Gyeongju dessert café for peach yogurt mochi: Tareudang

Are you supposed to eat mochi while walking around?

There are lots of restaurants on Hwangridan-gil these days, but a huge number of dessert shops have popped up too. Especially fruit-based desserts, from cakes and tarts to mochi. I was not interested at first, but then I started seeing people lining up to buy them... So I thought, okay, I can't resist anymore—I have to try one. That is how I ended up at Tareudang (타르당), a Hwangridan-gil dessert shop. Its appeal is mochi packed with fresh fruit, apparently, so let's find out what it is like.

Tareudang hours and how to order

Hours: Daily 11:00–19:00 No parking; use a public parking lot.

Even on a scorching summer day, people were lining up to buy Tareudang's mochi. Just so you know, this is a takeout-only shop.

Still, because it is takeout-only and the mochi is prepared in advance, chilled, and sent out right away, the turnover is much quicker than at other dessert shops.

Giant mochi that fills up even an adult man after two

Tareudang's selling point is its giant mochi. It is far bigger than the mochi we normally imagine. For an adult man, even two can be enough to make you full.

The mochi contains fresh fruit, and the varieties change with the seasons. In summer, meanwhile, strawberry and cheonhyehyang (Korean citrus) mochi can be found in winter. So, what was available?

Tareudang's mochi menu in September

When I visited in September, there were mango, peach, kiwi, pineapple, and fresh chocolate varieties. The mango and peach in particular come with low-sugar yogurt, so you can really enjoy the mochi with the tangy yogurt.

I was curious about the fig one too, but it was not available that day. Also, if you buy four or more mochi, you get ₩500 off each one.

They also specialize in delicious egg tarts filled inside layers of pastry. But that day, the mochi was what mattered.

Once you order, the staff wrap the chilled mochi in a pretty bojagi (traditional Korean wrapping cloth).

The person with me and I ordered two mochi, then ate them at a highway rest stop because we had plans. Let's see just how good they were.

Thick yogurt and mango in the mango yogurt mochi

Mango yogurt mochi, ₩7,500. This mango yogurt mochi came wrapped in an orange bojagi.

Unfold the wrapping and out comes a huge mochi. Unfortunately, one spot had split a little, which made it slightly awkward to eat—that was a shame.

But take a bite and there is thick, rich yogurt and plenty of sweet mango. Add the chewiness of the mochi, and it is a flavor with no regrets.

Peach yogurt mochi packed with peach flesh

Peach yogurt mochi, ₩7,000. The peach yogurt mochi was wrapped in a pale green-ish? bojagi. It was enormous—large enough to sit generously in a man's palm.

Fortunately, the peach yogurt mochi was neatly shaped and wrapped. Wow, though, it really was huge.

With the first bite, the peach flesh is sweet and tangy, and truly delicious. I did not expect much from peaches at the tail end of summer, but they were really sweet. The yogurt was sweet too, so it was double the pure, natural sweetness rather than an artificial kind.

I thought, surely there cannot be that much peach in it? But the more I ate, the more visible the peach flesh became—more than the mochi itself.

At the end, the overwhelming size of the peach appears right before your eyes. It looks as if nearly a whole peach has been placed inside the mochi. This was a flavor I wanted to have again.

Final thoughts on the giant fresh-fruit mochi

Tareudang in Gyeongju is a Hwangridan-gil dessert shop where you can try huge fresh-fruit mochi. The visuals make it immediately clear why people line up, and I loved the sweetness that tasted just like fresh fruit. If you like rice cakes or fruit, it is a great flavor to take away and enjoy again and again.

Insulated packaging is also available for an additional charge, making it suitable to take away as a gift. I plan to visit again when the weather gets a little cooler, so I recommend Tareudang in Gyeongju.