Hongdae evening bakery run: corn mayo & cappuccino bread, Mandong

Yeonnam-dong bakery Mandong Jegwa: what to get instead of the garlic baguette

Where is Mandong Jegwa Yeonnam Branch and when is it open?

Mandong Jegwa Yeonnam Branch (만동제과 연남점) is at 32 Yeonhui-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 466 m from Hongik Univ. Station Exit 3. It is open daily 11:00–21:00, and there is no parking.

I'm a proper bread lover, so I enjoy going around to good bakeries (a bakery pilgrimage, as we call it). Today I'm sharing my trip to Mandong Jegwa Yeonnam Branch, a must-stop on the Yeonnam-dong and Hongdae bakery route~

From Hongik Univ. Station Exit 3, head toward Yeonnam-dong, then from Donggyo-dong intersection keep going toward the gas station and you'll spot it. It's not right in front of the crowded station, so it's actually quiet, which made it a nice place to visit.

Is Mandong Jegwa's garlic baguette sold out in the evening?

Mandong's signature items are the garlic baguette, cappuccino bread, basil tomato, onion bagel and more! I went in the evening, and sadly the one I was most curious about, the garlic baguette, was sold out 🥲 Luckily there are lots of other tasty breads, so I tried those instead~

Yakbap bread (a bread inspired by yakbap, sweet rice with nuts) for ₩3,800, which feels like a healthy one

Shrimp baguette and corn mayo

There were pretzels, salt soboro (streusel bread) and many other breads you don't see at other bakeries, so choosing wasn't hard. 😊

Mandong Jegwa menu and prices

• Cappuccino bread ₩5,600
• Basil tomato ₩6,200
• Onion bagel ₩5,500
• Garlic baguette ₩7,000
• Salt soboro ₩3,600
• Chili sausage bread ₩4,300
• Cucumber baguette ₩6,900
• Sweet potato bread, kaya coconut and more

How do you order at Mandong Jegwa?

You pick some breads yourself and tell the counter staff about others, so check which is which~

It was my first visit and an evening one, so many breads were sold out, but the sample bread on display helped me decide. The staff also handed me extra samples on top of those 😋

The cream-filled breads that need refrigeration, like in the photo below, are the ones where you just tell the counter how many you want.

What to buy at Mandong Jegwa instead of the garlic baguette

Mandong Jegwa bread from Hongdae and Yeonnam-dong, packed up 🥐🥖 What did I bring home instead of the garlic baguette?!

Instead of the garlic baguette, I got other signature items: cappuccino bread and basil tomato, plus yakbap bread and corn mayo.

Four breads came to just over ₩20,000, which felt fair. Let me go through them one by one.

How do the corn mayo and cappuccino breads taste?

Corn mayo: mayonnaise and corn are piled on top and there's cream cheese inside, so it was filling and delicious.

Cappuccino bread: a soft coffee bread with cream between the layers, gentle enough that even older folks would like it, so the whole family would enjoy it.

How do the basil tomato and yakbap breads taste?

Basil tomato: a crunchy bagel filled with basil cream and sun-dried tomato. Recommended if you like basil cream!

Yakbap bread: a moist pound cake loaded with nut toppings. It was better than I expected, so it's on my rebuy list.

Is Mandong Jegwa Yeonnam Branch worth an evening visit?

Mandong Jegwa Yeonnam Branch has a wide range of breads at reasonable prices, mostly ₩3,000–5,000, so it's easy to enjoy. I didn't get the garlic baguette I was curious about, but there were so many good substitutes that I still brought home tasty bread even in the evening.

I couldn't go to the Gangneung branch because of the long line, but the Hongdae Yeonnam branch didn't have a long wait, so it was easy.

With reasonable prices, lots of variety and mostly tasty bread, it's a good stop for bread lovers and bakery-pilgrimage fans. If you're looking for a bakery in Hongdae or Yeonnam-dong, give Mandong Jegwa a try✨️