A Tale of Smoothies and Smooches

Mondo Juice Megamall

Mondo Juice Megamall

So called ‘fruit juice bars‘ and ‘smoothie stands‘ have sprouted around the metro in the recent years, trying to ride on the “healthy lifestyle” bandwagon. But only very few can claim to serve an all-natural, real fruit smoothie without added sugar, syrup or sweeteners – that’s Mondo Juice.

Being a ‘Megamall guy,’ I’ve been passing by Mondo Juice in SM Megamall for so long as I can remember. But it was only recently that I actually tried it upon the prodding of my fiance who have tried and blogged about Mondo Juice way back in mid-2011.

Mondo Juice Fruit Smoothie

Mondo Juice Fruit Smoothie

And so I tried, and regretted it. I regret why it was only now that I gave-in to my fiance’s recommendation to try Mondo Juice. πŸ™‚

We came from a full-house Starbucks shop so I eventually agreed to her suggestion of trying Mondo Juice as I always welcome the thought of trying restaurants I have never been to.

Mondo Juice branch interior

Mondo Juice branch interior

Mondo Juice High-Powered Blenders

Mondo Juice High-Powered Blenders

My Order #1: Blushing Mango & Turkey Pesto

Mango has always been one of my favorite fruits so I decided to go ‘safe‘ and chose the “Blushing Mango” from the Premium Fruit Smoothie category. It costs P135 for the solo size and P180 for the ‘Mondo‘ (big) size.

The other smoothie categories were ‘Homegrown, ‘Buzz Smoothies‘, and ‘Exotic‘, among others.

I was also offered add-on options such as yogurt, oatmeal, soy milk, and honey whose prices ranged from Php 15 to Php 35. As much as I would like to have those healthy add-ons, I decided to have the smoothie as it is. I wanted to know how it fares without the extras.

Blushing Mango Smoothie

Blushing Mango Smoothie

Hungry as I was, I ordered a Turkey Pesto sandwich to match my smoothie. The smoked turkey breast slices were calling out to me complete with the green peppers and rustic pesto in between two Italian herb Focaccia breads. πŸ™‚

As so it was served.

My Blushing Mango smoothie came in a transparent cup where you can see all the goodness of the fruit and pulp (no rinds/roots), and an informative sticker at the back. Mine turned-out to be a blend of mangoes, respberries, and nectar amounting to 3.5 big servings of fruit hitting upto 140% of my vitamin C need.

I had my first ‘sip‘ and I can almost feel the toxins flushed down. πŸ™‚

Turkey Pesto Sandwich

Grilled Turkey Pesto Sandwich

Her Order #1: Mango Magic with Ham & Cheese

Not to be outdone, my Mondo Juice advocate and fiance named Marjorie ordered her all-time favorite ‘homegrown‘ fruit smoochie smoothie called Mango Magic (P125 Solo). She partnered it with the traditional – Ham & Egg sandwich.

Based on the back sticker label, the magic in her Mango Magic is a mix of mangoes, nectar, and orange juice with a whooping 161% of vitamin C! It goes further saying “the only thing fresher grows on a tree.” πŸ™‚ With the 1/3 pound of fruit in each Mondo Jucie cup, the recommended five servings of fruit daily has just been met!

And without hesitation, she made her ‘sip‘ and said “ahhh.”

Mango Magic

Mango Magic with Ham & Cheese Sandwich

My Order #2: Blueberry Bonanza + Kiwi Fruit & Jello

An hour after, needless to say, we wanted more. Round 2 was imminent.

I then consulted the sales crews and asked which one is their bestseller. The unanimous answer was the “Blueberry Bonanza“! Again from the premium fruit smoothie category, it had the same price as my first one at P135 per ‘solo size‘ order and P180 for the Mondo.

BBlueberry Bonanza Smoothie

Blueberry Bonanza Smoothie

Mondo Juice Jello

Mondo Juice Jello

Adventurous as I am, a group of jello encased in interestingly hard plastic containers on the left side of the display piqued my curiosity. I browsed through and selected the Kiwi Fruit & Jello over the Lychee and Mandarin Orange-infused ones.

Kiwi Fruit & Jello

Kiwi Fruit & Jello

On first sip, I already knew why the Blueberry Bonanza is the bestseller. The natural blend of blueberries, mangoes, bananas, and cranberry juice was harmonious. You have to try it for yourself.

The Kiwi fruit & jello was fine with good kiwis and jello fruit juice. It’s something different for a change. I think the kids will love it too. For something healthy, parents out there should seriously consider this as a snack for their kids.

Her Order #2: Proteinzone Super Smoochie Smoothie

From the start, I never doubted she would take seconds for Mondo Juice.

My Mondo Marjorie scanned through the menu board for quite a while similar to how she scans through dresses, gowns, shoes, and bags while shopping in department stores.

I was afraid.

Three mondo minutes after, she finally exclaimed: “I think I will try something different this time!

I was even more afraid.

Ready to face my fears, I gathered enough courage and asked her straight to the point: “What’s your order as the cashier is waiting?”

She looked at me intensely into the eye and finally said … that she wanted to try the Proteinzone Super Smoothie booster (P145/solo;185 /Mondo). In the same category are the ‘Detox‘ & ‘Power-Up‘ smoothies.

My Mondo Model: Marjorie (with her Proteinzine Smoothie)

My Mondo Model: Marjorie (with her Proteinzine Smoothie)

Proteinzone Back Sticker Label

Proteinzone Back Sticker Label

Surprisingly, on the other hand, she’s passing up the sandwich and hinted to share with my Kiwi jello instead; which is not a problem of course. πŸ˜›

The smoochie smoothie finally came and it turned out to be a concoction of raspberries, bananas, nectar, cranberry juice, a shot of soy protein at 4g and fiber of 2.35g per serving! (I don’t know what’s the standard, but it impressed upon me that it’s much!) πŸ™‚

Sip‘!

Completing the menu board of Mondo Juice are fresh pressed juice, hot drinks such as coffee, tea, and chocolate. Other cold drinks include iced coffee, brewed ice tea, and lemonade.

There are even honeyed nuts and mango cashew nuts available by the counter.

Her Proteinzone and Mango Magic!

Her Proteinzone and Mango Magic!

The Mondo Juice Advocate & NomNom

The Mondo Juice Advocate & NomNom

Undoubtedly, it was a no-fuss afternoon of all-natural fruit smooches smoothies with my fiance at Mondo Juice Megamall where we can drink it straight, without the sugar and syrup bait.

So where were the ‘smooches‘ in the story? It went in-between ‘sips‘. πŸ™‚

Mango Festival at Dairy Queen

I love ice cream cakes since I was a child. And Dairy Queen rekindled it with their newly launched product Mango Cheesecake ice cream cake specially made for the summer season.

Called the Mango Cheesecake Blizzard Cake, it is made with two layers of creamy vanilla ice cream with real mango chunks in between. Although a little pricey at Php749, it is made with 100% ice cream and topped with icing buttons, mango puree spread,  and chewy cube combination of cheese and grahams. For me, more than just a cake, it’s an experience of having an ice cream cake altogether.

Dairy Queen Mango Cheesecake Blizzard Cake

Dairy Queen Mango Cheesecake Blizzard Cake

Mango Festival

DQ: Served Upside Down

DQ: Served Upside Down

It’s a festival of everything Mango at DQ as well. In addition to the ice cream cake, Dairy Queen is offering a myriad of other cool mango concoctions such as 2 new mango blizzards, a smoothie, and citrus coolers.

Mango Blizzards

The 2 new DQ Blizzards are Mango Cheesecake Blizzard and Mango-Pineapple Blizzard.

Dairy Queen Blizzard

Dairy Queen Blizzard

The Mango Cheesecake Blizzard is the soft-serve ice  cream version of the cake (also with real mango bits and cheesecake chunks) while the Mango-Pineapple Blizzard is for those who want some citrus sting from the pineapple bits which can be a good contrast to the prior double sweetness of mango and cheesecake. It costs P59/6oz, P79/9oz, P99/12oz, P119/16oz.

Mango Smoothie

I wan’t able to try this but DQ also has s new Mango Premium Fruit Smoothie which is a creamy blend of fresh orange, mango and a creamy soft serve vanilla ice cream. At P79/12oz & P99/16oz, I’m trying these next! πŸ™‚

Dairy Queen Smoothies & Citrus Coolers

Dairy Queen Smoothies & Citrus Coolers

Mango Citrus Cooler

Much simpler is the Mango Citrus Cooler which is a blend of lemon and mango fit for a cool summer drink. The citrus coolers are also available in Lemon, Strawberry, Pineapple, and Strawberry Pineapple flavors. P49/12oz & P59/16oz.

Check more information about Dairy Queen (DQ) at www.dairyqueen.com.ph or their Facebook. πŸ™‚

Dairy Queen Blizzard

Dairy Queen Blizzard

With Filipino’s penchant for anything cold during the summer season, these blizzards and smoothies will surely be a hit. These flavors were available since early March and will stay at all Dairy Queen menuboards until the first week of May.