바로 곱고 부드럽게 갈린 얼음, 팥에서 오는 맛과 질감이 바로 카페 오븐의 팥빙수를 특별하게 만드는 점이다. 팥은 지나치게 으깨지지도 않은 형태를 그대로 유지한 아주 부드러운 고소한 맛을 간직하며 살짝 단맛을 낸다.

 “여기에 얼마나 정성을 담느냐가 맛을 좌우하죠.” 카페 오븐의 셰프 한성은씨는 말한다. 한성은씨는 4시간동안 팥을 삶는다고 말한다.

“저희 어머니가 빙수에 쓸 팥을 재배하기 시작하셨어요.” 카페 오븐의 주인이자 한성은씨의 남편인 최창서씨가 말한다.

최창서씨의 어머니는 가게 문연지 1년 후에 2006년에 가게 운영을 도와주기 위해 팥을 직접 재배하기 시작했다고 한다. 팥은 전라북도에서 재배되고, 팥 수확량이 적을 때는 충청남도 지방에서 재배된 팥을 쓴다고 한다.

카페오븐 주인 최창서씨는 밀크 팥빙수를 섞지 않고 먹는걸 추천한다. “각 층을 따로 먹으면 팥과 얼음의 질감을 그대로 느낄 수 있습니다.”

팥은 전통 빙수에서 가장 핵심이 되는 재료다. 반야트리 클럽 스파 서울 그라넘 다이닝 라운지의 안대원 수셰프도 팥이 이번 여름의 가장 주목받는 재료라는데 동의한다.

“많은 곳들이 팥이 홈메이드라는 것을 강조하고 있죠. 한마디로 핵심은 홈메이드로 심플하게 만드는 것이에요.” 안대원 수셰프는 설명한다.

신사동 가로수길 맛집 하바코시나도 역시 수제 팥빙수로 유명한 곳이다. 

“유명한 빙수집일수록 빙수는 단순해요.” 하바코시나의 황진수 매니저는 말한다. “빙수 카페들은 좀 더 심플하게 만들려고 하고 있죠. 왜냐면 얼음, 연유 그리고 팥에 자부심을 갖고 있기 떄문이에요.”

반얀트리 클럽 스파 서울과 빙수 카페 하바 코시나도 재료에 자부심을 갖고 있다.

하바코시나의 황진수 매니저는 “우리 팥은 100 퍼센트 국산이에요.” 라고 말한다. 하바코시나의 가장 기본적인 빙수는 정말 간결하다. 곱게 갈은 얼음은 연유와 함께 어우러지고 팥이 그 위에 수북이 쌓이고 마지막 떡이 몇 조각 얹혀져 있다.

그라넘 다이닝 라운지의 전통 빙수에도 연유와 얼음 그리고 직접 만든 팥이 올라간다. 토핑으로는 호두, 아몬드 그리고 바닐라 아이스크림이 올라간다.

안대원 수셰프는 올해 전통 빙수를 많이 찾는 트랜드는 작년에 유행했던 과일 토핑이 많이 올라간 빙수와는 다르다고 한다.

황진수 매니저는 다시 전통빙수가 떠오르고 있지만 정말 옛날로의 회귀는 아니라고 말한다.  “옛날에는 얼음 알갱이가 씹혔는데 요새는 매우 곱고 혀에 닿는 즉시 사르르 녹죠.”

카페 오븐 운영자 최창서씨도 동의한다. “요새 빙수는 요새 입맛에 맞게 맞춰져 있죠.” “예전에는 과일이나 과일 소스가 빙수 윗부분을 장식하곤 했는데 요새는 연유와 우유의 조합만으로도 맛있어요.” 그는 말한다.

빙수는 또한 고급 디저트로 떠오르기 시작했다. 호텔들이 앞다퉈 빙수를 주요 여름 디저트 메뉴로 출시하고 있고, 빙수만 전문으로 하는 디저트 카페도 많이 생기고 있다.

빙수가 여름의 대표 디저트가 확고히 자리잡으면서 빙수 경쟁도 치열해졌다. 이런 치열한 경쟁속에서 색다른 빙수로 다양한 입맛을 사로잡으려는 시도도 계속된다. 반얀트리 클럽 스파 서울의 필리핀 디저트 할로할로에 영감을 얻은 빙수가 그 한 예이다.

아시아의 다채로운 요리를 즐길 수 있는 레스토랑에서는 특별히 필리핀 빙수 할로할로에서 영감을 얻은 빙수를 준비했다. 팥 대신에 보라색의 단 고구마, 코코넛, 용과 그리고 체리 등 할로할로에 들어가는 전통 재료들을 넣어서 선보인다. 

홍대의 비스윗온은 동경 제과학교 출신의 주인장이 만든 일본식 빙수, 카키고리를 선보인다. 약 3년전 홍대 비스윗온에서 처음 선보인 이 녹차빙수는 인기를 힘입어 1달전에 연 가로수길의 이름이 다른 디저트카페 라폼에서도 선보인다. 녹차빙수는 곱게 갈은 얼음을 산처럼 쌓고 그 위에 일본 마차로 만든 시럽을 얹고 직접 만든 팥과 마차 아이스크림을 올린것이다.

(글 오지은 기자/번역 이우영 기자)

<관련 영문 기사> 

Bingsu evolution

Retro and fusion shaved ice treats take over Seoul this summer

Cafe Oven’s milk patbingsu derives its addictive interplay of textures and flavors from three basic components -- red beans, shaved ice and milk sauce -- three elements that seem deceptively easy to master.

Fans of this traditional summer treat know better. When the red beans are good, when the shaved ice is perfect and when the ice’s sweet milk drizzle is spot-on then a bingsu, in its classic and simplest form, becomes transcendent.

Perhaps that is why Korean shaved ices like Cafe Oven’s old school rendition are some of this summer’s hottest bingsu. Pared down, devoid of nouveau toppings or syrups, these cool retro desserts not only stir up feelings of nostalgia, when done right, they also taste very good.

Superfine ice, satiny on the tongue, rich with the slightly sweet flavor of milk sauce, acts as the perfect foil for the beans, which are not mushy, still intact, and velvety, nutty and lightly sugary.

That trio of flavors and textures is exactly what makes the patbingsu at Cafe Oven so memorable.

“I think it is all about how much care is put into it,” said Cafe Oven chef Han Seong-eun, who revealed that over four hours of hovering over the stovetop, keeping a sharp eye on the red beans, is crucial to the shop’s bingsu.

“My mom started to cultivate red beans and we use them to make our bingsu,” said owner Choi Chang-seo, husband to chef Han, explaining that a year after the shop opened in 2006, his mother decided to provide a helping hand by growing the beans herself.

According to Choi, the beans are grown in North Jeolla Province and when the supply runs low red beans from South Chungcheon Provinc are also used to craft Cafe Oven’s bingsu.

“Now people eat bingsu for the red beans,” Han, 35, explained.

Red beans, it seems, are the linchpin to Cafe Oven’s shaved ice as well as to bingsu in general.

Banyan Tree Club and Spa Seoul sous chef Ahn Dae-won, who helms the kitchen at the resort’s Granum Dining Lounge, agrees that beans are this summer’s star ingredient, with places putting the spotlight on them, “advertising that the red beans are made in the shop.”

With red beans taking center stage, Cafe Oven owner Choi recommends eating his establishment’s bingsu without mixing the beans and ice together.

“If one eats each layer separately one can feel the textures of the red beans and ice,” said Choi, 39. 

Naturally, if the spotlight is on the beans, then it seems almost inevitable that, “the focus is homemade this year,” as Ahn says.

“Make it simple, homemade,” Ahn, 34, elaborated.

In short, because the quality of the beans and how they are made matters, that in turn, results in a pared down bingsu that allows the red beans to take the lead.

According to Haba Cocina senior manager Hwang Jin-su, “the more of a well-known bingsu spot it is, the more simplified the bingsu.”

“Places are going simple because those spots have confidence in their ice, their milk sauce and their red beans,” Hwang, 33, explained.

Both Granum and the newly-minted red bean cafe, Haba Cocina, are no exception to the rule.

Granum Dining Lounge’s retro treat features made-from-scratch red beans over a bed of shaved ice soaked in a sweet milk sauce. A smattering of walnuts and almonds and a scoop of housemade vanilla ice cream crown the bingsu.

This, according to Ahn, is a significant departure from last year’s more “complicated,” fruit laden variation.

At Sinsa-dong’s Haba Cocina, “our red beans are 100 percent domestic,” said Hwang, who added the red beans are prepared in-house along with the milk sauce.

Haba Cocina’s most basic bingsu, the Haba ice flake, is truly pared down. Soft shaved ice soaks in a sweet milk drizzle. Heaps of red beans are piled on and topped with several pieces of rice cake.

The resulting treat is tasty, a pleasant combination of creamy milk, silken ice and sweet red beans.

While the bingsu has gone retro, Hwang is quick to note that this is not a true-to-life old school formula.

“Unlike the past, when the ice was more granular, the ice is very fine and melts in the mouth now,” said Hwang.

Cafe Oven owner Choi agrees, “Today’s bingsu suits this era’s tastes.”

“Fruit or fruit cocktail was used to top bingsu, which was eaten mixed altogether,” Choi recalled the colorful, sweet shaved ice of yore when powdered milk was often used.

Now, condensed milk and milk are generally used to create that lip-smacking, rich drizzle.

According to Choi, not only has the bingsu been modified to suit today’s palates, it has also gone more high-end, where now it is a major headline dessert at hotels and a growing number of shops whose primary specialty is the bingsu itself.

“Now it has become an upscale dessert,” said Choi, explaining how there was a time when the bingsu was considered more of a lowbrow treat, a sideline act.

“Three years ago bingsu became very popular,” Be Sweet On and La Pomme co-owner Joung Eung-do, whose own dessert cafes sell a Japanese-style bingsu, pinpointed the moment when he believes the shaved ice treat took off.

Ever since bingsu became the ultimate sweet of the summer, it seems competition has gotten fierce.

“With the emergence of shops that specialize in bingsu and with bingsu now a leading dessert, competition has become extreme,” said Cafe Oven’s Choi.

In the midst of a heated battle to draw bingsu lovers and in the quest to keep it fresh, Ahn revealed that bringing a multicultural slant to the sweet is one way of doing something new.

To that end, a halo-halo-inspired bingsu was developed for the Granum.

“We specialize in Southeast Asian cuisine,” Ahn explained why he took his cue from the shaved ice treat that hails from the Philippines.

Housemade purple sweet potato ice cream adorns a red bean-free dessert decorated with slivers of coconut flesh, dragon fruit and cherries.

Ahn says that it is the novelty factor that brings in the orders.

“People order halo-halo because they do not know what it is,” said Ahn.

At Be Sweet On, a Hongdae-based cafe that specializes in French-by-way-of-Tokyo desserts, and its new second store, La Pomme, customers can dip into a Japanese version of the bingsu.

“We serve a run-of-the-mill Kyoto-style bingsu,” said co-owner Joung, 33. 

Kakigori, a Japanese shaved ice treat, was first introduced to the menu of Be Sweet On approximately three years ago and is now also available at La Pomme in Garosugil, which opened about a month ago.

“Our bingsu was popular from the beginning,” said Joung.

Meant to be ordered for two, though it can be ordered for one, the green tea kakigori at La Pomme and Be Sweet On is a massive dome of soft ice, doused with syrup fashioned from Japanese matcha, topped with homemade domestic red beans and homemade matcha ice cream.

Rice cakes soaked in sugar syrup, a slice of matcha roll cake, green tea and extra matcha syrup accompany the dessert.

Decadent and ginormous are the words that come to mind when presented with this delectable summer treat.

Watching customers’ faces light up when this heaping tray of sweet goodness arrives gives light to the realization that while it may be tough competition for bingsu makers, for bingsu lovers if it means more treats like this then let the games begin.

Cafe Oven
   340-5 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul/ (02) 3141-0089
   Open 12:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. daily, closed Sundays
   Milk red bean sherbet costs 7,000 won, 5,000 won to-go


La Pomme
    534-8 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul/ (02) 545-4508
    Open 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays, weekends 1:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
    Green tea kakigori for two costs 18,000 won


Be Sweet On
    2F, 339-3 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul/ (02) 323-2370
    Open 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays, weekends 1:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
    Green tea kakigori for two costs 17,800 won


Haba Cocina
    1F, Jun Young Bldg, 512-8 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul/ (02) 3448-2400
    Open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily
    Haba ice flake costs 7,000 won

Granum Dining Lounge at Banyan Tree Club and Spa Seoul, 60 Jang Chung Dan-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul/ (02) 2250-8143/ www.banyantreeclub.net
   Open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
   Halo halo and traditional Korean red bean bingsu each cost 36,000 won


By Jean Oh (oh_jean@heraldcorp.com)