Niuke’s Lobster Has No Lobster, but Does Have Korean Bingsu (Ice Flakes) and Chinese-Style Bibimbap

Can you feel, comin' in the air tonight? So can we. The faintest hint of autumn chill has arrived  today, far from being cold, but it's there, reminding us of the encroaching sweater weather. Before you take your winter coats to the cleaners and bust out your thickest socks, lap up the last rays of summer with a stroll to Sanlitun and a chilly dessert.

Niuke’s Lobster (설빙, 雪冰), located in B1 at Sanlitun Soho, has the least hint of providing cold sweets. They serve no lobster, leaving us to speculate on their choice of English name. The Chinese name means snow ice. So maybe ... because lobsters are cold-blooded?

Bingsu –  shaved ice with sweetened condensed milk, fruit syrups, red beans, and various fruit, such as banana, strawberries, kiwi, mango, as well as tteok (rice cake) – is a popular Korean dessert. The menu includes 20 varieties of bingsu, and nine variations of toast (RMB 26-35), smoothies (RMB 18-22), hot teas, coffee (RMB 22-26), and rice cake (RMB 38-46).

We’ve been to a 설빙 (Sulbing)’s chain outlet in Korea, where they only provide toast and bingsu. Here, however, we were a bit surprised to see seven kinds of bibimbap (RMB 28-38) on the menu.

Following the crowd of hungry customers dashing in the shop and ordering bibimbap, we ordered a chicken with shiitake mushroom bibimbap (RMB 28). This rendition might be the least Korean we’ve ever tried – the dish featured only lettuce, slices of carrot, and pickled daikon, without the usual bibimbap vegetables, such as bean sprouts, spinach, and cucumber. The egg was fried in a heart shape, the chicken had bones in and was flavored with soy bean sauce, the spicy paste was put aside in a tea cup, and even the rice at the bottom of the hot pot was not crunchy. But don’t get us wrong – it was not authentic, but not unsavory.

Now it’s time to check the signature summer dessert. We got a bowl of the mango and cheese bingsu (RMB 46) with chopped mango piled up on top of the snow-white crystal ice flakes sweetened with condensed milk. With the powdery and milky snow melting in your mouth, the mango was ripe and sweet, but we didn’t see any sign of cheese in this bowl. If it’s not sweet enough, you can add extra red beans, rice cakes, ice cream or cheese (RMB 8-10) to your bowl.

During our visit, we found three types customers at this Korean dessert café, 1) the nearby workers stopping in for a quick and hearty lunch, 2) the rich kids stopping for a relaxing afternoon snack, and 3) the gamers coming in for video game tournament in the back. Find yourself in one of those categories, or be as nonconformist as a bingsu café. 

Niuke’s Lobster
Daily 10.30am-10.30pm. B1218, Sanlitun Soho, Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang District (5935 9756)
설빙雪冰: 朝阳区工体北路三里屯SOHO地下一层B1218

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Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
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Photos: Tracy Wang