Icy Cold Patbingsu at Uhmji Bean
By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Restaurants small enough to call themselves ``hole in the wall'' in Korea are associated with a certain type of food, in most cases, Korean. With just a little interest and determination to journey along narrow streets full of hidden shops, one can find a cozy eatery and enjoy recipes ranging from pastas, and fast food to desserts.
Among these places nestled around Seoul, is ``Uhmji Bean.'' Located in Seorae Village in Bangbae-dong, the small shop offers the best of beans, from coffee beans to their specialty, red beans.
``Uhmji'' literally means ``thumb'' in Korean, and like the fairy tale character Thumbelina, the shop is indeed tiny.
With no particular entrance, people just walk into the open space that leads directly to a very narrow staircase. There is a very busy and somewhat dangerous-looking open kitchen right next to the stairs, fit for only about two people to make coffee.
Walk down to the small space below, and you will find three round tables, each with two wooden chairs, and two electric fans. Forget personal space here; you can easily hear what the other party is talking about without even concentrating. But the place is cozy and comfortable. During the summer, the shop spreads additional tables and chairs outside along the sidewalk, but in winter, visitors have no choice but to wait for a seat out in the cold.
Uhmji Bean's specialty is the ``pat,'' or red bean. In the winter, it offers ``patjuk,'' or red bean porridge (4,000 won and served from October to April), which is perfect to warm oneself up in chilly weather.
In the summer, however, the shop offers ``patbingsu (4,000 won and served from March to October), a famed summer dish with boiled, seasoned red bean paste on top of shaved ice, sweetened condensed milk and some other garnishes like fruit, tteok (rice cakes) and even cereal.
Uhmji Bean offers a more simple version: shaved ice, a generous serving of red bean paste with condensed milk and dried jujube slices sprinkled on top.
``Don't mix the ice and the red beans! It won't taste like anything if you just mix it all up,'' the owner said as she ran up the stairs for orders.
Unlike other places, where most buy their red bean paste for their bingsu dish, Uhmji Bean's were soft and tasty. For some it would have been a little too mild to enjoy with ice, but this was because they were freshly brought in everyday to the store and boiled without adding other artificial ingredients like sugar for sweetening.
``The red beans are brought from Hwasun, South Jeolla Province, every morning. Many people say it tastes different and we think it's because it's fresh,'' the owner said while busily preparing more.
Uhmji Bean is famous for its icy cold dessert, but they also offer various types of drip filtered coffee, including Columbia, Tanzania and Ethiopia (each 4,000 won). They also offer basic drinks, such as hot chocolate, fresh juice and black coffee.
Uhmji Bean is located on the main street of Seorae Village. Walk straight toward Bangbae middle school until you find the Uhmji Bean on your right next to Woori Bank. For more information, call 010-8677-9193 (Korean).