Yeonnam-dong bakery for exam-week breakfast: cheese malang, Mandong

Mandong Jegwa in Yeonnam-dong: why I went back after three months

I came to buy bread at Mandong Jegwa (만동제과), a bakery in Yeonnam-dong, about three months ago. This time I was having coffee at the café across the street, remembered Mandong Jegwa, and went back to pick up some bread.

Weekdays vs. weekends at Mandong Jegwa: how crowded is it?

Mandong Jegwa is relatively quiet on weekdays, but if you pass by on a weekend, people are already lining up outside. It seems to have become the Yeonnam-dong bakery people always stop at when they come to the Hongdae area.

It was a weekday, so it was on the quieter side, but there were still a lot of people inside. There are so many foreign visitors in Seoul these days, and I'd say the crowd at this Yeonnam-dong bakery was half Korean, half foreign.

What's in the Mandong Jegwa bread lineup?

The lineup was similar to my visit a few months ago. They must keep selling well! There were eongdeongi (rump bun), ang cream bread, injeolmi (roasted soybean rice cake) bread and kaya coconut bread. I tried the kaya coconut last time: it was packed with kaya jam, with crunchy coconut on the outside, so it was soft but crispy.

It was too crowded for me to get close and take detailed photos. It's amazing that it's like this even on a weekday. On weekends you wait outside in line before going in.

They had ciabatta too, which I love. I was torn between the jalapeño ciabatta and the bacon ciabatta, and my husband, who really loves bacon, said let's get the bacon one. I'm only used to olive cheese ciabatta, so bacon ciabatta was a first for me.

Why did I buy 4 cheese malang?

Please get the cheese malang (치즈말랑이, chewy cheese bun) at Mandong Jegwa!! Last time I bought just one and was really disappointed. So this time I bought 4? Hahaha. It's far from home, so I have to fill the bag with no regrets.

Try the shrimp baguette and chestnut loaf as samples first

They also had a shrimp baguette and a chestnut loaf. This Yeonnam-dong bakery keeps cutting bread up for samples, and last time I tried both the shrimp baguette and the chestnut loaf. They tasted good.

I wanted to buy the fig campagne (country bread) too, but I'd already picked out all my bread in a flash,, Next time.

It feels like Mandong Jegwa has become a must-visit stop on our Hongdae dates. And why is it right in view of the café where we were having coffee, of all places? I just can't walk past a bakery or a dessert spot.

How does Mandong Jegwa's cheese malang (₩1,200) taste?

The cheese malang is ₩1,200. The outside is chewy, and inside there's something like cream cheese, so it stretches in a chewy, gooey way. The filling tastes of cheese, though a little like powdered milk too. My husband and I really like that kind of flavor. Eating it gives me a rush of endorphins,,

Exam-week weekend breakfast, sorted with Mandong Jegwa bread

With exam season here, my husband and I have to work even on weekends, so we decided to keep breakfast simple with the bread I brought home from this Yeonnam-dong bakery.

Cappuccino bread (₩5,500): not sweet, with a subtle coffee aroma

The cappuccino bread is ₩5,500 and has to be kept refrigerated, but we just carried it around for a while. Luckily it wasn't very hot out, so it was perfectly fine. Surprisingly it isn't very sweet, and the coffee aroma is subtle. The cream isn't heavy or too sweet either, so the bread was soft and mild. The cappuccino bread is delicious. I'd buy it again next time!!

Bacon ciabatta (₩4,900): a little sweet for the morning

The bacon ciabatta is ₩4,900. The texture was ciabatta-ish, but not quite. It has cream and bacon inside. It was a bit sweet for breakfast, but it was still a tasty combination of ciabatta and bacon.

Emmental (₩5,200): a sweet-and-salty balance of several cheeses

The Emmental is ₩5,200. Cheese is always right! And it seems to have more than one kind of cheese: some yellow, some white. If you like cheese, you'll like this bread. Pure cheese flavor alone might be overwhelming, but it also has a moderately sweet taste, so the sweet-and-salty balance was good.

Mandong Jegwa: a Yeonnam-dong bakery where you can sample before you choose

This always-busy Hongdae bakery offers samples while you pick your bread, so it's a good Yeonnam-dong bakery for tasting before choosing. Try the samples and pick the bread that suits you!