Genie Juicery

Anyone who’s spent time in California is no stranger to the cold-​pressed juice craze. In the Bay Area, a workplace (juice) drinking sub-​culture has replaced the traditional lunch outing. Carrying a bottle with its recognizable minimal design can be just as much of a status symbol as the Chanel ‘Boy’ bag. Fresh juice will supposedly make you feel healthier, smarter, maybe even younger and more beautiful. Basically, cold-​pressed juice is the new (ish) hardworking miracle worker!
I do believe in the power of a good green-​based juice cleanse from time to time. I find that it resets my appetite and tempers some of my cravings for sugar, caffeine, salt, dairy, and excessively rich food. So when looking for a legit juice cleanse in Hong Kong, Genie Juicery came up several times as the local leader.
As someone who embraces — no, loves! — everything on-​demand, I appreciate that Genie Juicery allows you to customize and purchase your cleanse online and includes free delivery to your doorstep. I decided on a 4-​day cleanse, and was instructed to choose 8 juices from a menu of 31 total (including fruit-​based, fruit-​and-​veggie, veggie, super food smoothies, cold brew coffee, nut milks, protein shakes, and cleansing waters). It sounds excessive but when you commit to only drinking nutritious liquid for several days, you want to have some choice in the matter! And having access to this expansive portfolio of flavor combinations makes a juice cleanse so much easier to stomach.
Some of my favorites:
+ Buggs Bunny for something sweet but complex (carrot, pear, apple, cinnamon, maca)
+ Frog Stomp for a bright, easy green juice (celery, kale, apple, lemon, ginger)
+ Sawadekah for a power green (kale, spinach, cucumber, coriander, lime, pineapple, lemongrass)
+ India Wilde (chai spice, almond, medjool date, vanilla bean, pink himalayan salt) for a more indulgent, last meal of the day (i.e. dessert replacement!).
There’s no getting around it — fresh juices are expensive. Especially the cold-​pressed variety! I have to deduct one star as most of the produce used in Genie’s juices isn’t organic, but I understand this is a much more difficult feat in HK than it is in California. Still, I’m impressed and am really enjoying all of the juice formulations. Oh, and don’t forget to pick up some of the prepared dishes which are helpful when you’re easing into the juice cleanse and then later transitioning out. Genie offer zucchini ‘noodles’ with pesto or bolognese, chia pudding, and coconut yogurt along with an assortment of raw snacks. The pesto ‘zoodles’ are surprisingly crave-​worthy and crazy healthy! Just do it.

I first learnt about this place when I heard that some of my friends were trying the full-​week course by replacing their daily meals with juice for a week. I think this is a crazy idea and is not convinced that this is anything healthy (fear that I would faint). I decided not to go that far by only replacing my morning breakkie and afternoon tea with 2 bottles of juice. One is a fruit-​based smoothie and the other one is a veggie-​based liquid juice (looks challenging haha). The smoothie is tasty and filling, great for breakfast. The veggie one tastes very «green», and is not filling at all. In fact, both of them are not as bad as I thought, and it’s always good to get some detox drink from time to time.