Delicious Bingsu at Café LongBeach

by Iyath Adam

Are you a fan of icy sweet treats? Then, you should definitely check out the recently opened Café LongBeach, which serves some mean ‘bingsu’! 

For those who are unfamiliar with it, bingsu – which directly translates to ‘frozen water’ – is a popular Korean dessert, kind of like sorbet or sherbet. It consists of a mound of milky ice shavings, which is then topped with different sweet confections like cream, condensed milk, flavoured syrups, fruit cubes (like mango, pineapple, strawberry), etc. 

Located on Lonuziyaaraiy Magu in Male’, Café LongBeach is one of the first cafés to offer this delicious dessert in the Maldives. Their line of bingsu has many innovative flavours like Thai tea, matcha, and even mango sticky rice! 

Other than bingsu, they also have a variety of interesting drinks – made with the famous LongBeach syrups – including bubble tea, mocktails and coffees as well as gelato and sweet snacks. 

The café itself is light and spacious with a calm, welcoming feel to it. Orders are taken at the front counter – where you can also see your drinks and desserts being made! 

We went with two flavours of bingsu – Thai tea pang-boba and strawberry cheese cream – and for our drink, we decided to go with a delicious-sounding concoction called ‘Mocha Bomb.’  

Let’s start with the drink review. 

Like its name, the Mocha Bomb is an explosion of ice cream, chocolate, and coffee. Served in a cup coated with chocolate syrup, the milky coffee is topped with a scoop of creamy chocolate gelato – the bomb in this drink. The result is a sweet, slightly bitter drink which is delicious – especially as the gelato melts in with the coffee to give it a thick, frappe-like texture.  

Now, onto the bingsu.

The Thai tea pang-boba bingsu consists of flavoured Thai tea milk shavings, with a dollop of thick cream and a long slice of what seemed like syrupy French toast on top. It also came with a side of boba in gooey brown sugar syrup and thick Thai tea syrup.

The different textures of the chewy boba, soft bread and the melt-in-your-mouth ice shavings was absolutely delightful. On its own, the ice shavings had a bit of that bitter, astringent taste of tea, but coupled with the boba and the sweet syrup, it tasted exactly like a cup of Thai tea – just in bingsu form! 

The strawberry cheese cream bingsu was normal frozen milk shavings, topped with cut strawberries and heavy cream, and served with a shot of jammy, strawberry syrup. The creamy, cheesy flavour went perfectly with the tart taste of the strawberries – icy, sweet, and wonderfully refreshing. 

Overall, Café LongBeach delivered some delicious sweet treats and drinks. Whether you're already a fan of bingsu or looking to try something new and tasty, it’s certainly worth trying out here!