Summer has landed. It’s torturous to walk a mile outside and you need something cold and icy to cool yourself down all day and all night. These days, it seems like Korean Shaved Ice places the only ones benefited from the weather (well, maybe besides tons of cafes serving cold brew coffees).
In Los Angeles Koreatown, shaved ices, a.k.a. Bingsoo, are dominating the dessert map this summer. As of now, four places are specialized in Korean shaved ice – Sul&Bean, Red Bean, and SnowLA, in addition to Homibing opening later this month.
But there are much more if we count numerous coffee shops and bakeries serving shave ice as well. Mr. Coffee, Concerto, Hayri, CaffeBene, Tom n Toms, Paris Baguette, and Boba Time are among those, although most of Korean-operated coffee shops and bakeries serve shaved ices.
On hot weekend days, people wait more than an hour to be served with icy bowls of Bingsoo at Sul&Bean. Ji-geon Kim, owner of Sul&Bean, says that as many as 700 bowls of iced shaves are sold on busy days.
With the popularity of Korean shaved ice at its peak, various Bingsoo franchises are expanding their businesses. Sul&Bean has opened its Buena Park location earlier this month and Okrumong, too, is to open two additional locations in Buena Park and Rowland Heights.
Okrumong, Sul&Bean, and Red Bean are the places where you can enjoy delicious bowls of Korean-style shaved iced. Classic Red Bean, Soybean Powder, Black Sesame are some of the most popular. On the other hand, SnowLA and Homibing serve Taiwanese-style shaved ices.
Whichever you prefer between Korean and Taiwanese shaved ice, visit Koreatown and stay cool this summer!
Original article written by Su-yeon Oh
Translated and edited by Heewon Kim
