A Little Taste of Winter: Nunsaram Korean Dessert Café
Looking for a little escape from finals prep and the never-ending deluge of projects? Get a little respite from the heat and the crazy mugging with a big bowl of bingsu at Nunsaram Korean Dessert Cafe!
The Menu
Nunsaram serves up bingsu at relatively affordable prices – while certainly not the cheapest, its snowy creations, which start from $12.90 for the Injeolmi Bingsu (rice cakes, nuts, and soybean flour), are fairly priced, especially for a dessert café nestled in the middle of town.
Aside from bingsu, Nunsaram also serves coffee and hot chocolate, along with side dishes such as toast and grilled rice cakes (tteogkkochi).
The Food
You’re definitely going to have to drag your study buddy down with you to enjoy a bingsu at Nunsaram – the bowls are humongous, heaped with ice and covered in toppings.
We tried the Injeolmi Bingsu ($12.90), one of their signature flavours, and we were not disappointed. The ice is light and milky, and the shavings are smooth – a far cry from the usual ice kachang experience. The bingsu comes liberally covered in soybean flour (the taste of which might take some getting used to), crispily-toasted nuts, and a seemingly never-ending stash of rice cakes.
Additionally, Nunsaram does something that not every bingsu store has – it has a self-service condensed milk station at the collection counter, so you effectively get a free flow of the lovely condensed milk to accompany your bingsu.
Other flavours Nunsaram is known for include the Sweet Potato Bingsu ($14.90), which comes with a generous heap of mashed purple sweet potato on top!
The Experience
We got to Nunsaram at about 3pm on a Friday, and it was fairly empty save for a couple of school students. Given the number of tables, it’s quite conceivable that you’ll be able to get a seat even at more popular timings, such as 12pm-2pm.
The bingsu came fast, and you’re required to fetch it from the collection counter – there’s no table service in this café.
Final Thoughts
3.5/5. The pros of Nunsaram include the delicious ice, generous toppings, and free-flow condensed milk. The cons include the (slight) distance from school, and the fact that you’ll probably need more than one person to finish a serving (unless you’re planning on having nothing but bingsu for lunch). However, if you’re looking to try something new rather than the same old dessert places around SMU, Nunsaram is definitely worth a visit.
How To Get There
Nunsaram Korean Dessert Café is located on the 5th floor of Orchard Central.
From SMU, take the MRT from Bras Basah to Dhoby Ghaut, then change to the North-South Line to go down one more stop to Somerset. Alternatively, most buses from the bus stop outside SOA/SOL will also go down to Somerset. Go up the escalators (or take the lift) in Orchard Central – it’ll be just past the spectacles shop on your right when you get off the escalator.
Nunsaram Korean Dessert Café
#05-51/52 Orchard Central, 181 Orchard Road, Singapore 238896
https://www.facebook.com/NUNSARAMSG/