Korean Convenience Store - Ice Cream Adventure

I'd watched a lot of korean reality shows/ dramas where they are munching down on ice cream cones or ice lollies. It looks so yum yum I had to try them all! Unfortunately I can't because of my short stay in Korea and I was having a bad cough the first few days of the trip.

Taking the subway and I saw Lotte ice cream product placement with some Korean idols. It was a sign that I must carry out my task of trying out ice creams from the convenience store!

Some of the convenience store I'd been to includes: GS25, random mini mart, CU and 7 eleven.

First up Cled'or Vanilla Almond Cone. I can't remember how much it cost but I think 1500won?

It says "Refreshing Premium Ice Cream"

It tastes pretty much like a normal vanilla almond ice cream very similar to Cornetto but I must say that Korean waffle cones are on another level compared to the cones available in Singapore. The waffle cones in Korea are longer, slightly thicker and crispier!

Lotte - Cookie O - 1600won (치즈샌드 - Cheese Sand)

I have never tried an ice cream sandwich before so this is really tempting! (Noob) The orange and white packaging makes it looks so delectable. It says "For those who wants the best cheese ice cream sandwich".

I presumed that the biscuit is really soft due to the moisture of the ice cream. It is easy to chew and there is a slight cheese aroma, not too overpowering. Pretty delicious. It looks small in the picture but it is of decent size.

Lotte Green Tea ice cream - 1000won (녹차마을 - Green Tea Village) I love green tea and wanted to have the waffle cone again! This has got a bright lime green packaging. Lotte has a way to make things look delicious.

It taste really creamy and with a slight hint of green tea. I can smell the fragrance of green tea while eating. This is not bitter at all so you can give it a try!

At this point in time, I'm starting to notice that the pricing in the ice cream differs a lot depending on which mart you go to. For instance I bought this in a random mini mart near my guest house and a lot of the ice cream here only cost around 1000 won compared to pricier marts like GS25, CU and 7 eleven.

However, I must say the interior of GS25,CU and 7 eleven are so much cleaner and brighter compared to the random mini mart I entered. Larger chain marts provide tables and chairs for eating unlike those mini marts.

Binggrae - Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich - 1500won (빵또아 - PangToa - Sponge cake)

It says in Korean "Smooth". 200 calories of goodness is not really that sinful. (At least to me)

This is one of my favourite ice cream ever. It is more like an ice cream cake. Indeed, it is really smooth and creamy with two thinly slice, ultra smooth sponge cake sandwiching the cookie ice cream. The whole thing is just so smooth and with a little bit of texture from the cookie bits. (I keep mentioning smooth but it is the only world I can think of.)

I can eat this everyday!

Another one from Binggrae - Fish shaped ice cream waffle with red bean paste. (붕어싸만코 ) - 1500won Plus 1 for the design!

It looks similar to the fish shaped Korean street snack which has red bean in it as well.

The waffle is soft and chewy. It is like eating a soft vanilla ice cream cone with lumps of red bean. I like red beans so this is pretty good.

The only ice lolly I tried. 해대 (탱크보이 - Tank boy) Apple ice - 1000won. The first time I saw this, I think it was in a Korean drama called Full House. Rain was eating this ice lolly on a swing with Song Hyo Kyo.

This is pretty easy to open. Just pull off the tab and you are good to go. This resembles a condiment bottle and it tastes pretty much like apple flavoured ice.

We have this in Singapore - those 2 segment bars but with artificial flavours that most of us used to eat during our primary school days. However, there are no tabs so we have to chew and twist the plastic tube like a drill so I really think that this packaging is thoughtful.

I figured I can some of these ice cream back here in Singapore but they cost lesser in Korea and it is the feeling of eating Korean ice cream in Korea that made it a unique experience.

Another point to note is that I have yet to taste any soggy cones in Korea so it was really nice to pay roughly a similar price (after currency conversion) and have a crispier and larger ice cream.

I will be back in Korea next year! Hopefully I can continue a part II. I love ice cream.