Heybings Desserts & Coffee

Korean-style shaved ice, known as bingsoo or bingsu, is neither particularly rare nor super common across Orange County: It can mostly be found at Buena Park- and Irvine-based cafes including the Sul & Beans chain or single-location restaurants such as Monday to Sunday and Okbingsul. Currently open in Costa Mesa and Irvine, Heybings Desserts & Coffee offers another option: a one-stop shop for frozen bingsoo, hot mochi waffles, cream-topped coffees, and milky teas. Located near a Stater Bros. supermarket in Costa Mesa and nestled within Irvine’s heavily Chinese, lightly Korean Jamboree Promenade plaza, Heybings has plenty of choices to help guests cool down after spicy meals or hot days in the sun.

Ten total classic (milk base) and signature (flavor infused) bingsoo options are at the heart of Heybings’ menu, most offered in “single” ($8 to $9, shown) or “large” ($12.50 to $15) sizes. Classics include injeolmi, mango, and strawberry milk ice bowls, with signatures ranging from matcha to jasmine green grape, black sesame, and chocolate Oreo. Only one bingsoo – a specially shaped matcha ice mountain topped with sweet cream and a scoop of ice cream – is sold solely as a $15.50 large portion for dine-in consumption only; others can be packed with an insulated bag and ice pack for an additional $1. Six waffles – one Liege with mixed berries, five mochi waffles with Nutella, ube, red bean, sesame peanut, or cheddar cheese fillings – go for $8.50 to $8.75, and arrive as two almost hot waffles on a ceramic plate. You can add vanilla, matcha, or black sesame ice cream for $1.50 more, and we’d generally advise doing so.

Across several visits to Heybings, we’ve tried and enjoyed three bingsoos with infused flavors, sold for $8.75 each. Our favorite – and one of the best bingsoos we’ve had in the county – was the Matcha Romance, a substantial mound of frozen, shaved matcha latte ice topped with red beans, mochi balls, sliced almonds, matcha ice cream, and condensed milk. Because the shaved ice was infused with matcha, every individual bite had enough green tea flavor to taste satisfying regardless of which other ingredients we tasted. Second place was the Choco Oreo Crunch, deliciously mixing shaved chocolate ice with crumbled cookies and full marshmallows, while a Black Sesame version came in third solely because its sesame ice was milkier than nutty; like the matcha version, it was bolstered by almonds, chewy mochi, and ample red beans on top and mixed in. Each version included a matching scoop of ice cream, which struck us as unnecessary but nice.

On our first visit, we found ourselves shifting the ice cream over to the lightly crispy, gently warm, and powdered sugar-dusted Nutella mochi waffle ($8.75), which had a hazelnut spread core but wasn’t gushing with paste. Even a half-scoop of the bingsoo’s ice cream added more texture, temperature contrast, and sweetness to the chewy waffle, improving the experience; you can add a scoop for a small upcharge.