playing catch-up, part one, or: I really want to become a better photographer

30Jul07

The thing about taking pictures of food is that usually, when such an occasion arises, it’s because the photographer is about to eat it. Therefore, I am very disappointed with my own photographic skills in the following images. What I really need to do is practice a little so I can adjust my camera quickly, instead of staving off other people’s chopsticks with my monster lens.

That having been said, I uploaded some pictures, so I can finally begin to discuss – a little – what I’ve been eating. Paintings coming soon. I’m sure you believe me.

밭빙수

(pronounced: patbingsu)

I would just like to state for the record that this is not my favorite papbingsu. This comes from CanMore, an ice cream parlor located outside the back gate of Kangwon National University. The one on the left is 녿차, or green tea, and the one on the right is strawberry.

Patbingsu is in essence an elaborate ice cream sundae.* According to Wikipedia, it started as a red bean/ice shavings concoction, and evolved into the gargantuan dessert you see above. Classic patbingsu has ice cream, red beans, and various kinds of fruit, all of which rest atop a pile of shaved ice. A number of debates seem to exist regarding how to eat patbingsu, with mixers (topping + ice) battling it out with samplers (topping, maybe some ice later) with a furor approaching the cookie-vs.-”cream”-debate among Oreo eaters in the US. Also according to Wikipedia, patbingsu is sometimes served with cherry tomatoes, which according to South Koreans actually count as a fruit. South Koreans are wrong, and I am thankful that I have not encountered any such thing.

My favorite patbingsu comes from Ice Cool, and features soft serve instead of the hard ice cream shown above. I’m usually not a soft-serve fan, but something about its texture works well with the fruit and beans – which are delicious, trust me, and add a slight savory note to what would otherwise be the Lisa Frank of summer desserts. The whole thing is reminiscent of che ba mao, the Vietnamese parfait of coconut milk and sugar syrup and red beans and various other layers. Patbingsu is also cheap (around $3 USD) and, in a stroke of marketing genius on the part of the patbingsu shops, can be delivered, meaning we eat it about once a day. Ice Cool also has in its favor the fact that its green tea patbingsu is actually soft serve dusted with green tea powder, rather than green-tea flavored ice cream. Mysteriously, however, green tea patbingsu doesn’t have any beans in it – I was under the impression that the red bean was the defining characteristic of patbingsu, but apparently I was wrong. What is it? Kiwi? Ice? The presence of rocking porch swings in every store?**

Of course, like many foods, patbingsu is best enjoyed with others:

 

*Interestingly, sundae in Korean means sausage. While there are a wide variety, the only kind I’ve ever seen anyone receive with an order is blood. Just something to think about if you want ice cream in Korea.

**I will say that CanMore has Ice Cool beat in terms of decor – it looks like nothing quite as much as a honeymoon bower. Also, free toast and whipped cream comes with every order. I didn’t realize that I had missed toast at all until I devoured a piece in five seconds or so.

Tomorrow: dakgalbi!

Filed under: Chuncheon, Korea   |  1 Comment