The Juice Truck

After an ultra-heavy meal at Phnom Penh, we wandered around and came across The Juice Truck in Gastown. Kirby squealed in delight upon this discovery, but commented that it was too cold for a smoothie. Then I remembered the banana bread smoothie Janice had blogged about a couple months ago and figured I would somehow make room for one, only to be told by Janice that it’s no longer on the menu. Disappointed, we headed to Apres-midi for a warm pot of Earl Grey lavender tea. But after a relaxing hour of tea-sipping, our thoughts turned once again to The Juice Truck on the corner of Abbott and Water.

We made our way there, braving the bone-chilling weather as we trudged on, and spent some time looking over the menu. It was quite an extensive drink menu and all of the juices/smoothies were $7 to $8 — very expensive for just a drink, since I could have a decent meal for that price. Janice suggested a wellness shot each, which seemed like a great idea as we were still bloated from lunch. There were 2 kinds to choose from: wheatgrass ($3.50) and ginger lemon cayenne ($2.50). We all opted for the latter because it was cheaper and because the first option was so common. I could get wheatgrass at Jugo Juice, so why not try something new here?

The ginger lemon cayenne shot was made with cold pressed ginger juice, a few drops of lemon juice and a generous amount of cayenne pepper. As we waited for our shots and snapped pictures of the truck, the people in the truck told us we should take pictures of each other shooting the drink instead because we would most likely react to the intense flavour. They even called the drink the tequila of health. We were intimidated by the description, but the orangey-yellow liquid looked rather harmless, especially since there was barely more than one mouthful. Kirby went for it first, and she made a face as if she had just eaten something really sour. Hmm... was she just acting? When it was my turn, I gulped it down quickly and felt completely fine for one second. Then it suddenly hit me — the pungent cayenne pepper that burned my throat and amplified the spiciness of the ginger juice and the tartness of the lemon juice. The drink was very invigorating and worked like a shot of espresso, except it was caffeine-less and healthy.

Though the price was high for such a small portion, it really wasn't unreasonable considering the amount of work required to extract the juice. And what I really liked about The Juice Truck was the novelty factor. They don't just sell drinks, they sell the novelty and the experience. A guy in front of us ordered hot chocolate and was given a cup of hot water, a couple of yuzu-flavoured marshmallows, and a block of matcha white chocolate on a stick. It was kind of like create-your-own-drink, so he could watch the chocolate melt into the water and adjust the richness to his liking. I almost wished that I'd gotten the hot chocolate instead. I would also like to try the smoothies when the weather warms up!