Fresh pizza seolgi in Cheongju: Tteokmama rice cake café

These days, instead of going on a bread pilgrimage, people are going on a tteok pilgrimage, right?? haha Sticky rice cakes, fruit mochi, pizza seolgi (steamed rice cake)—K-tteok just keeps evolving. Eolsu! My algorithm had been completely covered in pizza seolgi for days, so I searched like crazy for a place selling it in Cheongju and headed out the moment I woke up that weekend!

Tteokmama looks like a café in Gaesin-dong

The place I visited was Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch (떡마마 청주개신점) in Gaesin-dong, Cheongju. Its exterior has such a modern feel that it looked more like a regular café than a rice cake shop. It is on the main road by the Gaesin–Seonghwa intersection, so it is quite accessible from Gaesin-dong, Gagyeong-dong, or Seonghwa-dong.

The reason I came here today 🍕❤️

With Chuseok and the college entrance exam season coming up, they were taking songpyeon (half-moon rice cake) reservations and selling fruit sticky-rice-cake gift sets too. A Cheongju limited edition? Cough cough. Songpyeon is 10% off with a Naver Band reservation, so keep that in mind!

Hours are 9:00–21:00 every day. The building’s underground parking is supported for 3 hours, and street parking is allowed on weekdays from 11:30–14:00 and on weekends and public holidays.

Can you eat in the shop?

The interior is spacious and pleasant too. I assumed it was takeaway only, but there is an area where you can eat in. It feels like a café that just happens to be really good at tteok??

What if the pizza seolgi is sold out?

The display was kept in such neat condition. But wait, what is this—sold out? It was still morning! What is this! I soon found out why: delivery drivers were constantly coming and going. When I asked the owner, they said pizza seolgi had exploded in popularity… It had only launched the day before, so how did everyone know?

A lot of items sell out, so I think it is best to check the menu and live inventory before you go! From all sorts of seolgi to songpyeon, injeolmi, garaetteok (long cylindrical rice cakes), and duteoptteok, there seems to be no tteok they do not have.

I am also a yakgwa fanatic. My braces came off twice because of yakgwa. They had salted yakgwa, so it went straight into my basket. Sweet-and-salty cannot possibly taste bad. Yakgwa and twisted doughnuts can also be packed in boxes.

There were walnut gangjeong, oranda, and jocheong yakgwa too. Perfect little things to pick at when your mouth is bored, haha.

Chuseok rice cake gift sets

There were Chuseok gift-set samples, and their colorful, holiday-ready look made them seem perfect for gifting. The honey-filled tteok and baramtteok (rice cakes with sweet bean filling) also came in different colors, so they looked very appetizing. The tiny fish-shaped sliced rice cakes were just too cute~~

I also photographed the jocheong syrup and assorted tteok gift sets. The packaging was clean and luxurious, so I think receiving one would genuinely make you happy.

Here is Cheongju’s limited edition.

Fresh pizza seolgi and the frozen tteok section

And the pizza seolgi…❤️❤️ At first, the display was empty, so I made a long face (haha), and the owner said another batch would be out soon. It was not completely sold out—they were continuously steaming tteok in the kitchen in real time. After a short wait, I got freshly made pizza seolgi! Phone reservations are available too, so if you are curious, reserve ahead before visiting.

There is also a separate frozen tteok section, great for keeping at home and eating over time. You can buy popular SNS products from Cookat and Seoulmaeum Tteok too!

The rice cake cakes looked lovingly decorated and generously sized as well.

From traditional sikhye (sweet rice punch) and pumpkin sikhye to cup sikhye and sujeonggwa (cinnamon punch), there were tons of drinks that would hit the spot for anyone with a grandma palate, haha.

They had pretty much every standard coffee drink, plus a huge range of lattes, so I felt it was a place anyone of any age would enjoy. There were almost as many juice options as a juice chain. The shop was busy on a weekend morning, but they worked so quickly that my takeaway order was ready in no time!

How the tteok and yakgwa I bought tasted

Today I bought salted yakgwa, strawberry mochi, black sesame injeolmi, mini pumpkin injeolmi, and pizza seolgi.

I do not usually like mochi with a thick outer layer, but the rice cake skin here was so chewy that it tasted good even though it was thick. And why were the strawberries so sweet and tasty even though they were not in season?

I bought the black sesame injeolmi for my mom, who loves black sesame. It does not have an artificial sweetness; instead, it has a deeply nutty taste of real black sesame. If you have a grandma palate, you will definitely love it!!

This is the mini pumpkin injeolmi, and it is my top pick. If you like castella whipped-cream bread, you have to put this in your basket…! The soft, sweet castella powder on the outside instantly turns you into Giyeong. I loved the subtle pumpkin flavor from the tteok, and it has a satisfyingly chewy texture. It is seriously delicious with milk hahaha.

The salted yakgwa: one bite and the syrup wraps around you. There is a subtle cinnamon aroma too, and it was perfect alongside an Americano. It looks hard, but it is not at all—it is moist. This one has a slight flaky texture, so I think it would be tasty eaten frozen too.

It was still warm… Since I bought the pizza seolgi fresh from the steamer, it was truly delicious. If it has cooled, microwave it for 20 seconds, no question. The seolgi is slightly sweet, so I wondered whether it would go with pizza… but do not doubt it. It is filled with tomato sauce and generously topped with pepperoni, bell pepper, corn, and cheese.

It is hard to get, so I should not get hooked—but now I know the taste ㅠㅠ If you see it, just grab it without question… At other places you have to line up and do an early-morning opening run for pizza seolgi, but this place takes reservations and delivers, so buy low now!! There are lots of delicious tteok beyond the pizza seolgi, so if you visit, you will probably walk out carrying an armful of things… like I did. Chuseok is coming up soon, too. If you need to prepare songpyeon or want to enjoy delicious tteok with family, I recommend Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch~~