My Juice, Hongdae

These days, it feels like it's just one wacky thing after another with my body. It's as though all my internal organs have turned on me, in some kind of outlandish conspiracy with the foods I love. Bread leads to yeast infections. Dairy makes me flatulent. Coffee leaves a lovely, unpalatable coating on the back of my tongue... Wah, wah, wah. And all this leads to the sadface question: what's a girl to drink at a cafe if coffee and milk are out?

"Well," you might say, "there's always juice?"

And juice there is!

Enter My Juice, a new-ish cafe chain that has been popping up a lot lately on Korean blogs and various forms of social media. Apart from the obvious appeal of selling freshly squeezed juice, which is healthy, the other attraction (I gather) is that the juice comes served in plastic drink bottles that resemble "My Bottle" (those ones that cost upwards of 30,000 won a pop). These My Juice bottles are recyclable and reusable, and you can take advantage of a nice 500 won discount if you bring yours back to use on your next visit.

Spinach, apple, & pineapple juice, 5,300 won

The procedure to fill your belly with juicy goodness is simple. Choose your bottle size, choose your ingredients (up to three), and pay up.

There's a decent variety of fruit and vegetables available, and for indecisive folks (like me) who go through great ordeals when having to decide on just about anything, the posters with recommended combinations definitely help to take the brain strain out of choosing.

Another nice thing about My Juice is the layout and design of the place. At the branch I visited in Hongdae, the decorations were simple but modern and chic, with splashes of yellow here and there. Gotta love yellow for positive energy vibes!

Another shot of My Juice. (Hah! See what I did there?)

As for the juice itself... It was tasty but a bit too sweet. I'm not sure if it's because of the ingredients I chose, or if they perhaps add in "natural fruit syrup", as a lot of places seem to do (like Beesket). Maybe next time, I'll opt for two veggies and one fruit instead.

My Juice, Hongdae
Hours: 12pm - 10pm, closed Mondays
Address: 서울시 마포구 서교동 332-22 (332-22 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul)
Website: http://www.myjuice.co.kr
Directions: From Hongdae Station exit 8, take the first right, go straight for 2 blocks and turn left at the roundabout. When you come to the next roundabout, make a right and then take the first right again. Look out for My Juice on your left, a few metres down.

*Note: My Juice also has branches in Haebangchon, Jongro, and other cities like Busan and Gwangju. Check out their website for details on each location ^^

Beesket juice & smoothies, Dongdaemun

Last week, my awesome-ous cousin Joyce came to visit Seoul. One afternoon, we were on our way to Hongdae when we decided to take a detour to Dongdaemun Shopping Complex. Then on our way to Dongdaemun Shopping Complex, we decided to take a detour to Dongdaemun Design Plaza. What is a shopping expedition without a few detours? :P

Unfortunately though, detouring = walking, and walking = tired, grumpy Asians. However, after traipsing around, we finally found a place to rest our weary soles. (Pun intended. Hah!) It was a cute, funky little "DIY" juice place called Beesket. According to their website, the name comes from a combination of "bee" + "basket", because just like how bees go around collecting nectar from different flowers, you too can go around collecting different ingredients to create your own personalised drink.

When we arrived, the friendly staff gave us little red baskets to put our ingredients in. Each cute little basket was accordingly shaped like a piece of honeycomb. We simply chose the ingredients we wanted (up to 3) from the huge array available and popped them into the basket. Then we presented our baskets at the counter and a few minutes later, hey presto! Freshly whizzed up juice according to our preferences. :D

So many choices!! @__@

Watermelon, carrot, and kiwi for me. Mango, kiwi, and raspberry for Joyce. :3

Even the tables are shaped like honeycomb cells! Cuuuute!

Another really impressive thing is the emphasis they have on healthiness. When you select your ingredients from the plethora that's available, you can see what vitamins, minerals, or benefits each one is good for. Also, each order comes with your own customised print-out of the ingredients you used, how many calories you're consuming, and what vitamins and minerals are found in your drink. On top of that, you can rest assured that there are no other little nasties thrown in, like added preservatives, or processed sugar. It's just pure, natural healthiness in a cup.

Tadah! Plenty of calcium, potassium, and vitamin A for me. Woohoo! (At least I think by "Ka" they're referring to potassium? o__O)

On the same printout you receive, you can rate your drink with a "Beesket score" of 1-5 and pin it to the front counter for other customers who may need inspiration for ingredient combinations.

That being said, though I adore the concept of this place, it was a tad bit pricey (your basic customised, 3-ingredient juices start from 5,900 won, and then some ingredients, such as mango, blueberry, raspberry, etc. have an extra 500 won surcharge). So while it was fun to try out for the novelty of it, it's probably not a place I would frequent, based on me being a total cheapo. However, if you're somewhat of a health fanatic and constantly live your life on the go without time to make your own juice fresh every morning, or perhaps you don't have time to sit down and actually chew on your fruits and vegetables, orrr... perhaps you're just rich, then this might just be the place for you. Added bonus if you happen to live around Dongdaemun, of course. :P



Beesket, Dongdaemun Design Plaza
Hours: 8:00am - 11:00pm weekdays, 11:00am - 11:00pm Sat, 11:00- 10:00pm Sun
Address: 서울시 중구 을지로 281 동대문 디자인 플라자 B1 (Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Euljiro 281, Jung-gu, Seoul)
Website: http://www.beesket.com
Directions: From Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station, exit 1, enter the Dongdaemun Design Plaza complex (basically a bunch of buildings grouped together) and look out for the building called Dongdaemun Design Market. Inside, you'll find the Cafe Square area where Beesket is located, along with other drink shops such as Gong Cha.

*Note: Beesket now has other locations around Seoul including Myeongdong and Jamsil Lotte World Mall. Check out their website for details ^^