KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 — Here’s the perfect antidote to the heatwave... the Korean bingsu or shaved ice dessert. Traditionally in Korea, when the mercury rises on the thermometer, they turn towards patbingsu (red beans on shaved ice) to beat the heat.

In the old days, it was a simple recipe where shaved ice would be topped with roasted grain powder, red bean paste or pat and rice cakes known as tteok. Today, many flavours cater to everyone’s tastebuds that don’t include the red beans so it’s just known simply as bingsu. Some adventurous places even gain favour with local adaptations like using durian!

There are two types of bingsu, just the plain shaved ice that tends to be coarser and a fluffier version made with frozen milk. Eating bingsu is also an art...just take your spoon and scoop from the bottom dragging in the toppings and a little of the ice cream on top. This gives you a taste of the various flavours plus textures. Most importantly, you also get to taste the texture of the soft snow-like shaved milk ice.

BingSu Cafe, 28, Jalan SS21/35, Damansara Utama (Uptown), PJ. Open daily: 12pm to 12am.

You will be spoiled for choice here at this one-year-plus cafe that offers 11 types of bingsu. This ranges from the traditional injeolmi dusted with roasted grain powder (misugaru), mixed berries, black sesame to the unusual durian mango. Here the milky ice gets shaved into a fine frosty fluff that has a nice balanced sweetness. Their bestseller bingsu is the durian mango that will please local palates. It combines sweet mangoes with frozen durian flesh and creamy durian ice cream for a decadent treat. If you are feeling peckish, the cafe also serves Korean fried chicken and a selection of sweet and savoury waffles. Card games like UNO are also available here to keep you occupied.

Hanbing Korean Dessert Cafe, 33, Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar, KL. Open: 12pm to 12am (Monday to Friday, Sunday), 12pm to 1am (Saturday)

Popular in South Korea and Hong Kong, this is their first dessert cafe in Malaysia. The bingsu menu has six varieties, a mix of traditional injeolmi and green tea with modern interpretations like mango, blueberry cheese and Oreo biscuits. Unlike the pristine snow white coloured shaved ice at other places, Hanbing’s version is cream coloured as it’s made with frozen condensed milk. The sweet tasting shaved ice has a fine snow-like texture that is delicious when paired with the ultra-creamy Häagen-Dazs ice cream. Hanbing also serves a good selection of Korean eats. Think chewy toppoki (rice cakes) with a spicy sauce or creamy cheese sauce, kimbap, fried chicken, japchae and etc. Their set meals (available from noon to 8pm) lets you order some of the menu items in a scaled down size for you to enjoy more variety. This includes their bingsu that is served in a kid size that keeps a solo diner happy. Currently, they are running a fire noodles challenge where you get a chance to win their limited edition volcano snow ice if you can slurp down their spicy fire noodles under three minutes.

Beans N Beans, 107, Jalan SS21/1A, Damansara Utama (Uptown), PJ. Open: 9am to 12am (Monday to Thursday, Sunday), 9am to 1am (Friday and Saturday)

This relatively new player to the booming Damansara Uptown dessert scene serves a total of six varieties of bingsu. Their most popular is the green tea version where milky snow ice is sprinkled lightly with a mild tasting green tea powder and topped with a scoop of green tea ice cream and green tea mochi. They also serve an unusual caramel bingsu topped with popcorn, melting caramel cubes and ice cream. The shaved ice is soft and melts in the mouth hence it can be rather rich tasting. If bingsu is not your thing, look for their sparkling grapefruit made with homemade grapefruit juice. It’s the perfect thirst quencher. The cafe is located on the same row as Kedai Telekom. Hang out here during the hot balmy nights and keep busy with their boardgames. They also serve a variety of toasts, sandwiches, snacks and soups.

OW:L Espresso, A-01, First Floor, Menara Rajawali, Jalan SS15/8 (Next to Inti College), Subang Jaya. Open daily: 10am to 12am.

Popular with the students from nearby colleges, this place serves a total of 11 types of bingsu. You get a choice between a regular or big size. There are some unusual variants here using cotton candy, like their mocha and the incredibly kawaii igloo that looks like a panda! Once you are done snapping a million shots of the adorable panda, dig deep within the white fluff to discover bingsu topped with aloe vera, kiwi fruit and Japanese melon to give you sweet dreams. Another unique bingsu pairs refreshing coconut flesh with honey dew ice cream while there is even one for coffee lovers that is served with an espresso shot. However, the shaved ice feels a little bland while the ice cream lacks a creamy taste. Thrill seekers can also order frozen desserts from Frostbite such as cookies or macarons dipped in liquid nitrogen, the first of its kind in Malaysia.

Villa Ju Bakery Cafe, 26, Jalan SS21/58, Damansara Utama (Uptown), PJ. Open daily: 9am to 11pm

This Korean bakery-cum-cafe serves two types of bingsu, the plain shaved ice and the milk version. Each type of bingsu has six varieties. Aside from the traditional toppings, you have a mixed fruits, blueberries, mangoes and crushed Oreo biscuits. The milk injeolmi gets top marks for its soft rice cakes, aromatic roasted grain powder and delicious red bean paste. The best part is you get to spoon the toppings yourself, allowing you to adjust how much you like. The shaved ice has a softer pillow-like texture and tends to melts faster than that at other cafes. It’s not too sweet though and goes well with the toppings. A few doors away the cafe is Restaurant Annie 1 that is popular for its Ipoh food offerings. Another branch can be found at Solaris Dutamas.