Gyeongju fruit mochi that stiffened after a fridge stop: Tareudang

A Hwangnidang-gil favorite Tareudang

Address: 49 Sajeong-ro, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea Hours: 11:00 AM–7:00 PM

From Busan to Hwangnidang-gil: our first trip out in 3 months

Hi, this is Hansikeu :) I honestly can't remember the last time I went to Gyeongju. I feel like I've barely left Busan for three months, but the weather turned cool and pleasant, so my husband and I decided — let's finally go on a date! And, being the easiest option, we ended up in Gyeongju again.

It's close to Busan but still feels like a proper getaway — nowhere does that better than Gyeongju haha. We waited in line for a delicious bowl of kongguksu (chilled soybean noodle soup), slurped it down, then headed to the hottest street in Gyeongju right now, Hwangnidang-gil. It felt like everyone in the country had gathered there — so many people! I got kind of excited haha. But walking through Hwangnidang-gil in the daytime, the sun was surprisingly strong. Even with cool weather, a parasol is a must.

What is Tareudang, the Hwangnam mochi shop on Sajeong-ro?

While wandering Hwangnidang-gil, I spotted a promising dessert shop — a Hwangnidang-gil favorite café called Tareudang (타르당). Lately one of my coworkers has been obsessed with mochi. She keeps saying things like "the mango mochi was so good I bought it again" or "I've spent hundreds of thousands of won on mochi" — so of course it started looking delicious to me too.

Well, guess I had to try it myself haha. This place looked like a shop famous for Hwangnam mochi in Hwangnidang-gil, so let's give it a go. I stopped right there and started looking around. Seeing the standing sign for Hwangnam Mochi Tareudang made it look even more tempting.

Cooler bag for a photo review, 500 won off at 4 mochi or more

There was a sign saying: write a Naver photo review and get a free box + cooler bag, available if you buy 3 or more. Lots of people were picking up the cooler bag — if you're buying 3 or more, definitely take part. It'd also make a nice gift packed in the cooler bag.

They also said buying 4 or more mochi gets you ₩500 off per piece. Feels like some kind of magic pulling you to buy 4 haha. Since we, the picky couple, were going to eat ours right away, we just bought one each — 2 total, right?

Tareudang mochi flavors and prices, and the 3 we chose

Tareudang's mochi flavors and prices: persimmon yogurt ₩6,500, plain chocolate ₩6,000, fig yogurt ₩5,500, peach yogurt ₩7,000, pineapple ₩5,500, mango yogurt ₩7,500, gold kiwi ₩5,500. More variety than I expected.

I really wanted the mango yogurt mochi, and worried my husband might steal bites, so I was going to buy 2 mango yogurt mochi just for myself... but that felt like something was missing, so I added 1 pineapple mochi. They wrapped them neatly in hanji (traditional Korean paper) — pretty simple packaging haha. They put it in a clear plastic bag, and I carried it home swinging it happily.

What happens when you refrigerate Tareudang mochi?

It was hot out, so worried they might spoil, I put them in the fridge and then took them out — and the mochi skin had stiffened slightly. This was the ₩7,500 mango mochi too, ugh. It wasn't the soft texture I'd imagined, which was really disappointing.

I asked my mochi-loving coworker friend, and she said you're supposed to eat it right away or put it in the freezer... Guess Hansikeu messed up haha. Still, I think it would be nice if the shop gave some tips on the best way to eat it or how to store it.

Opening the hanji wrapping: how the mango and pineapple mochi looked

Unwrapping the hanji, there was plastic wrapped inside. Probably to keep the mochi from leaking out? The mochi had plastic-wrap imprints all over it haha. I cut in with a fork and dug in.

It didn't have the neat, pretty shape I saw on the standing sign, but I think it would've been delicious if eaten right away. If you're getting mochi here, remember: eat it right after you buy it, haha.