Slightly frozen mango and peach yogurt mochi in Gyeongju: Tareudang

Tareudang's fruit yogurt mochi on Hwangnidang-gil in Gyeongju — a dessert with whole fruit packed inside.

Turns out there's a yogurt fruit sando-style spot on Hwangnidang-gil too

Hwangnidang-gil is one of Gyeongju's signature hotspots, packed with people day and night. With that many people come plenty of food options, and every alley is lined with pretty hanok cafés and restaurants. Gyeongju really does have a lot of famous desserts.

These days, yogurt mochi stuffed with whole fruit is really trending. Hanjeongseon's yogurt chapssaltteok (sticky rice cake) is famous enough that a lot of people already know it, and it turns out Gyeongju has its own version of this style too. To me, Tareudang felt exactly like Gyeongju's answer to Hanjeongseon.

Tareudang / 49 Sajeong-ro, Gyeongju-si / Hours 11:00–19:00 (closes early when sold out)

I'd wanted to try Gyeongju's famous Ichini Sando, but the line was so long I couldn't bring myself to wait.

Then, while walking along Hwangnidang-gil, I came across Tareudang. I already knew the name — I'd seen it on social media a few times before, another spot doing yogurt mochi with whole fruit inside.

Mango, golden kiwi, peach — four pieces, ₩500 off each

Luckily the line wasn't too long, so I got in it and didn't have to wait long to buy. I chose mango, golden kiwi, and peach — mango yogurt ₩7,500, golden kiwi ₩5,500 × 2, peach yogurt ₩7,000. Four pieces total.

Buying four brought a ₩500 discount per piece. There was also raw chocolate and pineapple, plus egg tarts on sale. I'd wanted to try the fig yogurt mochi, but they didn't have it that day — a bit disappointing.

I ate the mango one right away

I ate the mango yogurt mochi the moment I bought it, and the mochi was really soft and chewy. But it was so soft that eating it standing on the street was a bit tricky, and it ended up looking like a messy chestnut bun. One bite and the mango and yogurt cream inside came squeezing out, so eating it neatly wasn't easy. I put the rest in a cooler bag to take home.

Whole fruit inside

Tareudang's mochi has whole fruit packed inside. Because the fruit pieces are large and whole, you taste the fruit right away with the first bite. The outside is soft, pillowy mochi, and inside is yogurt cream with fruit. I tried the mango right after buying it — sweet, with soft flesh, giving an overall feeling of eating a really soft mochi.

I put the peach yogurt and golden kiwi ones in the freezer and ate them slightly frozen. The peach flesh was crisp, and freezing it lightly made the mochi and yogurt on the outside firmer, giving a chewy yet crisp bite. The golden kiwi had a bit of red bean in it, making it sweeter than the mango or peach. Still, the kiwi's tartness kept it from tasting overly sweet.

Low-sugar yogurt, so it wasn't too sweet

When you say fruit mochi, red bean-filled chapssaltteok usually comes to mind first. Tareudang's mango and peach ones had yogurt cream instead, so the sweetness wasn't overpowering.

The fruit's natural sweetness combined with the yogurt's tang, and I preferred that balance. The golden kiwi, with its bit of red bean, was sweeter than the other two, but the tartness of the kiwi kept it from being a bad pairing. If you like Hanjeongseon's yogurt chapssaltteok, Tareudang is worth trying at least once.

I'd recommend eating it slightly frozen

I ate the mango right away, but the mochi was so soft it was hard to eat on the street. So I brought the rest home and tried them slightly frozen.

It tasted better than eating it fresh, for me. The yogurt cream and mochi firmed up, and the fruit got colder too, giving a better texture overall. The peach especially, with its crisp flesh combined with chewy mochi, was the tastiest of the three. Slightly frozen is better than completely rock-solid frozen. I'd recommend eating Tareudang's fruit yogurt mochi slightly frozen.

Write a photo review, get a cooler bag

At Tareudang, writing a Naver photo review gets you a cooler bag service.

Since fresh fruit and yogurt cream are inside, if you're not eating it right away, it's best to keep it cold.

We only ate the mango one right away and brought the rest home in the cooler bag. I tried the mango yogurt mochi, golden kiwi, and peach, and I enjoyed all three. Next time I go back, I think I'll look for the fig yogurt mochi I missed this time.