A vehicular mishap outside the office set our business-day lunch off to an anxious start. So, too, did my unfamiliarity with Surin Beach as I hunted for our destination cafe. My stomach panged with every wrong turn. My blood sugar sagged as I realized I had motored entirely through Surin Beach and well into Kamala Beach.

All of that frustration evaporated a short moment after we took a seat in the casual and serene Sejuice at Twinpalms Phuket. A quiet and reassuring server quickly took our order and promptly delivered two tall glasses of fresh, blended juice: pineapple for me and watermelon for my companion (170 baht each). My low-blood-sugar daze thus ended, I found myself far from the cares of the office in one of the most serene cafes I've ever experienced. I instantly relaxed, drawing on my straw as if the light, frothy and unsugared pineapple juice were a restorative.

Personal and spiritual restoration is probably the intent at Sejuice, and it certainly was the effect of our entire lunch there. Just inside the Twinpalms lobby and to the left, Sejuice lives in a quiet corner that's more like a meditation garden than a cafe. During our nearly hour-long lunch there, the serene and solitary vibe was only interrupted by a pair of chattering businessmen passing through. Otherwise, our lunch had no distractions: no noise from the road outside, no howling voices from the beach less than 200 metres away and no foot traffic going to-and-fro. We talked easily, our servers coming and going quietly and unobtrusively but always at the ready.

My companion's vegetable and egg fried rice came tossed with golden bell pepper and pineapple nuggets and topped with barbecued prawns on skewers (310 baht). The rice was crackling fresh and light, with nary a hint of the cholesterol load packed by most fried rice dishes. My chicken sate sprouted out of a pineapple-disc base alongside a robust peanut sauce and a zesty cucumber and onion relish (230 baht). The meat was lean and tender, marinated and grilled ever-so-slightly to highlight the chicken flavour and not overpower it. After a perfect dessert of sticky rice served with a sliced mango and a condiment bowl of full-flavoured coconut cream sprinkled with sesame seeds (190 baht), we uttered a reverential "Om!" and left to face the rest of the business day feeling fully satisfied--not full and somnolent.