Sawadee in The Tongsai Bay

At The Tongsai Bay, every morning begins with a special smile. When walking into the breakfast area, Pu greets the guests in the Thai resort. For almost 28 years at The Tongsai Bay, Pu calls a small, but great juice and fruit station her own paradise. Between juicy mangos, sweet pineapples, tropical coconuts and many other local fruits, Pu creates individual juice combinations and her personal favorite shake with enthusiasm for the guests.

During my visit at The Tongsai Bay, I met Pu personally and understood, why everyone is so thrilled about her. And I was able to sneak a recipe from her, too!

Where and how did you find your love for fresh juices?

I learnt at my college about fruit carving, juices and foods, it was like my calling, as soon as I started I wanted to learn more and more.

How did you become ‚the juice lady‘ at The Tongsai Bay?

I have been at The Tongsai Bay for almost 28 years now, and when the Tongsai Bay started, fresh juices were not really a done thing in hotels. The owner Khun Akorn Hoontrakul noticed that our amazing tropical fruit could be more of a feature and a WOW for our guests by creating juices. Now days fresh juices are quite common, however, we always do ours fresh in front of the guest at the breakfast fruit and juice station.

What do you love the most about your job at The Tongsai Bay?

Getting to meet our guests and seeing how happy they are from the juices and fruits I offer feeds my own personal happiness. Every day can be full of smiles and happiness thanks to positive people interaction. When guests walk into breakfast I am the first person they see behind all the tropical fruit, a smile is the best way to start the day for a guest.

Juices have many health benefits, please tell me, why we should all be drinking more juices.

Juices provide a good volume of vitamins and minerals. Fruits and vegetables can be combined to best suit an individual’s health requirement such as cleansing of internal organs. On a daily level, juices help boost the overall body’s immunity and of course can be really enjoyable to drink – it just feels healthy.

What is your favorite fruit and why?

Mango – it is known as the worlds most favorite fruit (some claim global consumption is at a rate 10 times higher than that of apples) and when you taste a ripe sweet mango you immediately understand why. I love the taste but also knowing it’s health benefit of beta- carotene which is a plant pigment known for its antioxidant capacity and high level of vitamin A.

For breakfast, you make several juice drinks for the guests – which juice is your current favorite combination and why?

Mango, pineapple and banana is what I call our Wellbeing Juice. The combination of flavour is so very yummy and the after taste is that of freshness. That is the best way to start a morning in my opinion.

To make a glass:
½ Ripe Mango
½ Banana
½ 2 cm round slice of pineapple
Blend together, with a small amount of water to get the correct texture. Of course if you want a cooler option to drink than add ice.

Your mood and smiles are infectious and every morning during my visit I started out my day in a wonderful mood. What exactly keeps you in such a positive mood?

Guest satisfaction – smiles create smiles, I smile and our guests smile, this is such a great feeling – and of course the fact that I am surrounded every morning by amazing tropical fruits of Thailand. A smile and Sawadee Ka (Good Morning) with our guests is what I love about welcoming them to breakfast.