( CNN ) -- The recipe for bingsu , Korea 's beloved shaved ice dessert , used to be simple . A little bowl of shaved ice , red beans boiled in sugar water , a little bit of condensed milk and maybe some fruit or ice cream heaped on top . That was before the Park Hyatt Seoul debuted the first so-called luxury bingsu three years ago , to spectacular sales and a frenzied following . Competing Seoul hotels promptly entered the fray with spoons blazing . With bingsu now at the top of every hotel restaurant 's summer agenda , the battle to come up with the most luxurious , inventive , delicious variation of the dessert has gotten more intense this year . Here are the hotels that are currently winning the war . Park Hyatt Seoul . This Gangnam luxury hotel started it all . In 2010 , the hotel dreamed up a sweet pumpkin bingsu , made with a base of dunggulle tea made from the dried root of Solomon 's seal , and an omija bingsu using shaved frozen berries . While most bingsu in Korea is made with frozen ice , the hotel debuted bingsu with a frozen milk base , and found that customers loved the change . They bought an expensive shaving machine in 2011 and also ordered traditional Korean pottery known to keep cold food insulated longer . Seoul 's bingsu fanatics promptly fell in love with the new menu . The hotel 's berry bingsu in particular came as a shock . Korea 's best bars for summer . The combination of blueberries , blackberries , raspberries , black currant compote with handmade dark chocolate , whipped cream , pistachios and mint created a completely new taste . The hotel became mobbed at meal times and on the weekends , and raked in several hundred thousand dollars of profit in a season , to the amazement -- and likely some envy -- of its competitors . Since that memorable debut , the Park Hyatt has had to top its own bingsu menu each year . In 2012 , it introduced a peach bingsu and a chocolate bingsu . And this summer ? The Bingsu Colada , made with pineapple , coconut chips , caramel sauce and macademia nuts , is new to the menu . Another new addition is the Tirami Bingsu . It 's made with mascarpone cream , espresso sauce , Kahlua , Amaretti cookies and almonds . Despite the new dishes , the Berry Bingsu remains the hotel 's most popular . Park Hyatt Seoul , 606 Teheran-ro , Gangnam-gu , Seoul ; +82 2 2016 1205 ; bingsu prices start at ₩33,000 ( $ 29 ) a bowl . Intercontinental Seoul Coex . The effort that the Intercontinental Seoul Coex has put into its bingsu menu has been extreme . Since the beginning of the year , the hotel 's top chefs have created approximately 30 variations of the dessert , presenting a different version each week for tastings and deliberation . From this process , a final three bingsu have ended up on the menu . The Kurumba bingsu is made with shaved frozen pure coconut water from the Philippines , mixed with coconut biscuits and coconut jelly , all made at the hotel . The Mango Rosa Sparkling bingsu is dubbed the `` 19-plus '' bingsu , for its alcoholic content ( 19 is the legal drinking age in Korea ) . The sweet Rosso Degli Anjelli Rose Sparkling Wine is frozen , shaved , then blended with frozen mango shavings and fresh mangoes . 10 best Korean restaurants in Seoul . When creating the latter bingsu , hotel chefs went through dozens of trials to capture the `` sparkling '' aspect of the wine in the actual bingsu . In order to make the perfect red bean paste , which can be ordered separately with each bingsu , a designated red bean chef has the arduous job of boiling the red bean until wrinkles form , then pouring cold water until the wrinkles are stretched out again , and repeating the process over and over until the perfect moist texture is reached . Some of the hotel 's bingsu are sweetened with natural xylitol from Finland . Intercontinental Seoul Coex , 521 Teheran-ro , Gangnam-gu , Seoul ; +82 2 3430 8603 ; bingsu prices start at ₩29,000 ( $ 25 ) The Westin Chosun Seoul . The green tea bingsu at the Westin Chosun 's The Circle uses the top-shelf ingredients : matcha ( fine green tea powder ) from Shizuoka , Japan , and red beans from Ganghwado , South Korea . The lounge takes its bingsu ice seriously -- in order to recreate ice most similar to natural ice , a `` maturing process '' is used to make the ice `` smoother . '' Chef Jun Sung-kyu did the research for his recipe by visiting restaurants in Japan famous for their ice desserts . World 's 50 best foods . Upon returning to South Korea , he created green tea syrup using a maturing method at low temperatures , and also came up with the perfect red bean recipe by soaking the beans in water for a day , then boiling them for eight hours and adding three kinds of sugar at varying intervals . The result is the chewiest and shiniest red bean paste imaginable . Westin Chosun Seoul , Sogong-dong , Jung-gu , Seoul ; +82 2 317 0365 ; bingsu price is ₩28,000 ( $ 24 ) Sheraton Grande Walkerhill . The variety of bingsu at Sheraton Grande Walkerhill is impressive . The basic menu lists apple mango , persimmon , triple berry , affogato and milk bingsu that are all served with organic red bean sauce , ddeok ( sticky rice cakes ) and ice cream . The hotel uses shaved frozen milk as its bingsu base , somehow managing to make the shaved ice is as soft as cotton candy . Each of the five bingsu has several layers of ingredients . It 's fun to eat layer by layer , but mixing it all vigorously is the Korean style and recommended . On Saturdays and Sunday from 2-5 p.m. , diners can create their bingsu with the option of 10 different types of fruit , various nuts and cookies . A variety of sauces , including melted chocolate , are available . Bingsu is served with complimentary tea and coffee . Sheraton Grande Walkerhill , Walkerhill-ro 177 , Gwangjin-gu , Seoul ; +82 2 450 4467 ; bingsu prices range from ₩15,000-42,000 ( $ 13-36 ) The Shilla Seoul . While The Shilla Seoul has been under renovation since the beginning of the year , it still receives calls asking when its apple mango bingsu will be available again . One commenter on the hotel 's website even left a note saying he could n't forget the taste of the dessert and was planning to visit Seoul again for that specific reason . Explosively popular since its 2011 debut , the apple mango bingsu has had customers literally lining up for bowls -- an unusual sight in the austere luxury hotel . `` We use the highest quality apple mangoes from Jeju Island and have opted to use a minimum amount of ingredients to keep the taste very clean and healthy , '' says hotel a representative . The sought after bingsu will return with The Shilla 's reopening on August 1 . The Shilla Seoul , 202 Jangchung-dong 2-ga , Jung-gu , Seoul ; +82 2 2230 3389 . CNN Travel 's series often carries sponsorship originating from the countries and regions we profile . However CNN retains full editorial control over all of its reports . Read the policy .
Hotels in Seoul introduced the first luxury ` ` bingsu '' shaved - ice dessert three years ago . Since then , Seoul area hotels have been battling to roll out the best bingsu . It 's not just a car ##rot -- dessert sales are big business . Hotels are debuting fancy new bingsu this summer .