Juice Bars in Chiang Mai
Juice bars are popping up all over Chiang Mai.
Did you eat and drink too much over Christmas and New Year? Of course you did, unless you're a super-healthy type who probably bought in 2015 with a complicated yoga pose and Tibetan-gong music. One year, that
If you're in Chiang Mai and, like me, want to get a bit healthier after the end of year debauchery you just committed, join me in a few days of consuming nothing but fruit and vegetable juice.*
*Except, of course, if there's some healthy-food event to be enjoyed ;)
The internet seems pretty undecided about 'juicing'.
After hours of research, I've discovered that juice diets could be a great way to be healthier, a dangerous fad, a miracle cure, an expensive waste of time or nothing but a marketing term dreamt up by some clever businessperson, probably from L.A.
Whatever, I'm gonna try it.
After a very unhealthy Christmas and New Year where I discovered how much Mexican food and tequila I can consume (too much), I was happy to spend an afternoon touring Chiang Mai's juice bars. I wanted to discover what's on offer and find the best juice bar in Chiang Mai for those times when Andy and I are too busy to spend hours making juice at home.
Chuen Juice Bar, Soi 9, Nimmanhaemin
Small juice: 85 baht
Big smoothie: 75 - 85 baht
Big smoothie: 75 - 85 baht
Gorgeous air conditioned bar, with stylish black seating, wooden flooring and furniture, daisies, artistic light fittings and lots of natural light streaming in through the windows. And, a plug socket next to every wall-adjacent table!
The juice menu itself is small; choose a set juice or your own two ingredients out of green apple, beetroot, carrot, celery, lemon, pears etc and it's made fresh and served straight away. Fresh juice is the best kind, so this is a massive plus to Chuen.
The smoothies sound good; with mixes like avocado + banana, tomato + carrot and mango + orange. They have a 'FOR HEALTH' section that includes stuff like walnut soy juice, citrus celery, sesame prune and black vinegar banana, whatever the hell that is. The smoothies were served in large mason jars.
It's a bit expensive for me at 85 baht for a small
Khun Kae's Juice and Smoothie Bar, Moonmuang 7, Old City
Big smoothie: 40 baht
Small juice: 25 baht
Juice shot: 20 - 40 baht
Small juice: 25 baht
Juice shot: 20 - 40 baht
Khun Kae's tag line is "you are what you eat"; and if you want to feel super healthy there is plenty on this menu to get you there. There's free wifi and a few sparky plug sockets available.
The 100% juice comes in small 220ml plastic bottles that are kept on ice at the front of the shop. The cheap smoothies come in large plastic cups and are made fresh. The juice is made with a slow juicer. There are fresh coconuts and various shots of freshly pressed juice available too. Maybe not as much fun as a tequila shot but certainly a lot healthier.
Unfortunately there wasn't any green juice available; only fruit juices, carrot and beetroot. Juice is best consumed within fifteen minutes of juicing, so I wish that they'd juice-to-order rather than have the pre-made juices. I think that if I asked for some green juice she would have made some for me though!
This is isn't the prettiest juice bar in Chiang Mai, and for me it's not a place to hang out for hours working and reading. But it's cheap, clean, bright and welcoming and serves a lot of happy customers every day. My new go-to for cheap takeaway juice in the Old City, and I'll try wheatgrass for the first time here one day soon.
Smoothie extras like coconut milk, peanut butter, yoghurt and spirulina cost 10 - 15 baht, and you can have cocoa powder, cinnamon powder, ginger or tumeric added free.
Fruiturday, Main Road between Soi 13 and 15, Nimmanhaemin
Fruiturday is definitely more of a smoothie place than a juice bar, so much so that I wouldn't really recommend juicing-people to go there. It is, however, a very lively and lovely cafe with bright lighting and upbeat staff. They serve loads of smoothies and arty fruit salads. The straws had beards and moustaches stuck on them; I felt very hipster. Almost every single person in there was taking lots of selfies with the pretty drinks and food. I think it must be a cool place to hang ;)
Salad Concept, Soi 15 Nimmanhaemin and Old City
Salad Concept is absolutely the best place to get a massive delicious salad. I really love it. I never realised they did juices before I started drinking juice myself, though! Choose your own two fruits from the list (which includes wheatgrass) to be slow-pressed into a small glass of juice for 80 baht, or choose from the juice combinations already listed on the menu for 45 - 75 baht. They make big claims in some of the juice names: pure wheatgrass, anti-cancer Thai herbs, anti-cancer, detox and beta beauty. Wowza *raised eyebrow*.
I went to the new branch in the Old City - it's gorgeous! So relaxed and beautifully lit.
I wanted to try Arttitude Gallery on Soi 5 in Nimmanhaemin, but sadly they were closed when I did my juice-adventuring today. Anyone been there? Where else can I go?
There you go. I support detox waters as it helps in healthy weight loss. Ihope you give Green supplements a try. Hands down the best nutritional product ever created up this point.
ReplyDeleteHi Amy,
ReplyDeletenice article :)
i think you missed our juice bar 'Freedom Yoga and Juice House" just of Thapae rd
come and pay us a visit one day
www.freedomyogachiangmai.org
Adam! I only just saw this comment arrrghhh! But many thanks. I would LOVE to come to your juice bar - when will you be in? :)
DeleteLittle beknownst secret juice hideout. Bottom floor of Maya. Fresh juices for 50 baht each. They do big orders too in case you want to do a full blow detox!
ReplyDelete50 baht juice sounds like a win!
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