a small frozen yogurt store that was around BEFORE Pinkberry. It’s a cute shop that has plain frozen yogurt with fruit. Their prices are less than Pinkberry (6oz was $3.50 + $1.00 for three fruit toppings).

When we walked in, the store manager asked if it was our first time. We said yes and he immediately gave us two samples of his yogurt. We liked it and decided to order a small with three fruits (we just had a huge dinner at Gahm Ni Oak). The proud store manager:

Our small frozen yogurt:

The yogurt was pretty similar to Pinkberry’s, although it wasn’t as tart/tangy. One of the selling points of Crazy Bananas is that it’s not as sweet at Pinkberry (there aren’t as many calories - Pinkberry has around 40 grams of sugar per 8ounces). The more you eat the yogurt, the more it tastes like Pinkberry.

The dessert shop wasn’t crowded, so I was looking around at the decor and I saw THIS:

Apparently, they’re good luck wooden phalluses! They’re supposed to bring luck and prosperity to their owners (I don’t think it’s working so well for Crazy Bananas since there was absolutely no one there).

I liked Crazy Bananas a lot and especially liked that they weren’t stingy on their portions like the Pinkberry on the Upper East Side and the Pinkberry in K-town. I hope their good luck wooden phalluses start working!

How to get to Crazy Bananas:

Crazy Bananas
315 5th Ave
New York, NY 10016
212-532-1040