15 Best Korean Desserts in Singapore

O'ma Spoon is a Korean dessert café with outlets at both Marina Square and 313@somerset. This café offers a variety of pure milk-based bingsus in both single (Petit Bingsu) and two-person portions, as well as a few other items such as their Injeolmi Toast, with prices ranging from $4.80 to $22.80. Go for their Chocolate Brownie and Banana Bingsu ($18.80), a mammoth mountain of pure indulgence featuring their milky snow with fudgy brownies, chocolate cookie crumbles, banana slices, chopped nuts drizzled with chocolate sauce and finally topped with chocolate ice cream!

Anyone who has been to South Korea would have seen this bakery café EVERYWHERE! In fact, they have about 3,500 stores in Korea as well as Vietnam, USA, France and of course, Singapore! The ridiculously smooth Royal Pudding (from $4) needs no introduction and is available in four flavours: original, strawberry, mango and chocolate. It is neither too sweet nor too rich, just like the melt-in-the-mouth Camembert Cheese Cake ($7), which is beguilingly frosted and served to look like a wheel of the soft cheese! Other must-tries include the foolproof Strawberry Short Cake ($7.50) and the ethereal Oh~My Baby Crepe~ ($8) with fresh strawberry slices in between layers.

Nunsongyee ('snowflake' in Korean) is a hip Korean café nestled deep in the Serangoon Garden estate, a few minutes' drive from Chomp Chomp Food Centre. Some say the shaved milk here is one of the best around due to its magically soft and snowy nature — any Korean dessert fan must give this place a try. Their signature Black Sesame Bingsu ($18.90) is served with red bean (azuki) paste, soybean powder, Korean rice cakes, ground black sesame seends and almond flakes. Do keep a look out for their seasonal bingsus (the Red Velvet Bingsu for Valentine's Day was to die for) as well as special occasions whereby the staff dress up in traditional Korean garb!

Known for their milky and smooth Korean soft serve ice cream, a snaking queue outside Honey Creme was the norm for weeks after its opening. The photogenic caramel popcorn and honeycomb soft serve ice cream variations are top-notch, but if that sounds too sweet for you, the organic cotton candy affogato might float your boat. The Taiwanese brand constantly introduces new flavours; coming up in June is the SG50-inspired Pandan Gula Melaka comprising a pandan-tinged soft serve layered with crunchy puffed rice, attap chee and coconut chips with a pipette of gula Melaka syrup on the side!

Bing Go Jung was one of the first bingsu concepts to launch in Singapore, and they just recently opened their second outlet at Bukit Timah Plaza. Known for their generous portions and relatively affordable prices, gather four to five buddies and order the Injeolmi Bingsu ($11) with lots of chewy rice cakes and toasted almond flakes buried beneath the layer of soybean powder, as well as the Green Tea Bingsu ($11) with a dollop of red bean (azuki) paste, matcha ice cream and a sprinkling of cornflakes. If you love azuki, you can double the amount for an additional $1. They also serve a mochi-like Hotteok Waffle ($5) with chopped walnuts and almonds.

A visit here would usually equate to a lip-smacking fried chicken feast (with the Kimchi or Bulgogi Fries on the side, of course), up until the outlet at Tampines rolled out an assortment of desserts to be had! So when the craving hits and your kakis are nowhere to be found, a single-serve mini bingsu is heaven-sent! Choose from a selection of Mango, Matcha, Oreo, Strawberry or Pat Cup Bingsu ($6); alternatively, the macaron ice cream sandwich ($6) makes for a satisfying treat to tame a sweet tooth’s peckish pangs. There are bingsus available for sharing too, including the Melon ($20) and Watermelon Bingsu ($18) served in fruit bowls.

Hot on the heels of Honey Creme came Milkcow, one of the leading Korean soft serve ice cream brands fast-expanding across the region. Milkcow distinguishes itself from the competition by providing not just the typical combinations, but also intriguing flavours such as Green Light (cool mint syrup with almond flakes), Milky Peace (pistachio syrup, sunflower seeds and cashew clusters) and Samsam (red ginseng syrup with almond flakes). Milkcow has just opened its third outlet at Star Vista and we hear they have plans to open some moo-re!

A boutique dessert café concept from Korea, Banana Tree offers a variety of pretty desserts in a minimalist setting. Its glass ceiling allows streams of natural sunlight to create a warm, al fresco-like experience. Dessert items include their Flower Paap (pudding in a flower pot) and Pot Bingsu (shaved ice). Go for their luscious signature Banana Flower Pot Pudding ($6.50) and their Oreo Bomb ($12). If you're in the mood for just coffee, opt for their iced Banana Som Som Latte ($7), which comes topped with a massive cotton candy afro!

Snowy Village is the latest addition to the bingsu family in our sunny little island. Housed within DECK, a trendy independent art space made out of refurbished containers, Snowy Village’s menu sees a well-curated selection of toasts, waffles and bingsus, as well as savoury items like Drug Corn (Korean buttered corn sprinkled with chilli and cheese!). Chocoholics will love the Chocoreo Snowy Bingsu ($13.90) made up of shaved chocolate milk topped with chocolate ice cream, Oreo crumbs, Pepero White Cookie sticks and chocolate sprinkles.

You know this café is legit because you see Koreans here all the time. Most would come here for a dose of caffeine or an ice-blended Cinnamon Mocha TomNccino and a thick toast to go with it — the Honey Butter Bread ($5.40) comes highly recommended or go for the Garlic Butter Toast ($5.40) if you prefer something cheesy and savoury. They have also added a couple of bingsus to their menu late last year. What they lack in the fineness of the shaved ice they make up for in their generosity of toppings. The Green Tea Bingsu ($11.90) comes with colourful rice cake balls, red beans, almond slivers and a scoop of milky green tea ice cream.

Sharing a space with Ssiksin Chicken at nex, Snowman Desserts is a Korean café whipping up bingsus along with a variety of Korean desserts such as Hotteok (Korean stuffed pancake) and J-Cone ($3). The pièce de résistance, however, is definitely the show-stopping Mango Bingsu ($12.90) studded with massive mango chunks and finished with a swirl of creamy soft serve! The Melon Bingsu ($12.50) is equally stunning garnished with juicy balls of carved melon and served in half a fruit. Other variations include strawberry, chocolate and red bean.

A plain cup of Original Soft Serve here will only set you back $2.90 — a pretty good deal considering the creamy delight here is made from organic milk. If you can’t live without toppings, a range of the usual suspects ($3.90 to $5.90) like caramel popcorn, chocolate, strawberry and honeycomb are also available. Ask for the optional dash of Himalayan pink salt for a savoury contrast that will bring out the delicate sweetness of the ice cream!