Yelo’d Ice Cream & Bake Shoppe Review

Yelo’d brings Filipino/Asian inspired soft serve to Whyte, and judging from the line-ups running down the length of the block, Edmonton couldn’t be more excited.

Don’t be surprised if you see children running around the back of house – this is a family owned and operated shop adding to the ever growing independently-owned food scene here in YEG. I could rave about Yelo’d all day, but I really love that the owner’s value their time spent with their family as much as they do their business. As I write this over the August long, they’ve adjusted their business hours so they’re able to celebrate their daughter’s birthday.

Let’s get to the good stuff though shall we? Despite being soft serve, the flavour has more depth than what you may be used to. Personally, I think it is perfectly sweet, but it’s definitely more reminiscent of ice cream in this regard. As I’m a sucker for almost anything sandwiched between two cookies, I picked up a confetti cookie ice cream sandwich with mango and pineapple soft serve. The boyfriend picked up the much more instagrammable (perhaps because I had already taken a bite of mine at this point) Fruity Pebbles yelo bun with watermelon soft serve, which I managed to snag a bite of. I would highly recommend this combination as the Fruity Pebbles and watermelon compliment each other exceptionally well. Our only caveat was the speed in which you need to eat this to ensure the soft serve doesn’t melt into a puddle. The sandwich has quite a bit more longevity as the ice cream had been frozen into what they call an ice cream “puck” ahead of time, but be warned: this does make it a little bit more difficult to dig into immediately.

If you’re taking a look at their menu and aren’t seeing any of the flavours I’ve described (mango, pineapple, watermelon) just know that the Tagalog versions of the word have been posted for a bit of cultural immersion. Go in with an open mind and open mouth – just because it’s something you haven’t tried before doesn’t mean you won’t like it (eh?). For example, a very popular flavour in the Philippines is keso (cheese) and Yelo’d has just recently introduced this. I’ve included some basic translations of what’s currently up in order to help you out:

Ube: purple yam – doesn’t taste like yam, but more on the savoury side

Keso: cheese (think more along the lines of cream cheese than cheddar)

Pandan: vanilla…kind of

Pakwan: watermelon

Pinya: pineapple

Mangga: mango

Pandesal: a Filipino bread bun that tastes slightly sweet

Halo-Halo: a dessert of evaporated milk, ice-cream, shaved ice, and some combination of the toppings you would find at a bubble tea place.

They have another menu on the counter detailing the ice cream pucks for the sandwiches. At the time I went they had Milo, an ube and Milo swirl, pineapple, and the mango and pineapple swirl, which was masarap (delicious)!

Yelo’d has cornered what is a surprisingly niche soft serve ice cream market. I think they’ll be successful thanks to their versatility, and ebb and flow with popular trends. They’re currently rocking black ice cream cones! Also, did I mention that Ailynn (one of the owner’s) actually owned and operated Whimsical Cake Studios for just under a decade? All of their baked goods are made in house, so it’s no surprise that they plan to focus more on this side of things throughout the winter season.

The balance of sweetness, depth of flavour and endless combinations of soft serve and baked goods makes this a place I’d visit over and over again. Life is fleeting, and if it’s your fantasy to flippantly face fuck yourself with Fruity Pebbles and frozen foodstuffs, feel free. If fellatio isn’t your forte, perhaps forgo Yelo’d.

Hunger: 1

Portion size: 2.5

Deliciousness: 8.3

Drunk n disorderly: 0

Overall: 8.2