O'sulloc Tea House 오설록, Okrumong 옥루몽 (South Korea, Seoul)

Green Tea Ice Flakes 녹차빙수 14,000 KRW (S$17.50)

If you have been to Jeju Island, you have probably heard of O’sulloc 오설록 which specialises in green tea. O’sulloc 오설록 with its cafe, museum and tea plantation is a popular tourist attraction. It is so popular that it has several tea houses / cafes in Seoul at Myeongdong, Insadong, Apgujeong and Daehangno.
We visited the O´sulloc Tea House 오설록 티하우스 at Myeongdong. It is located next to McDonald's! The place was huge, occupying two floors.

Menu

Menu

The menu..
Besides selling beverages (tea) and desserts such as ice cream, tiramisu and ice flakes (aka bingsu), they also sold tea bags which tourist can buy back home as gifts for their love ones.

ps: You can find some of these tea bags at a cheaper price in the supermarkets in Seoul such as E-mart 이마트. In fact we bought S$400 worth of things in E-mart including Happy Call Pan and Neoflam Pot. =)
Although there were several empty table and chairs at level one, we decided to explore level two. Level two was quieter and had even more seating capacity. There were magazines at the side for browsing and comfortable sofas. The downside of sitting at level two was that we still had to go level one to collect our orders when the drink and desserts were ready.

Green Tea Ice Cream 녹차아이스크림, Jeju Orchid Green Tea (Hot) 제주난꽃그린티, Green Tea Cheese Tiramisu 그린티치즈티라미수

During the first visit, we ordered the Green Tea Ice Cream녹차아이스크림, Jeju Orchid Green Tea (Hot) 제주난꽃그린티 and Green Tea Cheese Tiramisu 그린티치즈티라미수. Needless to say, everything we ordered consisted of green tea flavour.

Green Tea Ice Cream 녹차아이스크림 6,00 KRW (S$7.5)

The Green Tea Ice Cream녹차아이스크림 6,00 KRW (S$7.5) was served with green tea (matcha) powder sprinkled on top. The ice cream was not overly sweet and the green tea flavour was distinct, but not overwhelming. Quite pricey considering that it consisted of just one scoop of ice cream.

Green Tea Cheese Tiramisu 그린티치즈티라미수 5,000 KRW (S$6.25)

We also ordered a Green Tea Cheese Tiramisu 그린티치즈티라미수 5,000 KRW (S$6.25) for sharing. The Green Tea Cheese Tiramisu consisted of mostly sweet mascarpone cheese while the top layer was generously filled with bitter green tea powder.

Jeju Orchid Green Tea (Hot) 제주난꽃그린티 5,800 KRW (S$7.25)

Jeju Orchid Green Tea (Hot) 제주난꽃그린티 5,800 KRW (S$7.25)

The Jeju Orchid Green Tea (Hot) 제주난꽃그린티 5,800 KRW (S$7.25) comes with a cover and the tea bag is attached underneath the cover. Its a good idea as it keeps the drink warm and when you feel that the flavour has been extracted, you can take the tea bag out and leave it on the cover prevent it from being dirty. You are then able to "reuse" and "refill" as many times as you wish with the self-serviced hot water provided.

Green Tea Ice Flakes 녹차빙수 14,000 KRW (S$17.50)

We made a second trip to this shop for their Bingsu aka shaved ice.

Green Tea Ice Flakes 녹차빙수 14,000 KRW (S$17.50)

The Green Tea Ice Flakes 녹차빙수 14,000 KRW (S$17.50) was huge! Green tea ice flakes, green tea ice cream with red bean puree. This is best shared between a group of people. In terms of bingsu standard, I find this average. The shaved ice was a little too hard. The best bingsu is the one from Okrumong 옥루몽 (I shall talk about this towards the end of the post).

Do note that the drinks and desserts at O'sulloc Tea House 오설록 티하우스 are pretty pricey. But I guess its okay to indulge and pamper ourselves once in a while =D.

Now back to Okrumong 옥루몽. My Korean friends bought us to this dessert place called Okrumong 옥루몽 which is located in Dongdaemun Design Plaza 동대문디자인플라자 at Basement level 2, Store 11.

Red Bean Bingsu 가마솥 전통팥빙수 and Black Sesame Bingsu

They ordered Red Bean Bingsu 가마솥 전통팥빙수 and Black Sesame Bingsu for sharing. The shaved ice were just so incredibly soft and snowy! In addition, in terms of taste it was not overly sweet! This is a must try! The address of this at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (Basement level 2, Store 11), Eujiro 7-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul. I understand that they have several branches in Seoul.