Express Bus Terminal cake shop, Real Mango No. 1 for Dad: Chef Cho

Mango season is back. So of course I have to eat another stunning mango whipped cream cake. This is the story of the Chef Cho cake I had at Shinsegae Department Store, a great spot for a bakery tour at the start of summer.

Chef Cho Shinsegae Gangnam: hours and info

Chef Cho Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam (쉐프조 신세계백화점 강남점) has no closing days and is open Mon–Thu 10:30–20:00 and Fri–Sun 10:30–20:30. Parking is available. They use fresh fruit and dairy (animal-based) whipped cream, and it's a takeout-only shop where you can reserve by phone.

Where is Chef Cho in Shinsegae Gangnam?

Chef Cho is a cake shop inside Sweet Park at Shinsegae Department Store, right at Express Bus Terminal Station in Gangnam.

Head to the B1 floor of the department store where Sweet Park is, and keep walking straight in toward Megabox,

and you'll find the corner where Shinsegae's hand-picked dessert shops are gathered.

Heading to Chef Cho for dairy whipped cream cake

Lately I've only been eating cakes made with dairy whipped cream, so my taste has gotten fancy, and my family barely touches a cake unless the cream is good. So I made the effort to come to this well-known Seoul whipped cream cake place.

One of the "Four Kings of Cake" on Master of Living

Chef Cho is a famous bakery that was even featured among the "Four Kings of Cake" on the TV show Master of Living (생활의달인). The owner chef also studied in Japan, so I was even more excited for this cake.

Chef Cho cake types and prices

At Chef Cho Shinsegae Gangnam, whole cakes come in mini sizes, with the cheaper ones starting in the ₩30,000s, and slices are about ₩10,000s each. There were especially many cakes using seasonal mango.

True to a department store fruit cake, the looks were seriously gorgeous. The cakes were packed with fresh fruit, and just looking at them makes you hungry.

Sungsimdang's fresh fruit cake is famous for loads of fruit, but Chef Cho holds its own on fruit quantity. There were lots of cakes using mango, which was in season, and the whole cakes come in mini sizes too, with cheaper ones in the ₩30,000s.

Uncommon, elegant designs

Besides fruit cakes, there were chocolate and nut cakes too, even the pistachio cake that was such a huge trend for a while. The shapes are unusual yet elegant, so it's a good place to buy a birthday cake for your parents, like I did.

They sell slices as well as whole cakes, at about ₩10,000s each, which is a fairly easy price. There was also a pretty, perennially popular crepe cake, which would make a nice housewarming gift or a present for a friend you haven't seen in a while.

Real Mango No. 1 for ₩56,000, and how it's packed

What I picked was the Real Mango No. 1, ₩56,000.

When I told them how long the trip home would take, they added an ice pack and wrapped it up nicely.

With 100% dairy whipped cream and fresh fruit sourced the same day, this cake can't possibly be bad. The stylish design deserves a mention too: Chef Cho even has a cake whose design is patented.

Real Mango No. 1 for my mango-loving dad's birthday

Birthdays in my family are pretty spread out through the year, so each birthday person gets a cake with the fruit of the season. Dad especially loves mango, so I think we have mango cake at least once every year.

But this Chef Cho mango cake honestly hit an all-time high. Thinly sliced mango is arranged like a flower on top. See how glossy it is, without a single mushy spot?

A majestic cake shot for the elder of the house, haha. The cake is so showy that even with lots of candles stuck in, it doesn't get buried.

Chef Cho mango cake keeps its shape even when cut

It's quite heavy, and you can tell right away when you lift it that they didn't skimp on the mango. With fruit cakes like this, they often look pretty but fall apart when you cut them, which is a shame.

But the Chef Cho cake keeps its pretty shape even after you take off the band and cut it, and that's the point. The sponge is super moist and there's lots of fruit, yet it holds together, which is almost amazing.

How does Real Mango No. 1 taste?

The taste is, well, just as delicious as it looks. It's not too sweet, and the whipped cream is light and not greasy, so it goes down smoothly. Above all, the sweetness of the mango packed inside is crazy.

You can scoop up a big mouthful of mango and cream. Even a huge spoonful melts away the moment it hits your mouth, so you could keep eating forever. My parents also loved that it isn't too sweet and the fruit and cream are so good.

Mango cake the next day after refrigeration

I kept it in the fridge and ate the rest the next day, and the sponge was even moister than on day one, melting so much you barely had to chew. Even so, it kept its shape, so I could enjoy looking at the pretty cake right to the end. Department store bingsu (shaved ice) goes for ₩100,000 these days, so for ₩50,000-range quality like this, I think it's a good birthday cake for parents.

Overall verdict

This is a high-quality Chef Cho cake that fresh fruit cake lovers won't be disappointed by. Since fresh fruit is the main attraction, if you pick one with seasonal fruit, the sponge and cream are already so good that you can't go wrong.