Five rice cakes at Cheongju rice cake café in Gaesin-dong: Tteokmama

Tteokmama Gaesin Branch

I was in Cheongju and craving rice cakes, so I stopped by Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch! I'd heard it had everything from classic traditional rice cakes to fusion ones suited to modern tastes, so I went in with high expectations. Let me introduce you to Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch.

Where is Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch and what are its hours?

Open 9:00 - 21:00 (daily). It's located across from Cheongju Gaesin Prugio, and the building has basement parking. (Just a heads-up, the parking lot is on the small side.)

Walking inside, I was surprised at how café-like the interior was, and even more surprised at how many kinds of rice cakes there were!😳

The neatly arranged rice cakes catch your eye at a glance, and honestly they all looked so delicious 🥹

As I browsed piece by piece, my pile kept growing beyond what I originally planned to buy...haha

Rice cake varieties at Tteokmama and how to order return-gift rice cakes

From familiar rice cakes like baekseolgi (white steamed rice cake) and injeolmi to snack-friendly ones like fruit chapssal-tteok (glutinous rice cake), kkul seolgi (honey rice cake), and bbangul-tteok (small round rice cake), there's a wide variety that should suit anyone, of any age. (Being able to buy drinks alongside makes it even better.)

They also take orders for event rice cakes like return gifts, first birthday (doljanchi) rice cakes, and 100-day celebration rice cakes, so if you need any, be sure to inquire ahead of time 📝

The five rice cakes picked at Tteokmama today

After browsing at Tteokmama for a while, I ended up buying hanip bbangul-tteok, gureum ssuk injeolmi, soboro kkul seolgi, ssuk gaetteok, and angeum jeungpyeon.

Hanip bangul-tteok: bite-size ball rice cake

First up, hanip bbangul-tteok!🍡 True to its name, it was just the right bite-sized size for a snack.

With rice cakes, you eat one or two and just keep reaching for more, right? lol Since the size isn't overwhelming, it was also nice for a light snack alongside coffee or tea.

Gureum ssuk injeolmi: cloud-soft mugwort injeolmi

Next, gureum ssuk injeolmi (mugwort rice cake) 🌿 My mom really likes mugwort rice cakes, so I couldn't just walk past it haha

The faint mugwort aroma came through while keeping injeolmi's signature chewy texture — really tasty!! If you prefer rice cakes with a mugwort or nutty flavor over ones that are just plain sweet, I'd recommend this one.

Soboro kkul seolgi: crumble-topped honey steamed rice cake

And then the soboro kkul seolgi (crumble honey rice cake), which caught my eye by looks alone!🤎 Seolgi already has a fun, powdery-soft texture, but adding the soboro (crumble topping) gave it a whole different feel from regular seolgi.

If you like sweet rice cakes, this one's great to eat one at a time as a snack. Just one is pretty filling 🫰🏻

Ssuk gaetteok: chewy mugwort flat rice cake

If you like mugwort, you can't skip ssuk gaetteok (mugwort flat rice cake) 🌿 It's a chewy rice cake with mugwort flavor, and the texture was great too haha

This is what a traditional rice cake should be, honestly!

Angeum jeungpyeon: red bean fermented rice cake

Last but not least, angeum jeungpyeon (red bean fermented rice cake) 🤍 It had jeungpyeon's signature fluffy texture plus red bean filling inside, giving it a different taste from regular jeungpyeon.

Buying rice cakes with such varied textures meant every bite was fun in a different way 😆

Why Tteokmama works for rice cake gifts and return gifts

Every single rice cake was delicious, so Tteokmama is also a great place to look for rice cake gifts or return gifts. Being able to see and pick the rice cakes in person at the store makes it even better.

With a clean store and so many varieties, it was fun just wandering around thinking "which rice cake should I try today?" at Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch! Next time I'm in Cheongju, I'll have to try yet another kind 🤎