aLIVE d-tox Water @ Pavilion

This healthy and refreshing beverage first got my attention when I read about it on theyumlist's blog.  The beverage I'm talking about is aLIVE d-tox Water @ Pavilion.

They have since opened a second outlet (in March) in IOI City Mall, Putrajaya, if you're from that area.

There are lots of bottled and cold pressed juices in the market but nothing like this.  What's aLIVE d-tox water, you ask?  Well, they're basically fruits steeped in fruit-infused water (aka detox water) of iced tea, wild honey, lemon infused water or natural yogurt.

The beverages are freshly made to order, so you're assured of optimum freshness each and every time...and ordering is simple :)

Step 1 - Pick Your Fruits: from 16 pre-selected fruit combos available (with each combo containing at least three types of fruit).

Step 2 - Pick Your Flavour: from iced tea, wild honey, lemon infused water or natural yogurt.  There's also a menu with pre-selected combos of what fruits go well with which flavours of drink for those who can't decide.

The first time I came to try this new drink, I was with a friend.....and we tried two.  They say it's not a blended juice although these ones I ordered looked like they've been blitzed up (note the bit of foam at the top + I heard the sound of blitzing) :P

We chose the Rapid Recovery in Wild Honey @ RM10.80 (with fruits of strawberry, mango & lemon) as our first pick.  This one will be a little on the sweet side coz there's wild honey in the mix.  I'm not sure if it'll rejuvenate and rehydrate your body (as claimed...lol) but I certainly feel very refreshed after drinking it.....I must have been very thirsty.

We also shared a Flat Belly with Lemon Infused Water @ RM10.80.  This one contained fruits of kiwi, pineapple and orange.  Now who wouldn't want a drink with a name like flat belly.....it's every lady's dream! ^_~

On a solo shopping trip recently (and I was obviously very thirsty after all that walking), I tried the Thirst Quencher with Iced Tea (strawberry, watermelon & lime) @ RM10.80 this time.

It's a convenient thirst quencher alright and offers an afternoon pick-me-up when your legs get weary from all that walking (and shopping!).

I also ordered one-to-go, Inner Shine with Lemon Infused Water (grape, strawberry & lemon) @ RM12.80 and was gently reminded that the shelf life is only 2 hours.

Into the fridge it went when I got home.  And I did drink it within the specified time frame (at least half of it) except I thought it didn't taste as good as when I drank it fresh on site.  Perhaps that's due to the fruits steeping too long in the fruit-infused water.

It comes in a cool and unique packaging with a straw for sipping and its own colourful spoon-fork-scooper (whatever you want to call it) to make sure you scoop up all those delicious fruits in the bag...and you get to keep the cute spoon/fork! ^.^

Although touted as a healthy option since it retains whole fruits natural fibre (usually lost in juicing), we have to keep in mind that it's not sugar-free (it does contain a minimal amount of sugar) but still nutritious enough.

Prices start from the cheapest one at RM6.80 (total d-tox) to the two most expensive ones (Inner Shine and Superfruits) at RM12.80.  The rest cost either RM8.80 or RM10.80.

It's said that you can custom make your own favourite healthy fruits detox water but I'm not so sure about that though.  There are just some combos which work better with certain flavours (of infused water) and some of the servers are quite adamant about letting you know if you've not selected the 'right' combos.  There were times when I selected lemon-infused water (my favourite flavour) with certain fruit combos only to be told they don't go well together.  I suppose you can put your foot down and insist you want that combo but they'd usually convince you not to!  Let me give you an example...I once wanted Superfruits in Lemon Infused Water but was 'refused' as they say that one is best with yoghurt (but I don't like yogurt...how?) :'(  Another time, I wanted Inner Shine with Lemon Infused Water but was told that would be better with wild honey and was asked to substitute with Vita C Reviver instead.  In the end (I'm not sure why) the server finally relented and let me have my 'selection'! :P

They actually have some already pre-selected fruit combos with different flavoured drinks to make your decision making easier as to which combos work best like:

1.  total d-tox with lemon infused water
2.  energiser with honey
3.  vita c reviver with lemon infused water
4.  summer delight with honey ginger tea
5.  groovy fresh with honey citron tea
6.  thirst quencher with iced tea
7.  energy booster with honey
8.  superfruits with yogurt

If there's one complaint, it'd be the fruits like lemon, lime and orange where the rinds are left intact in the beverage.  It's difficult to eat what's left of the fruit when it's still attached to the skin like that (unless we weren't supposed to eat them!).  And if we did eat them, there's no place to dispose the skins (other than dropping them back into the bag!) coz leaving the rinds on the table wouldn't look very nice.  I wish they would just remove the rinds.

My Personal Opinion

If you find yourself in Pavilion or IOI City Mall looking for a healthy alternative of whole fruits infused water to juice, then make a pit stop at aLive....where you get refreshed and feel alive! ^o^

Whichever combo you choose, whichever your favourite fruits, whichever flavoured water you like, you're bound to find one here that pleases you.

My favourite combo is the immensely refreshing Flat Belly with Lemon Infused Water and my least favourite, the iced tea.  Which one is yours? ^_~

aLIVE d-tox Water
C.04.00 Level 4
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-6206 2505

Just One Food - Mini Pineapple

I love to eat pineapples and I would usually buy the cut fruit from fruit vendors (I don't buy whole pineapples coz it's too much for one person to consume + I hate to skin the pineapple...too much work!).  Sometimes, if you're lucky, you end up with a sweet one but for the most times, it's not!  At times, it's so tart, it numbs my tongue :'( and basically ruins my taste buds for the rest of the day.

 

But that was before I discovered the mini pineapple! :D

 

The first time I saw this fruit was on Mun's blog and barely 2 weeks later, while I was having breakfast at my neigbourhood coffee shop, this young lady passed by our table selling the exact same mini pineapples.

 

I was overjoyed coz I wanted to try them.  I asked her how much and she said RM10 for 3.  If I had not seen it (or know how much it costs) on muntalksfood, I probably wouldn't have bought it since it isn't that cheap...more than RM3 for something so small.....it's even smaller than a Granny Smith apple (after it has been cut)!

 

On googling, I found out that this is indeed the Mini Thai Pineapple.  Appearance wise, the baby pineapple looks exactly the same as the larger pineapple.  Taste wise, the flesh is a lot sweeter and juicier than the usual larger varieties...and has a more intense pineapple flavour. 

 

The inner core of the mini pineapple is completely edible.  You can devour it (like I did)...it's tender, sweet and crunchy unlike the larger member of the pineapple family where it's tough and fibrous....and inedible!

 

Here's a picture I found online of the cut and uncut ones.  If you love eating pineapples, you have got to try this one...and you'll forever be converted....and you won't go back to your regular pineapples anymore! ;p

 

As great as they are eaten fresh, I can just imagine how equally great they'll be in a salsa, salad or simply grilled!  Or even as pineapple jam or in pineapple tarts (they're so sweet already, you probably wouldn't need to add any sugar).

 

I have since gone searching for this mini pineapple at the morning market as well as the fruit shops in my neighbourhood...I've not found them yet! :(  I've yet to try the "pasar malam" (night market) and supermarkets.  Even if I do find them, they'll probably be the uncut version, so I won't be jumping for joy anytime soon.  Hopefully, our paths will cross soon and I'm destined to meet the young lady selling these again!

 

Till then, I'll be thinking of you.....yellow sweet juicy tiny cute adorable tasty pineapple!

Update (15.05.2015):  I've since found these mini pineapples selling at my neigbourhood pasar malam....yay!

They are selling them at RM10 for 3 (mini ones) or RM10 for 5 (really mini ones)...hope you find one at a pasar malam near you! ;D
 

Just One Food - Soursop or Sweetsop?

I was at my neighbourhood morning market (the other day) when I chanced upon this fruit.....a fruit that I don't usually see selling much these days. 

 

Back in those days, in my aunty's "kampung" (village), you can find it growing abundantly on trees and we would, as a kid, pluck it off the trees and bury them in (uncooked) rice to hasten the ripening process.  Now, I have to pay RM3 for one.
 

I've always known this fruit as "ho mou lau lin" (direct translation: English durian) or otherwise known as "durian belanda" in Malay.
 

(Pic from Wikipedia)

All this while I thought it was called soursop in English until I googled it recently and most of the pics turned out like the ones above.  It has a somewhat spiny, prickly skin compared to the one I know.

 

(Pic from Wikipedia)

I soon realised that the one I've been eating is actually known a sweetsop or sugar apple in English (or buah nona in Malay).  The sweetsop (sometimes also called custard apple) is actually a relative of the soursop.  It is smaller in size and has no soft spikes.  Like the soursop, it has a sweet, delicious and creamy white flesh and black seeds.

(Pic courtesy of cooklikeajamaican.com)

My son loves to drink soursop juice but has never seen the fruit itself.  Why they call it soursop, when the flesh is sweet, baffles me.  Soursop is good as a drink, ice cream or sorbet.

So, when I bought this sweetsop from the market, I told him that this is the fruit of the soursop juice you like so much...I guess I was wrong!!  The juice that we've been drinking is probably soursop juice (though it tastes exactly like sweetsop) but the fruit I've been eating is definitely a sweetsop!

 

So, it looks like I've learned something new.....a soursop and a sweetsop is two different things...did you know?  (Or is it just me...not knowledgeable enough)  The thing I've been calling a soursop all this while was actually a sweetsop :D !!  I absolutely love to eat sweetsop and the only thing that's stopping me is it takes a bit of effort to eat it, but (then again), no pain...no gain, I suppose ;)

 

It's funny, how in our quest for food, we learn a thing or two along the way.....and that's wonderful.  I guess life is a journey of learning!

Soursop or Sweetsop....whatever you want to call it, I like them both :-)