Seocho cake shop, Real Mango Rose No. 1 after a 2pm restock: Chef Cho

Today I ate an insanely delicious mango cake at Shinsegae Department Store's Sweet Park! The place I visited is Chef Cho (쉐프조), already famous in Mullae-dong for its bread and mango cake!

Sweet Park at Shinsegae Gangnam is famous for gathering all kinds of delicious desserts and trendy department store cake brands, so it's exciting, but I always have to steel myself because my wallet can get thin ^^ Even with a thinner wallet, I was so satisfied, so here's my cake review!

Where is Chef Cho Shinsegae Gangnam? The way to Sweet Park

Chef Cho Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam is on B1 of the department store, near the Sweet Park entrance. Let me first explain how to get to Sweet Park, where Chef Cho is, from busy Express Bus Terminal Station! If it's your first visit, the way from inside the department store to Sweet Park can be a bit confusing. Here's the easiest tip I know!

First take the escalator down to B1 of the department store, turn slightly to the right and look ahead, and you'll see a "Sweet Park" sign!

You might think, "Huh? Isn't this the way to the subway?" but don't doubt it, just keep going straight. When you reach something like a crossroads and look right, you'll see a sign listing Famille Station, the Marriott Hotel and so on, and that's the Sweet Park entrance! Chef Cho sits right at this entrance, so it's really easy to reach!

Chef Cho, a Seoul cake shop by a "Master of Living" chef

The first thing that caught my eye on arrival was the "Master of Living" (생활의 달인, a Korean TV show) plaque hanging proudly right under the Chef Cho sign! The shop is run by a chef who appeared on the show as one of the "Four Cake Kings." As a Seoul cake shop loved for a long time, its taste and quality are already recognized by many people, so I was super excited to taste it... *drool*!

Look inside the showcase and it's packed with fresh fruit cakes!

Do Chef Cho's popular cakes sell out? The 2pm restock

The signature Strawberry Dome cake (₩51,000) and the Real Mango Rose cake (₩56,000) seem to be the most popular, because the display sold out in no time and then a staff member refilled it. I thought they'd sold out at 2pm, but they restocked! (Phew ㅠ I almost had to compete with the lady next to me ㅠ) Since they're so popular, it's nice that the stock is generous haha

Seasonal fruit cakes and other prices

Browsing the other pretty desserts was fun too. Besides the signature items, I also noticed desserts made with seasonal fruit.

• Fig Pistachio, great for this time of year (₩58,000)
• Pistachio Forest, pistachio cream with chocolate cream added (₩56,000)
• Rich Chocolate Whole Strawberry cake with 52% cacao (₩56,000)

There was such a wide variety of cakes on display!

Chef Cho's whole cakes come in No. 1 size and a slightly smaller Mini size, and there are also slices so you can pick a bit of everything, which makes it easy to choose for any occasion! Looking back, they had a crêpe cake too! (Tofu's favorite cake is crêpe cake and I missed it ㅠ)

A whole lot of tempting cakes! I wanted all of them, but our pick was the Real Mango Rose (I'd been singing the mango-mango song since before we got to the shop haha)

How does Chef Cho's Real Mango Rose No. 1 (₩56,000) taste?

Chef Cho's Real Mango Rose is a No. 1 whole cake generously loaded with fresh mango, for ₩56,000. Can you see this glowing feast of mango? No. 1 is the perfect size for two or three people with a cup of coffee!

With fruit cakes, often there's only a thin layer of fruit on top, but in Chef Cho's Real Mango Rose the mango isn't only on top, it's generously on the sides and inside too. (So good ㅠㅠㅠ) No wonder it felt really heavy when carrying it from the shop. Of course I didn't carry it. My boyfriend did. Moving on.

3-layer sponge and dairy cream

The Real Mango Rose has three tightly stacked sponge layers, so it's dense with a super moist, juicy texture~ They say the dough uses organic flour and natural yeast and is aged slowly at low temperature, and no wonder it's so good haha With this, the bread can't be bad!

They also say it uses 100% dairy fresh cream, and the milk flavor really came through. I don't need to explain why dairy cream is delicious, so I'll stop there ^^ The cream wraps the fruit softly without hurting its sweetness, and the harmony was really good. The nutty, mild sponge, the moderately sweet cream and the mango flesh worked together wonderfully. Three claps, clap clap clap!

Rosemary and cube jelly decoration

The rosemary and little cube-shaped jelly decorating the top of the Real Mango Rose are cute touches too. I thought the jelly was just decoration and meant to only taste it, but it melted softly in my mouth with a sweet-sour flavor that went really well with the mango!

See how the mango sparkles ㅠㅠ Tofu and I finished this off that very day... It's a cake you can't stop eating. Before you know it, it's gone. On a special day, with wine or warm black tea, I think it would be a perfect way to end the day!!

Chef Cho cake: overall review

Chef Cho's cake was really, really delicious. It's so good that half a cake each is doable haha The two of us finishing a whole one is totally possible~ The mango cake (Real Mango Rose) especially had the sweetness of mango, the nuttiness of the sponge and the richness of the cream all alive, and I honestly loved it!!

If you're looking for a gift for a special day or a department store cake for an anniversary, I recommend Chef Cho's fruit cakes!