Paju bingsu café by Simhaksan: melon bingsu + 1+1 mango, Fruit Forest

Isn't the weather amazing these days? Fall, fall, fall~ Autumn is the season of high skies and, well, me getting fat (not "horses," me, haha) — it's really the season for gaining weight because everything tastes so good! Paju quietly has a lot of great restaurants, and I love that among them there's a solid bingsu (shaved ice dessert) spot.

Where is Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store, and where do you park?

Finding this Simhaksan café was easy — here's the front of Fruit Forest. The address is 144 Dolgoji-gil, Paju, and since it's a piloti-structure building, you can park on the ground floor or right out front, with plenty of room. The weather made it look even prettier! There are two entrances, inside and outside the building, so just park wherever's convenient and head in.

The moment I saw the entrance, ah — this looks different from other cafés! There's space right from the entrance leading further in, so you can sit somewhere comfortable and enjoy your dessert.

Mangoes ripening at the entrance — Fruit Forest sells whole fruit too

True to a Paju mango bingsu spot, mangoes are laid out right at the entrance, labeled as ripening. That's the main event for sure! Fitting for a fresh-fruit bingsu place, it's packed with fresh fruit.

Seeing the fruit filling everything from room temperature shelves to the fridge made me happy — I found myself wishing I could have all of it at home, haha. You can actually buy the fruit too, so if you love fresh fruit, this place is a must.

Fruit Forest bingsu prices and the 1+1 juice deal

Here's the pricing at Fruit Forest, a mecca for fresh mango bingsu. Injeolmi red bean bingsu 25, fresh mango snow bingsu 32, peach snow bingsu 28, melon snow bingsu 28, fig snow bingsu 28, 10-fruit mixed bingsu 42 (in thousands of won) / fresh mango juice 1+1 8, pineapple juice 1+1 8, banana milk 1+1 8. That's roughly the lineup.

The appealing part is that fresh mango, pineapple, and banana milk are all buy-one-get-one-free. Fresh, fresh, fresh fruit — and at about ₩4,000 per person, isn't that really cheap? I went back and forth with mango bingsu, but I've been into melon lately, so I ordered the melon bingsu with fresh mango juice!!

Melon snow bingsu, 28,000 won: a whole melon in one bowl

And here it is! There was a bit of a wait since the place was busy, but seeing the visual made it all worth it. Fresh fruit really does give you that finishing touch! Let's take a proper look at the melon bingsu.

A whole melon, tucked right into the bingsu! Even the visual gave off a sweet aroma. Honestly, it's not even comparable to some melon I had somewhere else recently. This is why you have to go to a specialist café.

Made fresh to order! The fruit condition was really excellent. On top were melon ice cream and cheese, with melon piled generously in front — my mouth was watering. Time to dig in!

A spoon that's easy to eat with — I have the exact same one at home, and it's great for ice cream.

The cheese just melted away~ Being someone who loves cheese bingsu too, I'll admit I ate up all the cheese on top by myself, haha.

How does the well-ripened melon taste with the snow ice?

I gently scooped up a bite of melon and popped it in — wow, the ripening was really done right, I could tell the second the flavor hit. The melon I had recently, I basically avoided the outer part, but this melon at Fruit Forest, this Paju bingsu spot, was so well-ripened it was sweet all the way through. Pure sweetness!

Once you've had some melon, there's the snow ice underneath — that's what makes it a snow bingsu, haha! The soft snow ice meeting the melon's sweetness just melts away in your mouth. I genuinely felt like I was having a proper bingsu for the first time in a while — a real moment of joy for my mouth! Normally I'd think, at this price? But between the visuals and the taste, I was totally satisfied — worth every won.

1+1 fresh mango juice, 8,000 won for two cups

And here's the 1+1 fresh mango juice. Being able to get it for about ₩4,000 a cup is such a good deal. The visual alone shows how rich it is — I highly, highly recommend this!

If I hadn't already eaten, I might have ordered another 1+1 set, haha. That's how satisfying this one cup of juice was — such great value! Yes, this price is real. It'd also be great to take a cup to go on your way up Simhaksan.

A flavor photos just can't capture! Loaded with fresh mango, the mango taste was strong. I'm not normally a big mango person, but after this juice I found myself craving the mango bingsu too. I held off this time, but next time I'm definitely going mango.

Looking around, I noticed someone nearby having the fig bingsu. Apparently it's fig season — I've seen fig cakes lately, and now fig bingsu too. Watching them eat made me tempted; maybe I'll bring my mom next time since she loves figs. I'm the only one in my family who's into figs, haha.

Completely cleared out — I finished every last bit, no shame here, haha. If it's delicious, you just eat it all, right?

Sofa seats and a photo zone on the way to Simhaksan

The colors were so pretty — a proper photo zone! Snapped a quick shot, haha. It had been a while since I sat down at a café and just relaxed over good bingsu and juice. My youngest just fell asleep sitting there, and pretended not to hear me when I tried to wake them up to leave — said the sofa was too comfy. Funny, they never even glance at our sofa at home, but the soft lighting and cushy seats here must've done the trick. Recommended Paju bingsu spot!

• Address: 144 Dolgoji-gil (236-6 Seopae-dong), Paju, Gyeonggi, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 10:00–21:00