Cheongju rice cake café with heart baekseolgi and yakgwa: Tteokmama

Has everyone been on the rice cake pilgrimage that's hotter than dessert cafés these days? Today's post is about Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch, which is great for custom event rice cakes in Cheongju and which I've recently become completely obsessed with! I usually love rice cakes and go around hunting for good spots, but after this visit I was totally won over haha. I picked up a nice haul — the fruit chapssaltteok (fruit-filled glutinous rice cake) that's super hot on SNS these days, heart-shaped baekseolgi (white steamed rice cake), and sweet hand-made yakgwa!

Where is Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch, and is there parking?

Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch sits right on the main road at Gaesinseonghwa intersection, so it's really easy to find. There's a spacious, clean parking lot in the building's basement, so even I, a beginner driver, could park comfortably.

Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch, which is great for custom event rice cakes in Cheongju, feels more like a stylish café than a traditional rice cake shop from the outside! When I mentioned it at checkout, the owner registered my parking for a generous 3 hours, so I could browse around without any worries.

Walking inside, warm bulb lighting and wood-tone interiors greet you — it's so clean and pleasant that I kept wondering if this was really a rice cake shop, and browsing around was genuinely fun.

There's also a drink menu on one side of the store with coffee, sikhye (sweet rice punch), and sujeonggwa (cinnamon-persimmon punch) to enjoy alongside the rice cakes, so it's perfect for a light snack right there in the store.

How was the fruit chapssaltteok at Tteokmama?

The biggest reason I went to Tteokmama was this fruit chapssaltteok! They're lined up in the refrigerated showcase in bright, colorful rows, and the visual alone really steals the show. Fresh whole fruit — strawberries, shine muscat grapes, tangerines — is packed inside, and just looking at them made my mouth water.

You can pick as many as you want and have them packed into a pretty box, which would be perfect for a gift or a thank-you present. I grabbed one back at my accommodation and tried it right away — the outer layer was so chewy, I couldn't believe it!

Inside is a soft, not-too-sweet red bean filling, and with every bite the fresh fruit juice bursts out — a truly fantastic combination. Maybe because the fruit was so fresh, it didn't leave the heavy, dry aftertaste regular chapssaltteok can have; it stayed clean all the way through.

Is the heart-shaped baekseolgi a good snack for kids?

Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch also has a wide variety of seolgi (steamed rice cake) that seem great for kids' snacks or gifts. Among them, the cute-shaped seolgi really caught my eye!

It's not dry or crumbly at all — chewy yet soft, with an addictive charm that keeps you reaching for more. It's not too sweet, so it would be great to pack for elderly relatives' snacks or for kids to take to daycare.

How sweet is Tteokmama's hand-made yakgwa?

I couldn't just walk past the traditional snack corner at Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch either. There were various kinds, like salt yakgwa and mini hand-made yakgwa, and I picked up the hand-made yakgwa. I'm known among friends as a yakgwa fanatic, so my eyes lit right up haha.

The outside is moist with sweet honey and syrup soaked in, but it wasn't as overly sweet as I expected — there's a gentle cinnamon aroma that made it pair perfectly with an Americano.

It's not hard at all — moist with a nice layered texture, which made it perfect for pulling out one at a time as a light dessert.

These rice cakes are steamed fresh each morning with good domestic rice, and you can really tell — the chewiness stands out and the flavor is clean.

Ordering thank-you and event rice cakes in Cheongju

If you're looking for thank-you rice cakes, 100-day or first-birthday (dol) rice cake sets, or a special dessert gift to show someone you care, I highly recommend visiting Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch, which is great for custom event rice cakes in Cheongju!