This delicious bowl of goodness is called Patbingsu. The word pat means sweet red beans and bingsu is the shaved ice component of this snack. It's an unbeatable summer treat! Basically, it is made up of sweet red beans, a mountain of shaved ice, rice cakes that I really really like by the way (a gelatinous texture kind of food with grain powder), and sweet creamy condensed milk. This is such an Asian treat that we indulge ourselves every time we see one especially on a hot day so we can cool down a bit. Anywhere we go, we see this dessert everywhere since its summer time. It is similar to a Filipino dessert called Halo-Halo that is starting to get popular in New York City. Western food chains also offer this popular Korean dessert on their menus like Starbucks, McDonald's, KFC and other fast food chains that try to assimilate and cater to Korean taste buds.
The beauty of eating this snack is that you can create any kind of Bingsu that you want, any topping that suits your appetite, if you are feeling adventurous! Add any topping like: jelly, fruit, flavoured rice cake, tapioca pearl, ice cream, or yogurt! The best part of this dessert is the light-as-air shaved ice. This dessert is sweet, creamy, crunchy, refreshing and light - satisfies my every bite. Another discovery added to our foodie adventures here in South Korea, one that begs to be eaten over and over again.
