Happy Beans on Ice

Red beans can symbolise different meanings in food culture in different countries.

In Chinese culture, red beans symbolises love, fidelity and happiness. Korea has similar beliefs about negating bad fortune with the fearful red colored beans as both cultures view the color "red" as a symbol of positive yang energy for warding off negative energy forces. (https://ethnoscopes.blogspot.sg/2011/11/beliefs-about-red-bean-soup.html)

Bingsu was originally made with just shaved ice and red beans, but with modernization, more new flavours have surfaced, bringing a fusion of the traditional dessert with interesting flavours like cheesecake or Oreo.

Here are two bingsu cafes that we tried!

1. Nunsongyee

Nunsongyee is a Korean dessert restaurant which serves a variety of bingsu, toast and Korean rice cakes.

Ambience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The shop itself is brightly lit and is fully air conditioned, with the chairs and tables neatly arranged. Being quite spacious, the cafe has sufficient space for you to move around between the tables. For all K-pop fans, your favourite songs will be playing as you enjoy your desert! This place is great for conversations with friends, or have some quality one-on-one time with the dessert, with music enhancing the feels of the moment, allowing you to fully enjoy your experience here. Something we found interesting was that the middle of the cafe sported an island with bar-stools. If you want to feel high and mighty, or if you just want to have a different dining experience, feel free to sit in the middle :)

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

We ordered Patbingsu for $12.90 which is Korean shaved ice topped with azuki red beans, injeolmi and soy bean powder. ‘Pat’ means red bean, and Patbingsu is a traditional flavour of bingsu in Korea. Now, patbingsu has many variations and different toppings as well.

The shaved ice is silky and soft, and generous amounts of condensed milk had been added. It melts slowly in your mouth rejuvenating you on a typical hot and humid day in Singapore. In addition, if you prefer your bingsu with more condensed milk, feel free to add more, as it is free-flow!! The shaved ice is topped with a generous portions of sweet azuki red beans to give a little texture, enhancing the taste of your desert. Injeolmi is also added atop the bingsu, which are Korean rice cakes. They are really chewy and the texture is similar to Japanese mochi. Hidden in the bingsu is soy bean powder which is an unfamiliar taste for most of us here but it is interesting to try out.

In Nunsongyee, Patbingsu, Injeolmi bingsu and Black Sasemi Patbingsu are their speciality and most ordered by Korean customers. They also serve other interesting flavours like Cheesecake bingsu and Mixberry bingsu. The various flavours of bingsu look very attractive, and we personally cannot wait to go back and try more!

Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nearest MRT station: Beauty World station

When you arrive at Beauty World MRT station, exit the station and turn left. Walk along the sheltered walkway, and you’ll see it! The bingsu cafe is a corner shop and will be across the street.

There are buses like 174 that stop near beauty world MRT station. Walk towards the station and follow the sheltered walkway and you will find the Korean dessert cafe!

Just for additional information, this place has a lot of koreans living here, and is popular amongst the koreans in Singapore. Korean retail and food stores are in abundance, so if you want to have a taste of Korean cuisine, or buy something korean themed, you can head over here too and have a bingsu after your scrumptious meal.

The Bukit Timah branch is the newest branch, just recently opened last year in April and is open 24/7. Bugis is their main branch which is also in business 24/7. The staff here are Korean and are really friendly. They can speak fluent English, so do not be worried when placing your orders.

This is really a unique experience as you do not always get to step into a almost fully korean environment, and have a taste of their culture and food. In addition, most bingsu cafes we know are staffed by Singaporeans, and it is cool to see that the staff in this bingsu cafe are actually Korean.

2. Bing Go Jung

Bing Go Jung is a korean dessert house which opens from 12pm-11pm daily, serving Bingsu perfect for a nice cold snack in the hot afternoon, or as dessert after your dinner.

Ambience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The shop is small, but with glass windows all around, giving you a view of the outside and the feel of a larger space. With concrete walls and floors, the place is very simply designed and decorated, brought together perfectly with a painting put up on the wall.

At the counter is a large black board with the various foods that they sell, including bingsu, waffles, toast and some drinks.

Other than the kpop songs (which are quite up to date!), the place is typically quiet with not many people. And of course, the restaurant is air-conditioned. It’s definitely suitable for some friends to get together and enjoy a nice dessert in this Singapore heat.

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Though the place serves quite a variety of food from sweet to savoury, we went straight for the bingsu menu and were surprised to see many interesting flavours. They have green tea, cheesecake, oreo and several other flavours, ranging from $13-$16. We went for the most traditional looking Milk and Red Bean Bingsu. Every bowl of bingsu is made fresh on the spot, ready in less than 5 minutes!

The shaved ice is generously sprinkled with walnuts, cashews, almond slices and cornflakes. They give more texture and crunch to the otherwise soft shaved ice. The red beans really bring the essence of traditional Pat bingsu, and the vanilla ice cream tops it all off. In addition, there were little bits of korean rice cake that taste like mochi. The dessert is already sweet as it is, but we prefer it drizzled with the condensed milk for added sweetness! The condensed milk is served separately in a small cup, so if you prefer a gentler taste, the condensed milk can be done without. However, if you have a sweet tooth like us, the option to go heavy on the condensed milk is always there!

With such a variety of toppings, it’s quite worth the price of $13. You could even order additional toppings or add on more, but of course with a price. The serving is large enough to share with a friend, or perhaps just for yourself if you’re feeling hungry :) Judging by the wide variety of interesting flavours, we don’t think it will be long before we are back for more! Hopefully, we can bring to you a different variety of flavours the next time!

Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nearest MRT station: Beauty World station

This cafe is right outside Bukit Timah Plaza, about 10 minutes walk from Beauty World MRT. You could also take bus 174 there! It is very convenient, and is hence super suitable for students like us. At the same time, if you drive, parking areas are also available.

#bingsu