Strawberry and shine muscat mochi at Cheongju rice cake shop Tteokmama

There are so many different kinds of snacks out there, but I think traditional Korean rice cakes are still the ones both kids and adults can enjoy that are actually healthy and delicious! Today I want to introduce a place I fell for while stopping by to buy some rice cakes for a snack. That place is Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch!

It's a spot that keeps showing up on lists of recommended rice cake shops in Cheongju for its clean design and standout taste! It's also ranked among the top picks in Cheongju for thank-you rice cakes, so here's my visit report on Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch!

Where do you park at Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch?

You can conveniently use the building's basement parking lot! Just pay for your rice cakes and mention it, and they'll register your parking for you — no worries there! The basement lot is spacious and clean, so even beginner drivers shouldn't have any trouble parking!

What the Cheongju rice cake shop looks like from outside

Outside the shop, the signature menu items and info notices are posted up, so you can already start deciding what to buy before you even step inside! The clean exterior puts you in a good mood the moment you walk up!

Inside Tteokmama: a rice cake shop that feels like a café

The interior of Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch has this warm, stylish café-like feel that really stands out! Warm-toned bulbs create a cozy atmosphere, and the combination of wood-textured display shelves with sleek black cabinets is genuinely stylish! Black track lighting and soft pendant lamps on the ceiling give the space a luxe glow!

Along one wall of the shop, fridges lined up side by side are stocked full of drinks!

For anyone looking for Cheongju baekilddeok (100-day) or doljanchi (first birthday) rice cake sets, there were various sample sets on display, which was great for browsing! Seeing rows of colorful, pretty rice cakes made me want to buy them all!

Looking around the store, I understood exactly why it's so well known for custom event rice cakes in Cheongju!

Strawberry seolgi!! Isn't it just so cute?

And this — pizza seolgi!!!! I got to see that trendy pizza seolgi everyone's talking about right here! I grabbed one immediately!

It's also nicely boxed up, making it great for gifting!

Inside the refrigerated display, there were chapssaltteok and Chuseok gift sets, which were fun to browse too!

Tteokmama's menu and the rice cakes ordered that day

• Fruit chapssaltteok (3pc) x2 (strawberry, shine muscat)
• Strawberry seolgi
• Pizza seolgi
• Jeolpyeon + mini jocheong
• Mini guseul-tteok

How do the fruit mochi, seolgi and jeolpyeon taste?

I picked up a good variety of rice cakes I'd been craving that day!

The chapssaltteok (glutinous rice cake) with a whole strawberry or shine muscat tucked inside grabbed my attention with its look alone! One bite in, and the chewy rice cake gave way to sweet red bean paste and tangy fruit juice bursting through — truly fantastic! The fruit was fresh so it had great texture, and the balance between the rice cake and the filling meant it wasn't overly sweet. Perfect for a home dessert, and just as good to bring as a gift!

The pink seolgi (steamed rice cake) stamped with an adorable rabbit design in particular seems like something kids would love! The seolgi wasn't dry or crumbly at all — it was chewy yet soft, and I kept reaching for more! Not too sweet, so it's great as a snack for older folks too! The pizza seolgi had pepperoni, olives, and corn kernels on top, which seemed perfect to bring home as a snack for kids! A rice cake meets pizza mash-up — what a fresh idea!

The moment I opened the box of jeolpyeon (pounded rice cake), a nutty, subtle rice cake aroma wafted up and got my appetite going! The surface had pretty patterns clearly stamped on, giving it a very clean and refined look. The white jeolpyeon showed off the plain, nutty flavor of rice itself the more I chewed, and the mugwort jeolpyeon had a fragrant mugwort aroma that filled my mouth — really charming!

The rice cake itself had great stickiness and chewiness, so the texture was really satisfying! Dipping it into the sweet, rich rice jocheong (rice syrup) on top made for a perfect match between the chewy jeolpyeon and the sweet syrup! The syrup came in a tube, so I could dip it easily without needing a spoon or any tools — a nice touch! It had that classic, well-balanced, plain-yet-nutty rice cake flavor that everyone, young or old, would enjoy!

Mini guseul-tteok, the bite-size bead rice cakes

Next up, I tried the mini guseul-tteok (bead-shaped rice cakes), which were adorable just to look at! A clear cup was packed full of colorful, bite-sized bead rice cakes. Pink, green, purple, and yellow striped patterns caught my eye right away! I thought these would be perfect as a kids' snack or a dessert cup for events.

Popping one in my mouth, the outside had that springy, chewy kkultteok (honey rice cake) feel, and the moment I bit down, sweetness spread through my mouth! Since they're small enough to eat in one bite, you can enjoy them cleanly without getting your hands sticky — perfect for a quick, easy snack. They're shaped like old-school king candy (wangsatang), so they were such a fun trip down memory lane haha.

Is Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin worth a stop?

• Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch, a top pick for thank-you rice cakes in Cheongju, has clean basement parking that makes it really convenient to drive over and shop for rice cakes!
• For anyone looking for Cheongju baekilddeok or doljanchi sets, there are cute, delicious mini seolgi options, and the fruit chapssaltteok — great for Cheongju event rice cakes — nails both looks and taste!
• Whenever you're craving good rice cakes or need to buy some as a gift for someone special, I highly recommend Tteokmama Cheongju Gaesin Branch!