Melon snow bingsu with cheese cube topping, Paju café: Fruit Forest

Today I'm introducing a place near Seopae-dong in Paju — Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store!

• Open every day of the year, 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM

The exterior and parking

Here's the whole building seen from a distance! Isn't that sky just gorgeous?☁️💙 The building was way bigger and more impressive than I expected — I was so surprised! The sleek brown exterior with big glass windows reflecting the blue sky felt so aesthetic...✨ Seeing the big "mango bingsu sanctuary" poster on the 2nd floor window along with the FRUITS FOREST sign got me excited before I even walked in...🫶 The 1st floor is a parking lot, which made it super convenient to drive there!👍

This is the 1st floor entrance! I noticed a cute chalkboard that looked like it was hand-written by the owner, right inside the glass door~🥰 Shall we open the door and go in now? Right as you enter, you see the stairs up to the 2nd floor! Exposed concrete stairs with a simple black steel railing... isn't that so hip and modern?🖤 The walls are finished in a dark gray tone, giving it a cool, urban feel that's totally my style!🔥

The 2nd floor atmosphere and fruit display

Climb the stairs and the first thing that greets you is a sleek, clean gray-toned counter! The round pendant lights hanging above are so cute too~🖤 The menu board is packed with a lineup of bingsu and desserts, so my heart was already racing before I even ordered!

And then, the star of the show — the fruit display! I thought, this really is a Fruit Forest~🌿 Apple mangoes and gold mangoes, carefully wrapped in yellow netting, stacked up like mountains layer after layer... that glossy visual is amazing, right?👍 Big melons and kiwis were lined up right next to them! Even more impressive was the refrigerated showcase right beside it! Inside the big fridge, mangoes packed every shelf~ plus fresh shine muscat grapes, grapefruit, pineapple, and even watermelon!🍉🍍 The sweet, fragrant fruit smell drifted out and I felt happy the whole time I was looking around!💖

And then I glanced to the side — is that mural for real? Between lush mango and orange trees, a rabbit fairy popped up like it jumped straight out of a storybook!🐰 With round lighting glowing softly too, it was totally my kind of photo zone~📸

The inner space of the café is also really spacious and pleasant! Both side walls are big floor-to-ceiling windows~ so the blue sky and green view outside come right into view!☁️🌿 High ceilings and lots of natural light made it feel so open~ By the window there were cozy sofa seats with colorful rainbow cushions that looked super comfortable!✨ White & black mid-century style round tables were spaced out nicely~ perfect for chatting!

What's on the bingsu and drink menu?

Let me show you the big lineup! Just looking at the visuals makes it totally clear why this place is called a bingsu sanctuary...🥹 The bingsu come in a generous standard size for 2–3 people!

• Fresh mango snow bingsu: The BEST-tagged signature menu! Covered edge to edge in yellow fresh mango with a scoop of ice cream on top — a gorgeous sight~🥭
• Peach snow bingsu: Piled high with pale peach slices~ hits that pink aesthetic perfectly!🍑
• Melon snow bingsu: Round, thick-cut melon pieces stacked like a mountain~ looks refreshing just to see!🍈
• Fig snow bingsu: Sweet fig slices paired with blueberries... such a luxurious flavor combo!🫐
• Injeolmi red bean bingsu: Loaded with nutty roasted soybean powder, red beans, and almonds~ a classic bingsu hitting that grandma-chic craving with pure nuttiness!
• 10-fruit mixed bingsu: A massive size for 4–5 people! The ultimate menu overflowing with every kind of fresh fruit imaginable!🍓🥝🍌

Besides bingsu, the drink menu is also really solid~🥤 Coffee ranges from basic americano and vanilla latte all the way to decaf cold brew! There are also warm traditional teas like ginger tea and ssanghwa tea~☕️ Being a fresh fruit specialty shop, the juice lineup was amazing... fresh mango juice, watermelon juice, kiwi, mulberry juice, apple kale juice — all at one flat price! There's also plenty of healthy, filling non-coffee options like misugaru (roasted grain drink) with ice, sikhye (sweet rice drink), and Andong yam juice!

Even the buzzer they gave us after ordering was refreshing in itself!💛 A bright yellow background with strawberry, kiwi, blueberry illustrations and the Fruit Forest logo stamped right on it~ that kind of small detail was so cute and thoughtful!✨ I couldn't wait for it to buzz~👍

Melon snow bingsu ₩28,000 — how did it taste?

The full shot the moment I rushed to the counter after the buzzer went off! It comes out in a fancy gold brassware-style bowl piled high with a mountain of pale green melon~✨ They even gave us two crystal glass bowls to portion it out plus a gold spoon — such a nice touch!👍

Up close it's just jaw-dropping!💚 Sweetly ripened fresh melon cut into thick cubes completely covers the surface! On top, a dusting of white powdered sugar makes it look like a snow-covered green forest!✨ And the highlight — the toppings sitting right on top of the melon peak! A generous scoop of melon-flavored ice cream sits front and center~ surrounded by plenty of square cheesecake cubes!🧀 Melon syrup was drizzled all over too, so you could feel the sweetness even before taking a bite!🥰

I carefully scooped up a spoonful with the gold spoon! The fresh melon pieces were so thick and hefty that they filled the whole spoon~🥄 The moment it hit my mouth, cool, sweet juice burst out all through my mouth... being a real fruit specialty shop, the melon's sweetness was insane!👍

Underneath, soft milk snow ice was hiding, and it melted in my mouth like magic...🥹 Combine that with the chewy, slightly salty cheesecake cubes and the cool melon ice cream in one bite? A sweet-salty-nutty flavor spreads out and it's basically bliss...!💖

The melon pieces and toppings were so generous that when I first dug in, some melon nearly toppled off, so I had to scoop carefully~ but that just meant the portion was that plentiful — a happy problem!🫶 Cool and sweet~ I scraped the bowl clean down to the last spoonful!🍈 Thanks to this sweet, refreshing melon bingsu, it felt like a whole week's fatigue melted away~🥹 I'd totally recommend it as a weekend drive or date course! Thanks for the delicious meal today too~!