Kubiertos

I simply love fruit shakes, fruit smoothies, or simply fruit juice. These cool creations are a great way to help quench a person’s thirst especially during very hot and humid summer days in the Philippines.

During my college days, I would often go to this fruit shake stall that was just inside our campus and get their refreshing mango shake. I watch as the stall’s “manang” sliced one cheek of a very ripe mango into the blender, put in some sugar, and then follow it by crushed ice. A few punches of the blender’s buttons and ta-da! a small plastic cup is placed into my hand for a measly P10 (ten Philippine pesos).

That was *** years ago (hehe). Now a small cup of fruit shake will set you back about 4 to 5 times that amount. And today, many fruit shake stalls and specialty juice bars have sprung up all over the metro. Many of them also use artificial flavoring instead of fresh fruits that I have gotten used to. I guess that is what commercialization has done.

Which is why I trek over to Greenbelt 1, despite the heat and despite the fact that I would have to do the million steps in 2.5 inch heels. Greenbelt 1 is where the nearest (to my office) Big Chill stall is. I really feel its worth all the hassle and most importantly the cost just to get the chance to savor really fresh fruit shakes. Big Chill uses fresh cut fruits like ripe mango, watermelon, grape, even strawberry. The strawberry stands out as this costs P35 more than the other fruit selections.

A few years back, Big Chill opened its first Juice Bar. I am not sure where the first branch opened but I am assuming the one at the mezzanine floor of the Ayala Tower 1 is the first. And with everyone turning health conscious, the idea was instantly a hit. The Juice Bar served salads and sandwiches. They have ready made variations but their specialty really is the choose-your-own. You get to decide what to place in your salad or sandwich. My favorite ready made salad/sandwich is the Rosa Mexicana. It includes the usual salad veggies combined with nachos and mixed with a salsa dressing. Think healthy taco.

The most recent one I tried is their Tuna Nicoise. It was made with balsamic vinegar and that made me love it. I’m a fan of all kinds of salads (except those that use wasabi dressing) and I love how this one combined tuna, lettuce, egg, and wheat bread. Eat that with a jumbo watermelon cooler and your lunch is all set. Yummy!

Big Chill Juicebar
Mezzanine floor Ayala Triangle Tower 1
Ayala Avenue, Makati City

Greenbelt 3 3rd Level, Bar Ciao, Food Choices
Ayala Center, Makati City

Viewed 2050 times by 881 viewers

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 3rd, 2007 at 12:00 am and is filed under Beverages, Big Chill Juicebar . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.