Foodie Find 1: Bingsoo

     According to Wikipedia, "A foodie is a gourmet,"  (Oooh... a gourmet. That sounds so fancy.) "a person who has an ardent or refined interest in food and alcoholic beverages. A foodie seeks new food experiences as a hobby rather than simply eating out of convenience or hunger." I'm not sure I'm a "gourmet," but I definitely make a hobby out of trying new foods!

     Patbingsoo ("beans with ice" in Korean) is a shaved ice dessert with sweet toppings. I tried my first bowl at Mealtop, a mall food venue. The cashier offered me two small samples, one in the classic milk flavor poured over shaved ice and one with strawberry topping. The milk ice topping tasted like vanilla ice cream (yum!), but I decided to go with the strawberry order because it was sweeter (and I have the taste buds of a sugar-addicted child). At Mealtop, all bingsoo treats ($4.95) come with a small side of red bean paste and mochi!
     I used to eat similar shaved ice treats a different mall shop with my middle school friends, so eating at Mealtop definitely made me nostalgic. It was a little different because they used flavored ice blocks instead of adding a topping to plain ice shavings.