Paju Simhaksan drive café: melon bingsu and cheese cubes, Fruit Forest

Stopping at Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store on a Simhaksan drive

Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store (과일의숲 파주직영점) is a bingsu (Korean shaved ice) café that caught my eye on the way back from a drive around Simhaksan in Paju. On hot days like these, a cold bingsu is all I can think about, so I pulled right in.

The sign on the building, "Holy Land of Mango Bingsu," grabbed me right away. Fruit Forest is a Simhaksan dessert spot where you can enjoy lots of seasonal fruit together with bingsu.

Across the road is Rosily Wedding & Party. There's a big private parking lot, so parking was easy, and the building looks clean and stylish, so I was happy from the first impression.

Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store: location, hours and parking

Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store uses floors 1-3 of 144 Dolgoji-gil, Paju, Gyeonggi. It's on the Simhaksan food street, in the building next to Simhaksan Tteuraek. It's open Tue-Sun 10:00-20:00 and closed every Monday.

• Address: 144 Dolgoji-gil, floors 1-3, Fruit Forest, Paju, Gyeonggi, South Korea
• Hours: Tue-Sun 10:00-20:00, closed every Monday
• Facilities: group seating, Wi-Fi, separate men's/women's restrooms, baby chairs, waiting area, pets (terrace only), venue rental
• Parking: available

I also saw a sign saying "The mango taste you had in Boracay! 100% real mango juice." You can't forget the taste of mango eaten on a trip in Southeast Asia, right?

What fruit does Fruit Forest use?

Inside the shop, fresh mangoes, melons, peaches and more were on display, and they sell a variety of fruit gift sets too.

As a fruit specialist, the fruit on display looked really good, which made me trust the place.

Fruit Forest cuts fresh fruit as soon as you order. High-quality fruit sits in the showcase, and when a customer orders, they take it out and cut it right there. They say that since opening, they've been a straightforward dessert café that only uses fruit good enough to be sold uncut to customers.

There's a huge display of fresh, varied fruit. Even for the same fruit from the same origin, quality and price vary wildly. Fruit Forest says its aim is to sell top-grade fruit fresh at a reasonable price. You can also buy fresh fruit with guaranteed sweetness in the shop.

They say Fruit Forest joins the first auction every morning at dawn and picks only high-sweetness fruit that they've seen and tasted themselves. Incoming fruit goes through a ripening stage and is cut the moment a customer orders, so freshness and sweetness are very good.

Fruit Forest bingsu menu and melon snow bingsu price

The bingsu menu ranged from injeolmi red bean bingsu (with roasted soybean-powder rice cake) to fresh mango snow bingsu, peach snow bingsu, melon snow bingsu and assorted fruit bingsu. It's called the holy land of fresh mango bingsu, but after some agonizing I ordered the melon snow bingsu (₩28,000).

At the time of my visit, a Naver receipt review event was running: write a review and get one Americano or 1+1 mango juice. If you visit, you might join in too.

The buzzer I got after ordering was so pretty too. The words on it, "All the fruits of the world, Forest of Fruit," feel fresh and zesty.

Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store interior and group seating

The interior is spacious and pleasant, with big windows letting in lots of natural light, a relaxed place to enjoy dessert. It's a café but also works for gatherings, with group seating for up to 100 people including the terrace.

For group orders, cup fruit or gift sets, call the shop.

How did the melon snow bingsu taste?

Fruit Forest's melon snow bingsu has big chunks of melon wrapped all around the bingsu, topped with melon ice cream and cheese cubes. When it came out a little later, I said "Wow!" without thinking. The looks alone were wonderful.

I could see why so many people come to this Paju bingsu hotspot.

One bite and the sweet, ripe melon was really fresh, and it went so well with the milk snow ice melting in my mouth.

The milk ice was finely shaved with a soft texture, and the melon flavor subtly soaked all the way to the center, so I enjoyed it to the very end.

Eat the cheese cubes together with the melon ice cream and you get an even richer flavor.

Next time: the fresh mango snow bingsu

Next time I definitely want to try Fruit Forest's signature fresh mango snow bingsu too. Seeing ripe fresh mangoes filling the shop, I understood why so many people recommend it as a Paju mango bingsu spot.

If you're planning a Simhaksan drive, I recommend Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store as a place to enjoy a cool bowl of dessert. With fresh fruit and snow bingsu together, it was a café that suited a hot summer perfectly.