This Saturday was suffocatingly hot, with record-breaking temperatures and humidity. The only thing worth stepping outside for was ice cream. We ended up satisfying our craving at the Magnum pop-up store in Gangnam. It looked like the right place to be on a hot day.

Located on one of the main streets in the Gangnam area, the Magnum store radiates elegance and sophistication. The window displays fit those of a fine jewelry store. In one display, a giant ice cream bar, dripping with milk chocolate, is framed with a gold shell. In the other, a set of bejeweled bars with art deco patterns hang together.

You are told to #takepleasureseriously and there’s no choice but to do so when you step inside. Small tables with velvet chairs take up the majority of the space, and it feels like you are entering a lush Parisian tea house. Dark chocolate oozes from the ceiling next to the counter, and a large golden chandelier looms over the store.

But, let me bring the focus back to the ice cream. There are four simple steps:

1. Choose three toppings for your ice cream bar. There are iPads available for you to browse the 30-some options before you make your way to the counter (there will probably be a line).
2. Choose your ice cream – vanilla or chocolate.
3. Choose the chocolate coating – white, milk, or dark.
4. Choose the drizzle – again, white, milk, or dark.

The signs are all in English and Korean, so you should have no issue if you don’t speak a lick of the language.

If you don’t want to build your own, they also have four seasonal ice cream bars to choose from that are gorgeous. You can even get a box set!

iPad displays

Tempting Box-Set

So, what did we get? For my toppings I chose cacao nibs, strawberry chocolate shavings, and freeze dried strawberry pieces. Cain chose Lotus cookie crumbles, maple sugar, and mango cookie crunch.

They then shook our toppings together in a golden cocktail mixer (I’m serious), and then dipped the bars. It was mouth-watering to watch. I went for milk chocolate, but Cain opted for white.

Finally, they added our toppings and drizzle. I had dark and Cain chose milk chocolate. This is an ice-cream bar made for Instagram, and there are even gilded and marbled photo booths with special lighting for that exact purpose. But snap your pictures before they start melting!

I’m used to buying Magnum bars from the grocery store, so eating them in such a decked-out place was a lot of fun. It’s only around for a couple more months, so if you’re interested you should find your way there soon!

No time for glamor shots

Directions:

The Magnum pop-up store is a short walk from Sinnonhyeon station, exit 6 – or a bit longer (but scenic) walk from Gangnam station, 10. Just go either exit and walk straight!

Address – 455 Gangnam-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul