Asian Food: Bungeossamanko 붕어싸만코 and Gukhwappang 국화빵 (Korean Ice Cream)

School’s finally finished this term and it’s time for me to take a rest. That means I can blog more! yipee!!!

So recently I went on a trip to Bangkok to watch Big Bang’s concert. All this time I have been craving for Korean food. From the province I live in, it’s not easy to find a Korean restaurant! There are 2 I think, but it’s kind of has a fusion taste which I don’t really think is delicious. And it ain’t cheap here!

Back when I was living in Cebu, there were a lot of Korean restaurants to choose from. And the range in prices were quite ok. Food was delicious as most of the restaurants were owned by Koreans and they had Korean chefs (fyi.. a lot of Koreans come to my city to study English so that’s why there were lots). Aside from restaurants, there were also Korean grocery stores. But from where I live now, there isn’t any!

Anyway, when I went to Bangkok I convinced my friend to go and have lunch with me in Korean Town. Actually, it’s not really a town, but it’s in Sukhumvit Place (Soi 12 in Bangkokg, between Asok and Nana stations of the Sukhumvit BTS — when going there get off at Asok station, it’s closer). After lunch we decided to eat some Korean Ice Cream and thank god I found my favorite – Bungeossamanko 붕어싸만코.  So I’ll be writing to you about 2 of my favorite korean ice creams: Bungeossamanko 붕어싸만코 and Gukhwappang 국화빵.

Bungeossamanko 붕어싸만코

This is what it looks like on the outside.

 

This ice cream is sometimes called the Fish Ice Cream to non Korean speakers. But don’t worry it tastes nothing like fish! It’s just shaped like a fish. But once you take a bite you’ll love it. The ice cream has a wafer thin layer outside and inside it, has vanilla ice cream with a red bean filling.

This ice cream is really good and I think the best part about it is the red bean filling. I know that in most countries, they don’t really eat red bean as a dessert. But in countries in East Asia they do. It’s sweet yummy goodness is to die for. It costs 40 baht for each ice cream here. A little more expensive than what I usually paid for back home.

Gukhwappang 국화빵

This ice cream is a bit similar to Bungeossamanko but it has a twist, it has ddeok 떡 in between the layer of vanilla ice cream and red bean paste. Ddeok is actually just rice cake. That’s how they call it in Korea. For the sake of comparison, it’s just like the Japanese mochi. By the way, the layer of ddeok is very thin, but since it’s frozen, it can be very hard to chew at times.

I wasn’t too familiar with this ice cream until one Korean friend introduced it to me. I am a mochi and red bean fan, and when you put those two together, I’d be on cloud nine! So when I tasted it, I immediately loved it. I actually prefer this than the first one. But unfortunately it’s difficult to get it. In the grocery store that we went to, there wasn’t any Gukhwappang. Even back home, it would be sold out immediately. I kind of miss it though..

Korean ice creams are very good and very delicious! It’s also very sweet. So if you are like me who has a sweet tooth, the next time you come by a Korean grocery store, try to look for these two ice creams and try it! It’s really good!

**credits: naver.com + as tagged

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