Just over a week ago, a new pizza shop, Ban Olim, opened up in my neighborhood. As I was driving by their location, I noticed that they were having a special opening sale, giving 5,000 won off a pizza, and so I figured it was the perfect time to give it a try, as I could save a bit of money and enjoy some (hopefully) great pizza.
Ban Olim, which is expanding across South Korea, is represented by their spokesperson, IU, one of South Korea’s more famous singers.
Walking into the shop, her picture was all over the place, and so she must really enjoy the pizza.
I took a look at the menu and decided to get what we call a Ban-Ban order, which in the case of pizza is one pan divided into two different types.
The two types that I decided to try were the Ghost Pepperoni Pizza and the Super Hawaiian Pizza. I also decided to get a special crust, one that was stuffed with cream cheese!
After placing my order, I was told that it would take about 45 minutes, as I guess they were quite busy. I spent the time going for a walk to build up my appetite, and after returning the to the shop, my order was ready just after I arrived.
I quickly walked home and arrived hungry and ready to devour this new pizza.
The box was adorned with another picture of IU.
The rest of the order included some garlic dipping sauce, some hot sauce, the ubiquitous pickles, and a bottle of cola.
Opening the box, the pizza looked really good!
The pizza was clearly divided between the two types that I had ordered, and had a few extra toppings on each side, with jalapenos on the Ghost Pepperoni Pizza to add to the spice level, and with corn on both sides of the pie.
I quickly picked up a slice of each type and prepared to enjoy my dinner.
The first half I tried was the Ghost Pepperoni Pizza. Made with a ghost pepper sauce, and loaded with pepperoni, this made for a spicy treat. The pepperoni was crisp, and the jalapenos added a different level of heat to go with the spicy ghost pepper sauce.
I tried it with both of the sauces.
When dipped in the creamy garlic sauce, it took a bit of the heat off, and added a nice strong garlic flavor to the pizza.
With the hot sauce, it added a third layer of heat to the pizza, hopefully enough to burn almost anyone’s tastebuds!
Next I tried the Super Hawaiian Pizza. This was pretty tasty, with some nice juicy pineapple, and thin sliced bacon on the top. This also went well with both of the sauces and was pretty well cooked also.
Finally, there was the cream cheese crust ring. This was actual real cream cheese, which is pretty impressive as it is a very expensive item here in South Korea. It made the outside ring a real treat to eat, as opposed to just normal boring crust it made almost like eating a bagel after finishing all the delicious toppings.
The cream cheese crust also went really well with both the garlic dipping sauce and the hot sauce.
I really enjoyed my pizza from Ban Olim Pizza Shop. It was a good-sized pizza, the toppings tasted fresh, and it had a decent amount of each topping so that you knew you were getting what you paid for. In addition, the cream cheese crust ring was outstanding.
I am definitely looking forward to trying more pizzas from Ban Olim.
