Icy delights of the summer

My consumption of ice cream went up 400% when I was in Seoul. I would not be exaggerating if I said that I probably ate ice cream almost everyday - heck, I'd say that I had ice cream 70 out of the 76 days I was in Korea. When it's sweltering and I walk an average of 2 hours a day in the heat, there's nothing more refreshing than a yummy Korean popsicle, such as this creamy honeydew melon bar that I happened to discover during my last month in Korea:




I like the watermelon popsicle even more... yum!



A girl in my language program enlightened my soul (and taste buds) when she told me about these red bean popsicles. I'd been enjoying red bean in the form of red bean buns for a while, but never imagined that they could form sticks of pure heaven. I was told that these are very popular with elderly Koreans... not surprising since they've been around since 1975! (ok, ok not that long ago... that's only 11 years before I was born.)



This beauty is the one and only 돼지바 - "Pig Bar", complete with a dancing pig in a tux. No pigs were used in the making of this bar - just vanilla and rice-cake goodness.


(popsicle photos courtesy of the Internet. Looks like these photos were taken a while ago, as these babies now cost 700won, or less than 60 cents - which is still incredibly cheap!)



Here's a cheap (1,000won) but enormous soft-serve kind of ice cream - it's bigger than my face! They were selling these in Myeongdong (home of the -- can I get a hand -- tornado potato!) when I went a second time.

My most widely-consumed form of ice cream was the ice waffle kind. The ice waffle is probably the most glorious food combination to ever grace mankind's dining tables, and it only requires two ingredients: waffles and ice cream. The off-the-street variety is cheap and delicious, but can't hold a candle to the kind you can get in cafes - which can range from 4,900won for an individual serving, to 10-12,000won for a waffle big enough for two.



Street waffles - a great pick-me-up on the hot walk home from school!



Waffle It Up waffles - these are *traditional* Belgian waffles (also known as Liege waffles)- chewy, sugary and DELICIOUS. I like them even more than the better-known oversized, softer "Belgian" waffles. I should also mention that Waffle It Up serves cream cheese ice cream - which may sound weird, but I swear it's heavenly.



My last ice cream waffle in Korea - at Beans Bins. Monstrously delicious!

I couldn't write about icy treats and not mention 팥빙수 (patpingsu), which is a very popular Korean dessert found in virtually every bakery and cafe - and even fast food joints like KFC! Actually, I had my first 팥빙수 at Lotteria, which is a Korean fast food chain. Not exactly heaven on the taste buds, but it was palatable (and pretty much the only vegetarian option on the menu when my host family decided to do take out!) 팥빙수 is a mixture of shaved ice, fruit and red bean syrup, plus any other toppings doled out by the bakery/cafe in question, like cereal or mochi. The best 빙수 I had was the milk tea variety (no red beans here), and it was OH SO DELICIOUS.



Now this isn't ice cream per se, but it's worth a mention when talking about icy treats. 물냉면, or cold water noodles. It's a noodles dish that's served in an icy broth - an odd concept, but it's perfect for lunch on a hot summer day!


(taken from the dungeons of the Internet - man, I miss Bushims... though we're probably better off hearing them in retrospect :))

How I wish I were back in Korea, stuffing my face with endless varieties of ice and ice cream!