Jongno bakery for milky cream cheese onion bagels: Munhwa Bakery

This bread-loving girl who grew up in a flour-filled city is out hunting down great bakeries again today! And that is how I found Munhwa Bakery, famous as one of Seoul's three great bakeries!

A takeout visit to Munhwa Bakery in Jongno 3-ga

Located in Jongno 3-ga, Munhwa Bakery is takeout only. At the entrance, there is a notice asking that only two parties enter at a time because the interior is small! I had searched it up before visiting, so I was worried there would be a wait, but my timing was absolutely perfect that weekend—I was the only one there! (I totally won the timing game!)

I went straight in, and there were already lots of breads wrapped up—perhaps for delivery or reservations! Just what you would expect from one of Seoul's three great bakeries, right?

Munhwa Bakery display menu and prices

Injeolmi bread: ₩3,800 Peanut bread: ₩3,800 Mugwort rice-cake bread: ₩5,700

Let me explain the breads on display from left to right! First up were injeolmi bread, peanut bread, and mugwort rice-cake bread. The injeolmi bread was covered in injeolmi (roasted soybean rice cake) powder, the peanut bread in peanuts, and the mugwort rice-cake bread in almonds—completely loaded! I loved that every bread looked so generously coated with ingredients, whether soybean powder or peanuts. (Honestly, places that seem stingy with their ingredients are not really for me~~)

Cheese bread: ₩5,400 Black sesame bread: ₩3,800 Milk cream bread: ₩3,500

Next came black sesame bread, milk cream bread, cheese bread, and squid-ink condensed-milk bread! The black sesame bread was also absolutely covered in black sesame, while the milk cream bread had a generous dusting of powdered sugar(?)! They looked about 1.5 times the size of a Paris Baguette glutinous-rice doughnut? Anyway, they looked big! The cheese bread was similar to a Starbucks cheese bagel, but large enough to fill you up if you ate the whole thing. (Overall, the breads seem large for the price.) The squid-ink condensed-milk bread caught my eye right away with its black squid-ink look! Add condensed milk, and the color contrast is no joke! (It cannot help but stand out.)

Signature onion bagel

And Munhwa Bakery's signature onion bagel! (This is the one I chose! I will get to the detailed review later!) It was sprinkled with so many sesame seeds, with a little cream cheese peeking through the middle, and it looked crisp even just by sight! My heart was pulled right in, haha. You know what? We do not choose bread—bread and I make eye contact, and we choose each other, haha.

Sweet potato bread: ₩3,800 White bean-paste bread: ₩3,800 Walnut bread: ₩3,500 Rice chestnut loaf: ₩5,800 Rice cheese bread: ₩5,900 Maple cream cheese bread: ₩4,900

Next to my onion bagel were sweet potato bread, rice chestnut loaf, rice cheese loaf, maple cream cheese bread, white bean-paste bread, and walnut bread! I am usually a root-vegetable person, but for some reason the sweet potato did not choose me that day ㅠ^ㅠ The rice chestnut loaf sounded so intriguing: a loaf made with rice, plus the sweetness of chestnuts. The rice cheese loaf similarly paired rice-based bread with cheese, a combination that had me expecting a lovely nutty flavor! Oh! The white bean-paste bread, which I may have been seeing for the first time in my life(?)—I love white bean paste, but was it really my first time seeing it? Its shape and the color of the paste were both so pretty! I hear the walnut bread is popular at Munhwa Bakery these days too, and I was curious about it, but I did not get to taste it! ㅜ.ㅜ

Garlic bread packed with garlic

Another of Munhwa Bakery's signature items: garlic bread!! This was another one of my picks, and they seriously do not hold back on the garlic! You know Koreans are garlic lovers, right?? There might have been more garlic than bread?!! As a Seongsimdang citizen, I was so, so satisfied!

They say you can ask separately if you need a paper bag, but even with just two items, they put mine in a bag??? I had a long way to go, so I really needed one—such a kind and appreciated moment! Oh, and Munhwa Bakery is apparently a shop that helps save children! Such a good-hearted place! I heard they donate all the leftover bread! Is that not amazing, a place taking the lead in doing good?

Oh, and they do a receipt photo review promotion. Be sure to write a review and claim your salt bread!!!

A quick shot with my bread in front of the entrance! It rained and then stopped that day, there was no wait, and I was just so lucky!!

On the way home, I checked on my little babies(?) now and then!

Trying the garlic bread and onion bagel at home

The second I got home, this bread lover charged forward!

Starting with the incredibly appetizing-looking garlic bread! The outside was crisp yet moist, and the inside was completely moist! Seriously, it had the most garlic sauce(?) of any garlic bread I have ever had!!

As for the onion bagel, the cream cheese that had been peeking out earlier was seriously insane!!! It tasted more milky than cheesy, and it was so soft?

Usually cream cheese has a stronger cheese flavor, but Munhwa Bakery's had more of a milk flavor, so it was a total yes for me!!! It literally melts the moment it goes into your mouth—melts!! Every now and then, you get a crisp bit of onion, and I loved that so much?? If cream cheese feels too rich to you, please try Munhwa Bakery's onion bread!!!

As a Seongsimdang citizen, I officially recognize Munhwa Bakery as one of Seoul's three great bakeries and a must-visit bakery in Jongno 3-ga! Please, please go on a bakery pilgrimage!