Tropic Rush

They are closed!

What a horrible experience! It is so not what I expected. I stepped inside Tropic Rush (located at Stadium Mall) feeling really happy. I love the frozen yogurt trend. It was a hot afternoon, around 88 degrees. I desperately wanted a sweet, refreshing dessert after my savory vegetable stir fry across the parking lot at Mark’s Drive Inn (which is an amazing little diner). We stepped inside and the place was dead. No customers. No shop keeper. After two minutes of waiting, a young woman (I will call her Becky) appeared and stood behind the counter not appearing to even notice us. I jingled my keys to get Becky’s attention and she looked up and appeared inconvenienced by our presence. Becky asked my companion in flat tone, «So you want a sample?» She replied «Yes, I’ll try the haupia maybe.» Becky just looked at us. Weird. We weren’t sure what we were supposed to do next. So my companion said, «Where are the little sample cups?» Then Becky quickly snapped, «You don’t do it. I have the sample cups. I fill it for you.» Now this instantly made us feel like leaving. But it was so hot outside, we were thirsty, so we figured whatever and stayed. She then got my friend a sample of the mango lychee. A very tiny sample. No big deal really. So then I asked, «Um, do I get sample?» «Okay what do you want?» she snapped back. «Just the plain tart yogurt, thanks.» Becky then plopped the sample serving into the tiny paper cup and before she handed it to me, she seemed very bothered there was a bit more yogurt in the sample cup than she intended. It seemed a peak of ice cream the length of my pink nail was standing a little too high and Becky felt compelled to lop it off. So she took another cup and mashed it into my cup and scooped out half of the already pathetic serving of yogurt. Becky gave me the sample, then took a step back and slurped out the other half of yogurt from her cup. So primitive. So how was the yogurt? It was satisfactory. The quality is better at Yogurtland and Menchie’s. The variety is scant. Bottom line: Tropic Rush really needs to work on their people skills. I won’t waste any more cash there. Neither should you.

Ok, I guess. Another self-​serve yogurt place with subpar-​tasting ingredients. The yogurt here is really sweet, even the «plain tart.» I like my tart to be tart, people! The amount of flavors is not quite as big as Yogurtland or Menchie’s, and neither is their selection of toppings. Beware the «mochi,» which are huge and rounded rectangles of breadlike substance! It is not mochi! You can bite into it like a piece of bread! And it doesn’t taste like mochi either! And it was $ 4 for what didn’t feel like much yogurt. I would much rather get my fix at Fiore. or red mango or pinkberry.

Damn!!! Can I say that on Unilocal?I’ve tried them all, I love frozen yogurt. I stumbled into Tropic Rush merely as an impromptu visit. I was in the neighborhood to grab some stuff from Foodland and wanted some sweets with my sweetheart. The place was empty, totally empty, not even a staff member to be found. As we looked around we notice totally different flavors compare to the other joints around the island. Mango Lychee and Watermelon caught my eyes right away. I heard a voice, would you like to try it? Where the heck did employee popped out from? Ok, really didn’t care, my focus, my goal is to put on my tongue on some yogurt.
I gave the mango lychee a try and I was hooked! It wasn’t overly tart, watery or too sweet, it was simply beautiful. I pour half my container with my new love and the other half with watermelon.
I went over to the topping area and noticed different flavored mochi. Yes, you heard me. Different flavored mochi! I grab a bunch and of course had to have my cheesecake topping.
The first bite into the Tropic Rush yogurt was perfect! It was so flavorful, just the right sweetness and the mochi was perfect. It’s definitely my favorite yogurt joint now. Can’t wait to go back.

My first impression of Tropic Rush wasn’t exactly a positive one. Granted that impression was of their logo, but that’s the sort of foreshadowing from the Universe that you’re supposed to pay attention to. Honestly, I’d never even heard of the place, but one day as I was driving by Market City Shopping Center I spotted a banner trumpeting Tropic Rush.
I looked at the logo as I drove by and couldn’t quite figure out what they were selling. It looked like a hurricane blasting a tree and I thought maybe it was a surf store. I didn’t quite get that it was for frozen yogurt. Maybe if I was sitting at the intersection long enough to read the print I would have understood more clearly. But the Universe kept that light green long enough for me to just whiz by; I wasn’t ready yet.
Several months later I saw a small ad for Tropic Rush promoting the fact that their yogurt used agave as a sweetener. That’s exactly the kind of good health, organic, nature-​oriented hook that will get me to go out of my way and revisit something I’ve already dismissed. I went down to TR on a Saturday afternoon, a perfectly brilliant Hawaiian afternoon for a cold, refreshing treat, and found the place completely empty. In fact, the cashier was nowhere to be found, either. It was only after milling in front of the self-​serve dispensers for a few minutes, trying to decide what agave-​kissed yogurt I was going to try, did he finally emerge and ask if I had any questions or wanted a sample.
After considering some of the fruity options, I opted for plain vanilla. Not because I myself am plain vanilla (well, okay, not only because of that), but because I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to determine how the use of agave, rather than sugar or high fructose corn syrup, affected the taste of frozen yogurt.
The verdict: it’s sweet. And by that I don’t mean merely sugary, or simply not tart. I mean SWEET. And while sweet may be an ideal characteristic for young children or coquettish girls, it was almost as if I was spooning frozen sugar into my mouth. Perhaps if I’d opted for one of the other flavors, one that had some fruit or chocolate or coffee in it, it wouldn’t have been so sweet, there would have been some other, more earthy flavor to counterbalance the clearly stunning power of the agave.
Alas, my agave-​tasting companion also noted that the coffee flavor was sweet. So while the frozen yogurt here may be better for you (note: sugar=bad, high fructose corn syrup=most insidious invention of all time), the folks at Tropic Rush or, more likely, their suppliers, need to experiment more with the amount of agave they’re using. I’d like to go back when it’s calibrated more properly. That is, provided they’re still in business; not only were they empty when I arrived, it stayed that way, with not another customer around, for the full 40 minutes I was there.
Another thing I noted: in addition to being empty, they offered nothing to drink. No free water like other places, or even bottled water for sale. Nada. Zip. I’m not sure if that’s intentional or an oversight, but I found it to be an odd oversight.

Went a few times a while ago and the yogurt was just ok, the last time I went they had the red velvet froyo and that was pretty good, it was really thick and actually tasted like the cake. They also have a limited selection of toppings and HUGE mochi balls that will really add weight to your cup so I would avoid those haha, they are different flavors so thats nice. However, some of the other flavors are better at other places.

(: If I’m the driver, or have the decision of where to go for fro-​yo, I always pick Tropic Rush.
The biggest reason? The plain tart.
I really have no idea what it’s called at this particular yogurt shop, since all the names are so hard to keep track of, but I’m sure it’s along the lines of plain/​original tart.
This place has the hands down best plain tart! Well, in my opinion, at least.
The other flavors, they’re okay, but I never really venture off from my original/​plains when it comes to fro-​yo.
So the cons of the shop? Well:
1. No blueberries. Like, ever. That’s my favorite and preferred only topping of choice. so that’s a real bummer.
2. I agree with another reviewer that said the oreo’s were stale. They really were, and it was kind of gross.
3. The service is alright, but it’s just the same as any other fro-​yo place. They keep to themselves, and they ring you up and you’re done with it. It isn’t called self serve for nothing!
4. The topping selection isn’t that big. The fresh fruit department is usually lacking, and they have a handful of dry goods (granola, some cereal), but not much else. I’m not a topping fan though, so this doesn’t bother me much.
Some other pros?:
1. It’s never crowded. I hardly ever see anyone else in the store, which is great. If you want to go to Yogurt land on University, you’re definitely going to have to wait in a long line, possibly going out the door.
2. Parking isn’t ever really a hassle for me, since it’s big enough for an entire shopping center.
3. It’s cute, and clean! Hand sanitizers at the door, bright lighting & colors, and cute seating arrangements.
Well, I recommend you try it for yourself. Some love it, some don’t.
But I’m definitely a fan of Tropic Rush.

I do have my biases towards Menchies. Menchies was the first place I went to in Oahu and LOVED. It reminded me of the Frogurt craziness of San Diego. Menchies is just perfect. Tropic Rush (TR), sadly just has a few things working against it. Its in an awkward location, which could be the reason its never packed like other frogurt places. Its barley near the university, its not near the movies, or the beach — all TR has going for it is the pet store, Gina’s and Toritos — which may all be better places to go than TR.
SO — three stars is not bad. it A-​OK. they have yogurt, check, its frozen, check, and its clean (not like tutti fruity, where once I went and saw ants). The only things that kept me from going two stars is my RECOMMENDATION: Red Velvet Low Fat Frogurt + whatever toppings you want. And the second thing that kept me from going south of three stars was the bulletin I saw prior to writing this review; the kids story time on Furlough Fridays. Being in education, I find that as something very noble for a business to do, and looking out for the kids of Oahu guards anyone from a rating under three.

just read crissy’s review, and i must agree. badmouthing is a no-​no especially when theres so many yogurt places out there. tropical rush is no different from yogurtland, menchies, and the other million self serve spots here in hawaii. i personally love yogen fruz the best. i tried tropical rush today, and it was so disapointing. try yogen fruz and then try tropical rush and you’ll see why.
why tropical rush didnt cut it for me:
1) toppings dont look fresh. i didnt get any.
2) the guava flavor was too sweet and the plain tart was too icy.
3) the décor is lacking… very plain.
4) badmouthing the competition… yuck.
oh and by the way, i met the owner of yogen fruz at their grand opening and yogen fruz is locally owned and operated. its a franchise, yes, but still locally owned.

Before you judge by the three-​star rating alone: The yogurt here isn’t that bad; in fact, I’d venture to say that the plain tart here is better than the plain tart most places on Oahu. They also have some interesting flavors, like taro. The venue is bright and clean. All that said, you’d think I’d give this place a higher rating, but I have a few beefs:
1. A friend and I came here, and my friend asked, within earshot of the cashier, what I thought of the place compared to how I felt about what was that other place I’d been to recently. .. I answered Yogen Fruz, but I couldn’t say yet what I thought b/​c we hadn’t started eating yet. The cashier responded by informing me that this place was the only locally owned frogurt venue on island and that he’d heard not-​so-​great things about Yogen Fruz. OK, dude, I didn’t ask your opinion, but I think it’s kind of in bad taste to diss the competition.
2. Their new policy is apparently to give only one sample cup. That means I can only try one flavor — unless I were going to be disgusting and reuse the cup, which is exactly what you’re encouraging disgusting people to do when you only give one sample cup.
3. No blueberries? Really? Sad selection of fresh fruit.
Easy fixes. I hope the cashier reads this and thinks twice about his attitude on #1. There are enough customers to go around right now, so you don’t have to badmouth the competition. That’s totally not local style. Be the better person!
[Note: The business’ name is Tropic Rush, not Tropicali Rush, as was originally entered for this business on Unilocal.]

The interior of this place is very lacking & made me feel like I was in a dark empty cave. Besides blue tiles, there wasn’t much to look at or admire.
Besides that, the yogurt is pretty much the same as Yogurtland & Menchies. However, the Oreo cookie toppings were STALE.

This is my favorite place ever since I’ve tried it! My favorite flavors are Chocolate, Coconut, & Green Apple! This place is great to eat after a good dinner! Parking is great too!

Tropic Rush is very similar to Yogurtland in every respect except:
Tropic Rush charges 42 cents per ounce instead of 39 cents.
Tropic Rush is much cleaner (although the lack of traffic is probably the major reason)
No need to wait in line since there’s never a crowd there.
The yogurts here taste pretty much the same to me so I think I’ll be coming here instead of Yogurland simply because it’s more convenient and I won’t have to wait in line.

My little sister wanted to try this place since her friend works here.
It’s okei. The worker was incredibly cheery and she didn’t seem to fake it either. Wow. Her mom came to visit her too. Hahaa, cute.
Nothing remarkable though. Well, they’re still getting their bearings, so I guess I’ll try it again later and update.
Location — It’s located in the shopping plaza that’s directly across from Kaimuki High School.
Menchies still wins.

As Airee F. said, they are eco-​friendly… which is wonderful to see. At the time we went, they also had BOGO50% off… not sure if that’s still going on. The place is clean, and they have the usual flavors — cheesecake, some fruit flavors, cookies and cream, etc.
The toppings — out in bins like YogurtLand (which I don’t like), but they do have a pretty extensive selection of toppings, including different *flavors* of mochi balls. Yay!
Price is a little more expensive than Menchie’s and YogurtLand ($ 0.42/oz) and I actually only saw one person working there. Ok, two — the cashier girl who was too busy texting on her phone, and a guy who was trying to fix some of the machines that were already not working. Semi-​fail.
This place is VERY clean though, which is nice.

Priced at $.42 an ounce, it’s not the cheapest of all the frozen yogurt places that have been popping up on every corner, but what gives this place the upper hand in my opinion are:
1) the cleanliness: there is a hand sanitizer dispenser where the yogurt containers are with a note requesting that you cleanse before digging in.
2) The «san francsico chocolate» is unbelievably chocolately — unlike other chocolate yogurts that usually have an artificial taste.
3) the mochi ball flavors — chocolate was my favorite but they also have strawberry, melon, coconut, plain and a blue colored one (forgot the flavor) — and they don’t get hard after sitting in your yogurt!
a nice finish to a Gina’s meal.
NOTE: This place is called Tropic Rush, not Tropicali Rush.

I accidentally put the original name of this place. I can’t seem to edit the restaurant name for some reason.
SO, it should be TROPIC RUSH.
Features an interior with such eco-​friendly décor as a mosaic wall made from recycled glass; bench and bar made from old mahogany church doors; check-​out counter and topping bar constructed from recycled resin lined with real seaweed and backed with energy-​efficient lighting; recycled napkins; and biodegradable cups and napkins.
With seating for approximately 35 people, Tropic Rush employs 12 staff members and offers 16 different yogurt flavors that will be rotating on a weekly basis, and more than 40 different toppings. In addition to such standard favorites as vanilla and chocolate and various tropical flavors, specialty flavors include Café Latte, Belgian Chocolate, Kahlua, Green Apple, Taro, New York Cheesecake, Cake Batter, Pecan Praline, Irish Mint, and Pistachio. Yogurts are priced per ounce in different sized cups.