Korean Bingsu Featuring: SNOW PANDA

Bingsu also known as “bingsoo” or “patbingsu” is a well known cold dessert in Korea. It is basically shaved ice topped with beans, rice cakes, condensed milk, chocolate powder and pretty much every ingredient that you can imagine. Does it ring a bell? … Yes, it is actually comparable to the ever famous Filipino dessert, Halo-Halo. However, there is one major distinction that I noticed between the two as to how the ice shavings are being prepared. You will find out more of this below 😉

I have been meaning to taste this popular dessert for the longest time until we came across the newly opened store at SM Sangandaan called Snow Panda. The moment I saw their menu, I immediately dragged my husband inside the restaurant and ordered their best sellers.

Aside from the wide flavor selection of their traditional Bingsu, the restaurant also serves bubble cup bingsu and authentic korean snacks such as tukboki (more details below), toasts, waffles and kimbap which is similar to Japanese sushi.

AMBIANCE

If you are a fan of K-pop artists or anything Korean, you can live here lol! Kidding aside, the ambiance of the restaurant is really cozy hence it will give you a feel of comfort and relaxation. Notice that flat screen television on the wall? It plays high definition Korean music videos from the opening of the restaurant until it’s closing time. The wall decals and stickers adds more beauty to the interior of the place.

The furniture are awesome! They have cushion chairs, chairs with arm rest and the best of all is that you can indulge yourself on their couches with fluffy throw pillows.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the bomb! Injeolme is the korean term for rice cake and this flavor of Bingsu is my favorite. This one makes you appreciate the shaved ice even more because of the simplicity of its toppings, the creaminess of the ice becomes more evident. On top are korean multi grain powder (with just a subtle taste to it), injeolme, minimal condensed milk and almonds.

I am still drooling by just looking at this photo.

SHAVED ICE

What I absolutely love about the bingsu is how the ice is being prepared. As you can see below, it’s texture looks more of a shredded coconut rather than a typical finely shaved ice like how Razons do with their popular three ingredient halo-halo. One more thing is how the ice has it’s own creamy property to it that can allow you to eat it on its own. For me, the toppings just adds more flavor to the whole dessert.

Tukboki is a traditional snack that you can find in the streets of Korea. If you happened to watched Korean movies or dramas, I am sure that you are already familiar with this snack. This dish is not for the faint-hearted though, because the based of the fish and rice cake is a thick hot and spicy soup. You can also found kimchi’s on it. Ryan and I love it a lot!

There is nothing special with their kimbap, it is mostly veggies with thin slices of egg and ham. The sauce of the japanese sushi is much more tasty than of the kimbap. Not a fan of it.

VERDICT

If you would like to taste an authentic bingsu, I highly recommend the SNOW PANDA for you to visit. Their price point is very affordable considering the amount of serving that they offer. I am pretty sure it’s branches can be found at most SM Malls already. Hubby and I dined in here three times in a row since its opening day, that’s how good it is.