Gangneung bakery café: engraved sand cookies and breakwater bread

There was one snack I absolutely had to try in Gangneung. Like Maeum Sand in Jeju..!! In Gangneung, it's Gangneung Sand!! !!

I finally got to try it on this trip to Gangneung! Big thumbs up from my taste buds!

Gangneung has plenty of famous foods and all sorts of travel souvenirs, but this sand cookie is exactly my type~ Gangneung Sand has three branches including the main one, so I visited the main branch~~~

Gangneung Sand Main Branch: parking and what's on each floor

Gangneung Sand Main Branch sits on Seonggokgoyang-gil in Gangneung, and there's even parking behind the building. Here it is!

Gangneung Sand Main Branch isn't just a place to buy the cookies!! There's a café space where you can have coffee, and even an experience space to make things with kids!!

<Gangneung Sand Main Branch>

• 1F experience/learning room (men's/women's restrooms)
• 2F café and Gangneung Sand & breakwater bread purchases
• 3F sandbox play zone and café (women's restroom)
• 4F office
• 5F observation deck

With this kind of layout, if you're traveling with kids in Gangneung, it seems worth doing the experience activities too~

My whole goal was the sand cookies..! Went straight up to the second floor to check them out first~

The moment you walk in, all sorts of Gangneung Sand greet you~ Apparently Gangneung Sand keeps developing new desserts using Gangneung's local ingredients, and several products have won awards at the Gangneung tourism souvenir competition! ★Various bronze, silver, and gold prizes in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2025~

How to spot the original Gangneung Sand by the engraving on the cookie

One thing worth checking before buying Gangneung Sand! It's the engraving on the cookie surface! As it got popular, similar copycat products showed up apparently, but the original Gangneung Sand has '강릉샌드' clearly engraved on the cookie surface!

Six Gangneung Sand flavors, box price and shelf life

Gangneung Sand comes in 6 flavors~

• ✔Coffee flavor, the classic Gangneung taste
• ✔Chodang corn flavor, loved by everyone
• ✔Strawberry flavor, kids' favorite
• ✔Dried persimmon flavor, for when your sugar drops
• ✔Black sesame flavor, for when you think of your parents
• ✔And the new flavor: purple sweet potato!

Made using flavors that represent Gangneung, Gangneung Sand ★doesn't sell single pieces and ★doesn't do mixed-flavor packing~ Each box holds 10 pieces and costs ₩16,000 to ₩17,000! ~~

Gangneung Sand can be kept 14 days at room temperature and up to 30 days refrigerated, which makes it perfect for gifting! A great sand cookie to buy while traveling and bring home!

Buying Gangneung Sand plus breakwater bread as gifts

I bought both Gangneung Sand and breakwater bread!

For Gangneung Sand, I went with the two most basic flavors: coffee and Chodang corn!

With Gangneung Sand, checking the engraving is a must!! That big, bold '강릉샌드' stamp gives off a real 'I'm the original' vibe~

Opening each box one by one, they were packed in so nicely. Since the store doesn't do half-and-half packing, I split one box into two flavors myself for gifting.

I also ordered breakwater bread as a gift! It really does look like a breakwater, so cool~.~ Apparently it's nutty and savory!

What is Gangneung breakwater bread?

Gangneung's breakwater bread, just as famous as Gangneung Sand, is also for sale here!!

The shape looks exactly like an actual breakwater transported straight into bread form

The unusual shape made me think it's just as good a gift as the sand cookies haha

Second-floor café at Gangneung Sand Main Branch: drinks and the review event

Gangneung Sand Main Branch also has a café space serving drinks, so after browsing the sand cookies and breakwater bread, it was nice to sit down with a coffee and rest.

With a full drinks menu too, Gangneung Sand Main Branch serves dried persimmon latte, strawberry latte, ginseng chicken latte, Americano, and more — and a canned Americano is given out for joining the review event!

Inside the café, the interior has resort-like touches everywhere you look~ personally I found it cool and refreshing~

With play and event zones for kids plus in-store courier shipping, Gangneung Sand Main Branch really has it all~

Tasting the coffee and Chodang corn Gangneung Sand

One box was set aside as my own snack~

I split open the coffee-flavor and Chodang corn-flavor Gangneung Sand! Packed full of filling inside!~~ The coffee one had a subtle coffee aroma, the corn one had a gentle corn smell, and the Chodang corn Gangneung Sand even had actual corn kernels inside, giving it a varied texture that made it even tastier!

Gangneung Sand was great for nibbling one at a time while driving. Tasting it, the flavor was good too, so it seemed perfect for gifting!

If you're coming back from a Gangneung trip looking for a travel souvenir to share with family or friends, this seems like a really solid choice! Most of all, it tastes even better frozen..!!!! When you buy or gift it, recommend eating it frozen~★

Still deciding which flavor of Gangneung Sand to buy?! Here's a reference! (Chodang corn recommended)