The Cool Snack of Summer: Patpingsu!

Patpingsu should be available all year-round, and not just only in summer. Last year, I went back to a cafe in Hannam-dong during autumn and asked for patpingsu, which I ordered just a couple of weeks before. The cafe staff told me that they stopped serving patpingsu because...it was already autumn. Waaaah!

                  (We ordered two bowls; one for me 
                      and one for them. Ha-ha-ha!)

But this summer, I don't need to go back to that cafe. I can almost go anywhere and enjoy the milky crushed iced topped with a mound of sweetened red bean paste. Patpingsu is the Korean version of the Philippine icy snack, halo-halo, some variations of which have about a dozen ingredients mostly consisting of sweetened tropical fruits, flan and ice cream. Maybe this is why I like drowning myself in patpingsu; I miss my halo-halo back home. :-(

And last week, I introduced my colleagues to one of the best patpingsu cafes in town, Dongbinggo!  Of course, they enjoyed it!  Although some coffee shops in the building's arcade serve patpingsu, they are all copycat patpingsu. Once you've tasted one, you've tasted all. They all look the same, and are priced the same.

Dongbinggo boasts that it only uses locally grown red beans and that they make their own paste. Although their main shop is in Ichon-dong in the Yongsan District here in Seoul, they have a stall at a food court in a Myeongdong department store.

It will be nasty hot in the coming weeks. So, I will have to go back to Dongbinggo for some patpingsu every now and then if I need to survive this summer. And by the way, sharing a bowl is a no-no for me; I want the whole bowl all to myself. Ha-ha-ha! You might want to do the same. :-)

Cooling Off With Dongbinggo's Patpingsu!

In the Philippines, to cool off, we have halo-halo (or mix-mix). Since I could only get halo-halo at the Pinoy market in Hyehwha-dong on Sundays, or at my friends' homes during summer, I resort to the Korean version of halo-halo, bingsu, a concoction of ice shavings, milk and a couple more ingredients, the most popular of which is sweetened red beans, or pat. And the most common bingsu is patbingsu.

(My friend Rio's halo-halo ingredients at her home in Seoul)

When my good friend Justin mentioned a patbingsu place as a comment to my Facebook post about my favorite patpingsu café in Hannam-dong, I thought he was talking about that area near Itaewon and Bogwang-dong.

Dongbinggo-dong  is a small neighborhood in Yongsan-gu, and Dongbinggo is the name of the most popular patpingsu  place in the whole of Yongsan-gu!  But this café is not in Dongbinggo-dong as I thought it was. It’s in Ichon-dong!

I only discovered the actual location of Dongbinggo when I was browsing the pages of http://english.visitkorea.or.kr  featuring the best patpingsu places in Seoul.  And when I learned that it’s just a quick bus ride away, I decided to visit the place!

                             (Ichon-dong's rubberized sidewalks! 
                           So comfortable to walk on!)

So, one very hot lunch time, I tried to venture out to Ichon-dong, which is just a quick bus ride from my office. Before having patpingsu as a dessert, I decided to grab a real meal before that. A couple of years ago, I discovered a good hamburger joint near the Ichon Station. This time, while I was walking towards that arcade, I stumbled upon another hamburger joint and decided to try it.

                                                                  (A good lunch)

                   (The view from the arcade's second floor)

Smokey Saloon is on the second floor of a low-rise arcade in front of residential apartment buildings. It’s actually just right on a bus stop and has a variety of hamburger choices, depending on the ingredients. I chose the easiest one, right on top of the menu. After all, they are all hamburgers to me. The only difference is the name the restaurants come up with. After munching down my Ambulance Burger (not sure if I remember it right), complete with a fried egg on top, I was now on my quest for the best patpingsu in the neighbourhood! It was a good lunch, by the way.

Since walking down from the Smokey Saloon arcade in this scorching summer day was out of the question, I took the bus again and got off in front of the Geumkang Hospital, and just across the street is my destination of the day.

                                 (My take-out number)

When I got there, the place was already full of patrons enjoying their shaved-ice delights and more were even waiting in line as Dongbinggo only had a few tables. So, when I got in, expecting to get a number, I settled for the other option: take-out!  I couldn’t afford to wait for a table and within three minutes, I got my take-out!  I ordered a patpingsu, although they have other bingsu varieties.  My take-out was put in a plastic bowl and sealed inside a pack with dry ice!  As they say, 'Have dry ice, will travel'!

                                                  (Dongbinggo menu and prices)

For only KRW6,500, my patpingsu from the famed Dongbinggo was now travelling with me back to the office ready to be enjoyed without having to wait for a table. But as I stood there at the bus stop waiting for the Blue Bus 100, I was surprised another patpingsu place was just across the street, Bukchon Patpingsu.  Hmm. Perhaps, another patpingsu place to try next time? 

                  (Bukchon Patpingsu across Dongbinggo)

And for the rest of Dongbinggo patbingsu story, I'd rather show you the pictures. Or what's left of my take-out. :-)

(Leaving Dongbinggo in a pack)

               (Take-out in a foil pack with plastic spoons)

(It was definitely worth the trip!)

                                (Going...going...gone...)

I Know Where To Get My Patbingsu Fix! Do You?

I used to think Paris Croissant in Hannam-dong served the best patbingsu. Last summer, I dropped by this cafe and enjoyed a huge bowl full of ice shavings, sweetened tteok and sweet red beans. But when I went up there on the second floor one Saturday afternoon to order one, I was disappointed. The image of the patbingsu sitting on my table was so different from the giant patbingsu photograph on their wall. The photograph was flowing with red beans. Mine was, well, I had to search into the ice shavings for the red beans. I complained and decided I won't return to Paris Croissant again for a patbingsu.

Luckily, there's another cafe that serves a better version of patbingsu in the neighborhood, Coffine Gurunaru! Their patbingsu is much more interesting: a scoop of sweetened red beans, two slices of sweet green melon, slices of sweet tteok, chips of almond and a flavored powder, all on a bowl of milky ice shavings. Although it's pricey, it's worth crossing to the other side of Hannam-dong! And they have strong wi-fi and seats with a view!

Actually, this summer delight in Korea can be quite heavy; a meal unto itself. That's why some people share it. But for me, if it's yummy, I'd rather have it for myself. Ha-ha-ha!