Rounding Up The Best Smoothie Bowls In KL (With The Best Promos!)

To start off the year, we’re talking smoothies. And not the ones you slurp, the ones you eat… smoothie bowls to be precise. Taking the world by storm, these refreshing feel-good bowls have been making their appearance in the KL food scene and as always, we’ve hooked you up with exclusive promos you don’t want to miss!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last year you can’t have missed photos of beautiful smoothie or acai bowls sprawled all across Instagram in particular — colours across the rainbow, intricately cut up fruit and mathematical lines of seeds, granola and even glitter in some cases. But what are these works of art and where can you get your hands on some?

Firstly, let’s clarify a few things:

What Is The Difference Between A Smoothie & A Smoothie Bowl?

Smoothies are traditionally made of pureed fruits with a liquid such as juices or coconut water and sometimes yoghurt, all blitzed to the max and drank through a straw (let’s hope it’s not plastic!)

A smoothie bowl on the other hand is basically a really thick smoothie that has been garnished with toppings like granola, fruit or peanut butter — their dense consistency allowing them to be made of layers of flavour, texture and colour, which you then wolf down with a spoon. After eating a bowl, you should feel happily full with any sweet cravings curbed.  

For the smoothie bowl, toppings are key to providing sustained energy, healthy fats, and protein to keep you full throughout the day.

The best bowls mix plant-based fats with low glycemic fruits and nutrient-rich green vegetables. Foods like avocado, nuts, hemp and chia seeds add thickness and creaminess to your bowl’s base while providing healthy fats and anti-inflammatory omega-3’s to keep you filled up and fueled until lunchtime.

Low glycemic fruits like berries, cherries and pears offer fruity flavour and beneficial nutrients while promoting stable blood sugar levels. And blessed with the abundance of tropical fruit in our region, you should definitely look at incorporating some local fruit such as dragon fruit, mango and even jackfruit!

So What Is Acai?

The acai (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) berry is a small grape-come-blueberry, reddish-purple in colour, consisting of a cluster of seeds and harvested from tall, slender palm trees found around the Amazon River basin of South America. The berries contain many beneficial compounds, such as powerful antioxidants, fibre, monounsaturated fats and calcium. So essentially, acai bowls are just smoothie bowls made using acai puree.

Serving Up The Best Smoothie Bowls In KL

1. Acai Lab

Heralded as the first ever Acai bar in Malaysia, these guys are are focused on quality. With handmade ingredients such as granola and peanut butter, their decadent bowls won’t disappoint.

2. The Good Co.

Reputable for their Insta-worthy and equally tasty food (like their David Beckham Nasi Lemak — a must!), The Good Co.’s signature smoothie bowls are no different. Definitely worth stepping over the road from BSC the next time you’re in the area.

3. La Juiceria Superfoods Cafes

With outlets popping up around KL, you won’t often be too far away from one of La Juiceria’s branches whether their Goodness Greens Cafe or La Juiceria Superfoods. With a delicious acai berry option, their smoothie bowls are perfect to start the day with or even as a midday pick me up.

4. Pickle & Fig

Pickle & Fig boasts a diverse selection of smoothie bowls from dragon fruit to avocado, all topped with nine grain granola and a rainbow of fresh fruits. A good one to check out if you’re in the TTDI area, the cafe also serves up sandwiches, pasta and other wholesome dishes.

5. CoffeeSociété

I don’t drink coffee, but this place has a pretty stellar reputation for it, and is much lesser known for their smoothie bowls. Nonetheless their bowls are tasty and beautiful — a hit for instagram and your tummy!

 

6. Rubberduck

With a lovely outside seating area along the pedestrian streets of Hartamas Shopping Centre, Rubberduck is always worth a visit — whether it’s for their tacos, poke bowls or indeed, their beautiful smoothie bowls. Pop into Aloha next door for a spin class first and your smoothie bowl will feel even more rewarding!

7. LUSHBOWL

A stone’s throw away from Rubberduck, LUSHBOWL serves up smoothie bowls so gorgeous you almost feel guilty eating them. Served in coconut shells and adorned with tropical fruit and a side of granola, these smoothie bowls taste as good as they look!

8. Coffea Coffee

Newcomers to KL’s smoothie bowl scene, Coffea Coffee recently added a range of Energy Bowls to their menus at their branches in SS15 & Desa Sri Hartamas. With a range of flavours all lined with rows of chia seeds, buckinis, shredded coconut and granola, make sure you pick up one of these next time you’re in the area!

A-10, Jalan SS 15/4d, Ss 15, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor

Header image credit: @rachelchan__•