“As usual, please!” When you hear this, you might think it is a custom order from a “cha chaan teng”, but it turns out to be a daily order by the regular customer of “Mixing Fruit Juices”. Whenever the owner, Chu Kin King, receives the orders, she will activate her built-in magical facial recognition system, and load the data of customers’ preferences in order to create “Omakase” (chef-driven) juices for each customer.
The Chinese name of the store is “左溝右溝”, which means mix this and that. Though it seems funny, the recipes of different mixed juices have shown the delicate thoughts of Ms. Chu. For example, she uses grapefruit, lemon, orange and apple to make “Slimming and Detoxification Juice”; and she mixes apple, cucumber, lemon and pineapple into “Beauty Juice”. “It is recommended to drink one every day for those youngsters who have acne.” These two are also the best-selling juices of the shop.
To make the juice healthier and tastier, Ms. Chu never added syrup into the juice. She said the secret is about the fruits. “The brand and origin of oranges and apples must be specified. These fruits are juicier, with less fiber, and the sweetness is moderate, or the juice will become less tasty otherwise.”
After a two-year hiatus, “Mixing Fruit Juices” has made a strong comeback and reopened at Yue Man Lane in June this year. Some former shop owners, security guards, and shop assistants of Yue Man Square which also have moved back here have already chatted around Ms. Chu before the official opening of her shop. During the interview, the owner of the neighboring shop, #Hing Fat Food, stopped by the juice store from time to time for a chat, and the staff of #Wing Hing Soy Milk also brought a lunchbox to her. Ms. Chu said she always likes to build good relationships with her neighbors. “The neighbors are so nice. When we were at former Yue Man Square, the owner of Pak Yue Lighting (now known as #Pak Yu Household) would cook for us too.”
Although Ms. Chu did not grow up in Kwun Tong, she chose to start her business in this district simply because the rent was cheaper. Among her regular customers, Ms. Chu is most impressed by an “orange juice granny”. “The granny said that she loves my orange juice and must drink it always. She is absent-minded and often forgets to bring her wallet. Sometimes she would ask me borrow twenty dollars to ride back home after drinking the orange juice. She said that not everyone is willing to lend her money, that’s why she would ask me for a favor. There were a few times when she returned the money, she also gave me a Mark Six lottery ticket in a red pocket, saying that I had to take it. Later, I did win the 7th prize for once.”
Ms. Chu said it was not that strange of lending money to someone for a ride, the stunning thing that ever happened was to squeeze juices on behalf of a customer. “Another granny often brings guavas and asks us squeeze the juice for her. She said she has asked other juice stores, but no one is willing to help. I think maybe she does not have a squeezer at home, and it’s just a small favor and I am glad to do so.”
Ms. Chu is approachable and respects the predecessors. “Since I was from China and my parents are not with me. I feel comfortable when communicating with the elderly. They are as intimate as my parents. Hence, I would charge them a tiny bit cheaper, which my son also agrees.” Every time when she recognizes the faces of her regular customers, she can make the specified juices to each of them according to their preferences immediately. Her thoughtfulness is her key to success, which brings the sweetest joy to her customers as well.
Address︰1B7, L1,YM², 33 Hip Wo Street, Kwun Tong
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