Coconut is a friendly fruit to both our taste buds and our health. It support our immune system, improves digestion and even aids weight loss. At Seochon Beverage Lab, they've figured out a way to make this wonderful fruit into the Seoulites' favorite summer-time desert, bingsu. The coconut bingsu comes served in a brown coconut cut in half on a stainless steel-plate filled with ice. The shaved ice part is made with frozen coconut juice and is topped with everything coconut: coconut jelly, coconut chips and coconut ice cream. A shot of espresso is nicely served on the side. The creaminess of the ice cream and crunchiness of the chips come to create contrasting textures, and it's quite delightful. The shot of espresso is meant to be poured on top (like an affogato), but those who want to enjoy the coconuty flavors could wait till they're almost finished with the dessert as the coffee will completely blanket the original flavors of the fruit.
The "lab" part of the Seochon Beverage Lab isn't just a name; it's in fact a research center and café that explores new recipies such as the coconute bingsu, its signature item. The lab certainly lives up to its name, offering quality drinks and dessers that are flavorful, neatly-presented and newly created each season. One of the newst seasonal items is the Avo-Coco made with coconut cream and avocados. There's one drink minimum-policy at the café but bring-your-own-light snacks is allowed. Note that the coconut ice cream has a limited sale of 20 bowls per day.