An apple a day

Looks like ijooz is getting a bit of competition.

During my last SG visit, it was just the ijooz fresh orange juice vending machine. But now, you also have. a fresh apple juice vendo!

Had to try it, and it was okay. 

But at P148 a cup, I'm better off buying a 1-liter carton of Ceres apple juice. 

Orange you glad

As an orange juice stan, this fills me heart with citrus-flavoured joy.

You can see thses iJooz kiosks scattered all over SG. For just SG$2, you can get freshly squeezed orange juice, straight from the source, conveniently packed in a sealed cup.

Finished around 6 cups in my short SG trip, which is testament to how good this is.

I'd be glad if they would put up something like this in MNL. 

Two a Tea

Zesto is an integral part of any 80s kids’ childhood.

It was the juice that was often served during parties, brought during field trips, and sold in school canteens. The iconic stand-up dot pack, and the hard-to-inert-straw, defines this drinkable icon.

Recently, i’ve found myself gravitating towards Zesto again, but this time for their iced teas.

For its price point, these teas are good. It has the right amount of fruitiness, it’s very refreshing, and it’s just P9 per pack!

Fit me to a tea!

The new Squeeze

When it comes to Mango Juice, Gina has always been the gold standard for me.

This brand has been around since time immemorial. It was already there even when I was a kid. It was the favourite mango juice of my grandparents. It was also the favourite of my Tito, Tita and cousins from Spain. Whenever they'd visit the Philippines, we would always stock Gina Mango Juice in their home.

The great thing about Gina is that it's consistent. Even until now, the taste and quality is the same high quality we enjoyed decades ago. And while I've tried other Mango Juice brands (Del Monte, Locally, etc.), Gina is still the best of the lot.

When Gina isn't available, I'd usually buy Juice Avenue. Now this brand is legit! They really use real Mangoes which they puree and serve freshly made in bottles. These aren't available in supermarkets, though. I'd buy these at their kiosks in malls and outside supermarkets. (So, technically, it is available in supermarkets. Outside, that is.)

Recently, I discovered a new brand that is almost as good as Gina. (Almost.)

That brand is Oishi Squeeze.

It has that rich and real Mango taste. It's not watered down or not sweetened unnecessarily. It's very authentic and it feels like I'm drinking juice extracted from real Mangoes. Even my sister and nephews like it, too.

So, while Gina Mango Juice will always be on top of my list, this new brand will be the fallback in case the preferred one isn't available.

Dole-licious

Back when I was still younger, Dole had this very catchy jingle that I'd find myself singing randomly. It went:

"Dole, Dole, Dole, Dole-icious Pineapple Juice Drink, 

Pineapple Orange, Pineapple Lychee,

Dole, Dole, Dole, Dole-licious Pineapple Juice Drink,

From the No. 1 producer of Pineapples, it's Dole, it's Dole-icious!"

That time, Dole and Del Monte were the heavyweights in Pineapple products - from juice, to chunks, to tidbits to slices. Del Monte was the bigger and more prominent brand, being the Pineapple behemoth back in that day.

Our family was torn between these 2 brands. For Pineapples used for baking and cooking, we preferred Del Monte. But for juices, Dole was our preferred brand. We found the taste of Dole more balanced, whereas Del Monte was too tart and sour.

Then, as an adult, my taste slowly shifted from Dole to Del Monte - juice-wise. Maybe it was because of my age, but my liking for super-sweet-stuff became less and less. That's when my appreciation for Del Monte's more authentic and tart juices became more pronounced.

But there was another plot twist. For canned pineapples, as well as canned fruit, my taste shifted to Dole. Especially after tasting Dole canned fruits and Dole jellies in the US, my taste buds became accustomed to it, and started to look for it since then.

A few days ago, an ad for the Dole flagship store on Lazada popped up. Having missed Dole and not having it for a year, my fingers clicked on the banner ad. One thing led to another, to several add to carts, and eventually, this:

Yup, this is my Dole stash! A lot of fruit jellies (a healthier way to snack every afternoon), pineapple tidbits (for Mom's sweet and sour fish and sweet and sour meatballs), and a chockfull of Seasons Juice Drinks! 

Strangely, when I was unboxing and disinfecting these goodies, there was a smile from ear-to-ear, knowing that I'd be enjoying my favourite Dole products again after a while. It's so, SO Tito to be doing that. Harhar!

Well, what can I say but it's going to be a Dole-icious few weeks ahead!

Loving Locally

It's been almost 6 years since my discovery of the local juice brand "Locally."

Back then, it was just being introduced in 7-11 in Ortigas, and several factors drew me to it. These include the unique flavours, the eye-catching label, plus the pun-ny names. Eventually, after trying it out, the product turned out to be as good inside as it was outside.

As years progressed, they expanded their formats. After launching with the bottle, they eventually ventured out into smaller cans. Then, they had bigger packs for families who enjoy sharing refreshing juice drinks with unabashedly local fruit flavours.

Our family is one of those families, of course.

Yup, our fridge never runs out of Locally! Especially the Tamarind which is an all-time fave!

They say we should love local, that's why we're also loving Locally!

Just Juss

One of the discoveries from Zalora's Essentials item list is this juice brand that I've heard of for the first time.

It's called Juss, and it's apparently the top brand of juice drinks in Turkey.

I've never seen this brand on supermarket shelves. I'm more familiar with my "usuals" like Del Monte, Tipco, The Berry Company, and Local. So, when I saw this on-line, there was a bit of hesitation. But since the craving for juice was so intense, I decided to give it a try. (Plus points - they had Sour Cherry juice! My fave!)

And yes, I'm glad I did. This Juss brand is yummers! Not to sweet, bursting with real fruit flavor, and super refreshing.

Needless to say, I'm ordering another batch from Zalora!

Fashionable food

It was a few weeks ago when I discovered that Zalora could do more than satisfy your taste and hunger for fashion.

They could also satisfy your hunger and taste. Period.

Yup, they started selling imported juices, milk, chips, cookies and the like a few weeks back. And being a big fan of the site, I went ahead and ordered from their selection.

They finally delivered my goodies today! Now, I have a fresh stock of fruit juices, strawberry milk, gourmet potato chips, cheese, cheese spread and some condiments.

This must be Zalora’s most satisfying delivery yet.

Loco Locally

It's been almost 2 years since I first discovered the local juice drink aptly called "Locally."

Since then, I've been buying it regularly, and continue to enjoy their local flavors, particularly the Tamarind variant.

Today, I discovered that they have 2 new variants available!

The guyabano is awesome! It has the taste of real pureed guyabano, which makes it legit. (Although it isn't as legit as the one in Island Juice since that one has real gno bits.) And the calamansi, divine! It tastes like the calamansi juice we'd make as kids.

Now, there are 2 new reasons why I'll go loco over Locally.

Bursting with goodness

It's amazing what you can discover in convenience stores! Today, I discovered this new juice brand called "Suburst Select.". And it's really, really, REALLY good!

The flavors are different, even premium. And although I know it's only part-juice, (a very small part, I reckon,) it's still super yummers.

I'm bursting with joy after this discovery.

Have a guava

My love affair with guava started out at a very young age.

There was a guava tree in our house in Morato. There were guava trees in Lolo Iking's beach house in Bacacay, and in Lolo Doring's house in Malinao.

Because there were so many guava trees around, we'd often find ourselves noshing on guavas in the afternoon. We'll pick them straight from the tree, wash them in the nearest faucet, and snack on them with such gusto.

I still remember the satisfaction I get whenever I took a bite on a ripe guava, with it's green exterior and soft, pink interior. I also remember the frustration whenever we'd get stuck with those really hard ones.

From then on, I've always had a soft spot for guava.

Imagine my thrill when I found out that my favorite juice joint, Juice Avenue, now offers Guava Juice! I drop by Juice Avenue almost everyday, and usually order ripe mango, watermelon and guava. But on today's juice run, I saw this sign and my stomach jumped for joy.

Verdict? Well, Juice Avenue can do no wrong. Just like their other juices, this tasted all-natural and super delish.

Now, I have another flavor to add to my rotation.

Down this Avenue

Here's one of my favorite go-to places during lunchtime. A nice, little juice stall called Juice Avenue.

They sell fresh, cold-pressed juices in a myriad of flavors. My go-tos are the yellow mango, watermelon and apple, and if I want a little zing, I go for green mango or pineapple.

They should open a branch in Cubao. We definitely need this avenue there.

Worth the wait

Finally, they released the 4th flavor in the "Locally" juice brand. Yup, they finally have the Mangosteen flavored juice at 7-11.

Since I've been waiting for it for months, I tried this drink with much anticipation and caution. After all,  it could've been all-hype and not too much goodness. (Just like their Kamias and Dalandan variants.) But still, I kept my hopes and standards high as I opened the bottle.

And it did not disappoint. It had that rich, tart mangosteen flavor that I love in the fruit. And now, it's in a juice!

I'm going to buy this one again. And again.

Juice mio! Part deux.

Presenting the Tamarind variant of the new juice drink brand I talked about a few days ago.

This one doesn't disappoint. It has the real, rich flavor of tamarind that I've grown to know and love. And when you chill it until it's really, really, really cold, gosh! It's sublime!

I'm still waiting for the Mangosteen flavor to come out, though.

Juice mio

There's nothing like great packaging to draw you into a product. 

While I was in 7-11, I chanced upon this uber eye-catching packaging for juice. It was a bottle with a very young and modern label. Based on the packaging alone, I had to buy it!

It was a new local juice brand produced by NutriAsia. Aptly called "Locally," it's a juice drink that features Pinoy flavors. There's the standard Dalandan, and the more exotic Tamarind and Kamias.

The Kamias juice is good, although I was looking for a bit of that sour and bitter flavor. The Tamarind juice, though, was excellent.

They have a 4th flavor - Mangosteen - but it's still coming soon. And when it does, I'll definitely try that out, too.

What's not to Lake?

Whenever we're in Tokyo, Mark and I like scouring the supermarkets to buy juice. Whether it's in Ozeki, Prece, My Basket or a random combini, I usually stop by the chiller to see if there's any interesting breakfast and snack beverage that we can buy.

Usually, I gravitate towards apple and grape juice. Mark, on the other hand, usually buys the fruit and vegetable mix. At first, I found that combination odd, but warmed up to it eventually. It turns out a fruit and vegetable combination is not only refreshingly healthy, but yummy as well.

When I dropped by SM Supermarket, I found out that Oishi's juice brand - Great Lakes - had a Fruit and Vegetable juice. 

Needless to say, I bought a pack, and it was really, really good. It had the right tartness, and a taste of healthy greens. It's pretty much like the one we get in Japan, albeit a tinge bit sweeter.

I also bought the other variant, Tropical Blend Fruit Mix.

This one tastes like Four Seasons, but with a bit more sourness.

It's great that we now have more varied choices when it comes to juice.