Korea Week : Pat Bing Su

Pat Bing Su is a Korean style shaved ice, with a variety of toppings. This huge 3 person pat bing su (served in a Pyrex cup <3) we found in Sinchon starts with  layer of sweet red bean paste, topped with shaved ice, soft serve ice cream, bananas, pineapple, watermelon, cherry tomatoes, and a little sprinkle of chocolate powder.

I love shaved ice in whatever form, and this was really interesting to eat. Watermelon and cherry tomatoes are two fruits that I have never seen in shaved ice before. I’m still feeling a little undecided about the tomatoes, but the watermelon was surprisingly refreshing and delicious.

@Sinchon, Seoul, South Korea

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Uji Milk Kakigori : the first taste of summer!

Who knew a dessert with just three things could be so amazing? Shaved ice, uji syrup and condensed milk. Yes, folks, it is officially hot enough for kakigori かき氷! I was lucky enough to go to Taketomi Island, a teeny island that is a part of the Yaeyama group in Okinawa. Since the weather there is summery and beautiful, I couldn’t help but get my first shaved ice of 2009 ^_^.

“Uji” syrup is a simple syrup flavored with powdered matcha green tea.　A small mountain of freshly shaved ice is topped with the syrup and a generous drizzle of condensed milk. The slightly bitter sweet syrup, creamy condensed milk, and chilly shaved ice was perfect! Refreshing, and I’m already looking forward to my next kakigori (or pat bing su, ais kacang, raspado, cendol etc…. )

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Three Colors of Kakigori: How can you choose just one?

Three yummy summer kakigori かき氷　shaved ice specials at Kihachi Ice Cream. In addition to the required shaved ice, these chilly desserts also come with a serving of Kihachi’s famous vanilla bean soft serve.

Yellow:Mango pieces, a citrus syrup, tipped with a grapefruit gelee.
This was my favorite of the 3, the sweet fresh mango goes really well with the tart grapefruit.

Green: The traditonal　ujikinntoki 宇治金時 or sweetened red beans with a matcha syrup, topped with kanten 寒天　jelly pieces.

Red: Red raspberries with a scoop of annin purin アンニン　プリン almond pudding, topped with a sweet raspberry syrup and condensed milk.

Kihachi Soft Cream@ Lumine building, Shinjuku station, Tokyo, Japan

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Strawberry Mango Ice Monster: worth the inevitable brain freeze

I’m sad I didn’t shoot this with something to scale. This was massive. Easily around 10cm in diameter.And I ate it all. 🙂

Strawberry and Mango Ice Monster: Very finely shaved ice, layered with milk and sugar syrup, and then topped wit strawberries, mangoes and condensed milk. A very chic version of ais kacang or pat bing su.

Ice Monster@ Bangkok, Thailand

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