Traditional Patbingsu in a Hanok House

If you have a foreign friend visiting, or if you're taking your parents or grandparents to Seoul, where would you want to go? I think I'd mostly go to a palace! It's a great way to showcase the beauty of Korea, and adults often enjoy strolling through the serene traditional Korean houses (hanok) and taking a break there.

After the palace, I think I'd choose to have Korean food and, if it's summer, have patbingsu (shaved ice with red bean) for dessert! Especially around Gyeongbokgung Palace, there are many shops housed in hanok buildings. Apparently, you can eat patbingsu in a hanok in Samcheong-dong! Let me introduce you to the place…

Samcheong Bingsu

The bingsu place I'm going to introduce is called ‘Samcheong Bingsu’. At ‘Samcheong Bingsu’, you can enjoy bingsu in the tranquil atmosphere of a hanok.

First, let me tell you the location. It's located at 84-1, Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul. If you're coming by subway, it's about 936 meters from exit 2 of Anguk Station on Line 3.

Business hours are from 12:00 PM to 7:00 PM daily, except for Tuesdays, which are their regular day off. If you have any questions, you can call them at 0507-1441-8233.

Now, let me introduce the menu…

The main menu at Samcheong Bingsu is, of course, the traditional patbingsu! The traditional patbingsu is priced at 12,000 won.

Let me explain the signature menu in more detail. The ‘Traditional Patbingsu’ is a mountain of milk ice topped with red bean paste and injeolmi (glutinous rice cake). The red bean paste retains the subtle sweetness of the beans, and the fine-grained milk ice and the smooth, melting texture of the red bean create a delightful harmony of sweetness, they say.

Other bingsu options include green tea patbingsu (12,500 won), black sesame patbingsu (12,500 won), strawberry bingsu (13,000 won), mango bingsu (13,000 won), coffee bingsu (15,000 won), grapefruit bingsu (21,000 won), and raspberry bingsu (13,000 won). While the traditional patbingsu is the most popular and signature dish, they also offer a variety of other bingsu, and those are also quite popular, it seems. I've seen strawberry bingsu before, but I think this is my first time seeing raspberry bingsu! They say it has a sweet and sour taste with fresh raspberry topping. If I go there, I think I'll try the signature patbingsu and the raspberry bingsu!

Since it's a cafe, they offer a wide range of drinks along with the bingsu. For coffee, they have Americano (5,500 won), Caffè Latte (6,500 won), Vanilla Latte (6,500 won), Hazelnut Latte (6,500 won), Sweetened Condensed Milk Latte (6,500 won), Caramel Macchiato (6,500 won), and Einspanner (6,500 won). In addition to coffee, they also offer lattes, smoothies, yogurt, frappés, sikhye (sweet rice drink), tea, and ades (fruit drinks).

So, you have plenty of options if you want to order both bingsu and a drink.

Please note that all the ice used in the bingsu is milk ice, so if you have lactose intolerance, be aware that you might get an upset stomach at Samcheong Bingsu.

How about enjoying a bowl of bingsu as a way to cool down during a summer palace visit?

This concludes my introduction to Samcheong Bingsu. Thank you!