Do you like ice cream in yummy flavors like brownie or chocolate mint? What about Powdered Soybean, Beer, Makkoli, Wasabi, or Cheese??? If this sounds like a fun food adventure for you, let me introduce you to a Korean blogger favorite~ Molly’s Pops in Hongdae!
Molly’s Pops has been serving homemade treats since around February 2012!
While the other flavors are yummy, this little shop became very popular after it opened due to the unique flavors they created! Soon they had a steady flow of bloggers and curious readers traveling to taste chilly treats like Wasabi and Squid ink, or opt for friendly flavors like Strawberry Wine and Blueberry Yoghurt!
We went during Dec when it was freezing… of course lol. Wearing my Bloodycat jacket!
So, I don’t know if it is a California thing~ but I love trying stuff with weird flavors! I came across some images online and when I read the flavor listing offered at Molly’s I was instantly intrigued because it reminded me of the foodie things from back home! How cool! I have had bacon maple, ricotta cheese lemon, beer, etc ice cream in the past on food adventures with my girlfriends back in CA~ so I was totally ready for this Korea food adventure!!
Several crazy flavor ice cream shops in CA are actually Korean owned, but here it is not a common thing to see at all! Only a very small handful are around, but this is the first one I have visited personally so far!
Usually Molly’s has 12 flavors to pick from in bar or ice cream form, choices do shift depending on popularity, seasonal, or if they want to try something new! If something sells well she will try to keep it in stock~ but some wacky flavors come and go each month or get slowly phased out so you never know what you may see.
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She loves trying new things and is not afraid to tackle something new and crazy along with the classics!!
For a simple shop they actually have some nice things on the menu! As you can see by the photos in this post, the menu and all flavors do have English names provided for those of you that can not read Korean! All ice pops cost 2800 won a piece as of this posting!
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Molly’s Pops has a deal currently that if you buy 10 ice pops you get 1 free!
If you want scooped ice cream vs the pops they offer a few cup sizes!
Update!! As of Spring 2013 Molly’s Pops has stopped serving flavors in ice cream form, they now only sell ice pops!
Pretty handmade ice pops! Every time I visit the selection changes a bit!
Some of the flavors sold at Molly’s Pops in Hongdae
Cheddar Cheese | Yuja Citron | Brownie | Blueberry Yougurt | Squid Ink | Chocolate | Mint Choco Chip | Erdinger Beer | Adlay | Green Tea | Wine & Strawberry | Powdered Soybean | Classic Vanilla | Wasabi | Pomigranite | Pistacio | Kaluha &Makkoli | Cherry | Pineapple | Milk Tea | Black Sesame | Sea Salt Caramel | Apple Pie | Mango | Lemon | Dark Chocolate | Strawberry
* Some rotate, some stay in stock regularly, others have been discontinued! She likes to keep what sells mainly*
For our first Molly’s Pops experience I decided to try the Brownie and Nara opted for the 18+ Beer pop! I wanted to be a bit more daring and try the cheese, but after a sample of it I was worried I could not commit to eating a whole bar of it and wanted to try one of the common flavors haha!
Molly’s Pops are refreshing, that is the main word that comes to mind when I eat her ice cream and ice cream pops! They are overall bit more icy/milky and light vs dense and creamy, so the taste is really nice and not what I expected! Not quite an ice pop for most of the flavors, but not quite an ice cream bar. As if it was not obvious, these are all homemade so the flavors are light and often taste a bit more natural vs sugar-sweet~ I love that!
The brownie flavor was large chunks of chewy soft brownie mixed in with a light milky ice cream. YUM!
Nara sampled the popular beer flavor and he enjoyed it so much that he dove right in to a full bar of the treat! It really did taste like the beer, all flavor and again~ not overly creamy, more icey and milky. Oh you party animal.
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Apparently these are marked 18+ but you can not get drunk off of these… it would take way more pops than they even have in stock lol. The owner said she just labels it mainly so little kids do not come in and try to buy one.
They also had a few extra goodies for sale like stick brownies and tiramisu ! The brownie bars all sold by the time we left
They even had some fancy Jean Paul Gaultier artist Coca-Cola for sale~ I love when coke does these *_* I should buy one and have it on my vanity next to my bottle of his perfume since the bodice matches lol
Inside they have some adorable shelves with imported tea bags for sale and cute wooden knick knacks~ The owner shared with us that her husband’s hobby is woodcraft & carpentry so he made the shelves and cute things as gifts for her. How sweet!!
The owner and her family members are always so kind and cheerful!
Molly’s Pops is a family-run business that came to life because the founder would always make ice pop treats for her daughter and family~ eventually she started coming up with interesting flavors and everyone adored them so she decided to open up a shop and share them with the rest of Korea. She is always developing flavors and listening to responses to come up with the best result for customers now~ for example, the Makgeolli rice wine flavor used to be just 막걸리, but recently she has combined it with Kahlúa to improve the flavor and make it more interesting!
The name “Molly” is from her Daughter’s English name!
Since the pops are really huge it took us quite a while to finish! Had to stop and appreciate the custom Popsicle sticks they had made for the shop stamped into the wood.
While we discussed the business with the owner she allowed us to sample some more of the flavors so that we could share the taste with you guys!!
This was SO kind of Molly’s Pops because some flavors I was a bit scared to try that I ended up LOVING!!
I have put ★’s next to the unique Korea-geared flavors for newcomers and tourists to try!
Chocolate– tasted a bit like icy rich ground chocolates, like a choco powder taste if you get what I mean? Apparently she uses french veronia chocolate and melts it down with whipped cream. I wish this was a little more creamy, but it is a lot like eating chocolate milk which is nice! Could be the batch I got though, will try again ^^
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Wasabi- the most popular flavor to try from new visitors due to the unique-ness! People either love it or hate it the owner told us, but it is the main flavor that most travel to the shop to taste for themselves. It was a bit like eating wasabi sherbet, icy with a light kick~ slightly sweet and did not overpower!
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Powdered soybean | 인절미★- wow this one was a surprise, I loved it. If you want a unique “Korean” flavor to try give this a go! It is meant to taste like the sweet traditional duk cakes and has an earthy creamy sweetness to it with pieces of actual chewy duk rice cake mixed in! This is a flavor I prefer scooped vs bar because it is softer and you can enjoy the duk easier.
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Wine + Strawberry - More berry vs wine flavor~ tasted a lot like a sangria! It was subtle and very interesting, wine lovers should really enjoy this one
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Makgeolli +Kahlúa ★- Nice taste of the Makgolli rice wine with a slightly stronger flavor of Kahlúa in a creamy bar. It made for a really great and sweet balance, Nara loved this one! If you enjoy Korean makgeolli you will most likely love this unique Korea combination in ice pop form!
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Edinger Beer– Very much like the beer, with a refreshing creamy sweetness. Another flavor that made Nara dig right in after the first bite! All the alcohol flavors have distinguishably accurate flavor, yet they managed to keep the ice cream sweetness balance just right that you want to have more
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Citron | 유자★- Loved this one, another very korean flavor that people visiting should try! Yuja 유자 (Aka Yuzu) is a popular fruit for flavoring in asia, kind of an ancient crossbreed citrus. It is tart, but a little sweet and oh SO yummy! The bar tasted like a lemon & orange sherbet! Quickly another favorite~ I made a note to buy a full bar of this next time
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Cheddar Cheese- this one was interesting… it was like eating cold milky cheddar cheese! Seriously, it really did taste like cheese!! The taste was good, but sucking on a big bar of cheese was bizarre for me haha I personally would only eat this scooped so I could eat it in smaller bits.
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Choco mint- more icy like a sherbet~ very minty and refreshing, not super sweet! Had tiny chocolate bits mixed in
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Brownie– as I said above this was a really refreshing and more icy milk flavor with bits of real soft brownie mixed in!
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Strawberry- Delicious, sweet, and smooth!! Tasted like yummy strawberry sherbet and very natural with just enough sweetness!
I will add more to this list as I try other flavors!
Yummy chewy bits of rice cake in the Powdered soybean 인절미 flavor, an exciting and unique Korean taste for sure!
From the drink menu, I have had a chance to try Molly’s “Mojito Float” and it is very yummy~ just a bit sweet so it is best to sip on it slowly or share since the price is a little higher. It tastes best with the scoop of Citron mixed in completely since it adds to the flavor since the base is just mojito syrup! I wish Mollys would make more drinks like this, maybe “aide style” (if you live in Korea you know what I am talking about) because it would work so well.
Inside the shop has a few small mini areas for sitting~
plus some window seats and a few tables outside, perfect for when the weather gets a bit warmer!
If you want to take some Molly’s Pops home for your friends, or just to stash away in your freezer they do have a “take away” option! The minimum order is 4 pops (but if you buy 10 you get one free so its tempting to stock up!) and they carefully wrap each one in wax paper + plastic baggy + insulated bag with some dry ice!! Now THAT’S service!
Nara ordered a few “to go” to bring home to his Mom. Yes, a total sweetheart
We made it home about 20 minutes without any issues one night~ apparently a customer made it all the way to Busan with some pops still in tact. Obviously traveling by night vs the heat of the day is a bit safer though ^^
Directions to Molly’s Pops 몰리스팝스 in Hongdae
Location : 서울시 마포구 서교동 332-20 | 332-20, Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Hours: 12pm-10pm | Closed on Tuesdays
Wifi Available~ login and PW is on a card in the potted plants at the tables.
Molly’s Pops is in a small little back area of Hongdae that may be easy to miss, but is great to remember~ lots of little goodies that have been popping up over the last year or so back this way!! If you are coming by the metro, as always Green Line #2Hongdae Station (aka Hongik University) is the ideal choice!
You are going to want to use Exit #8 (you can also use #9 and just walk down the road) and walk straight out till you see the grass islands/round-abouts/ whatever you wanna call them~ the circle patch of grass in the middle of the road.
When you see that first island you can go into the back small roads for the alternate direction that was shown on the map above in aqua, or you can stay on the main road a bit longer following the pink arrow. I will be walking you through the pink one since its a bit more open.
Heading down the street you will eventually hit the second grass circle and that is your landmark to turn down the street to your right. Walk down that road a very short ways and take your next right~ you are almost there!
Keep walking and eventually you will see “Molly’s Pops” on your left with chairs outside and a clear shop name in English!
Have you visited Molly’s Pops in Hongdae? What flavors did you try??? Do you like trying fun unique flavors like the ones they create or making your own homemade ice cream? If you could go to Molly’s what flavor would you love to try? Comment below and share!!
