Bakery café at Balsan Station: corn wakku salt bread, Byway Bakers

Lately when I go to good dessert cafés, I find myself drawn less to places where you just have a coffee and leave, and more to places with something worth boxing up to take home. Let me introduce Byway Bakers Balsan Station, a financier and salt bread spot that's great for gifting too.

Byway Bakers Balsan Station hours and parking

Byway Bakers Balsan Station is open from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM, and closed every Wednesday.

I'd recommend checking parking before you visit. Byway Bakers Balsan Station is on the first floor of the Korea Disabled Veterans Association building.

There's a lot behind Byway Bakers with room for about 5-6 cars, and you can also enter through the store's back door.

Inside the café: atmosphere and baby chair

Since Byway Bakers Balsan Station bakes its own bread in-house, walking in you're greeted with a nice, nutty butter smell.

There's also a baby chair in the store, so it's a good café to visit with a baby.

The trending wakku salt bread at Byway Bakers

Wakku salt bread has been showing up all over social media and even YouTube lately, so I was curious too — it's been such a hot topic that there are now YouTube videos of people trying it themselves.

Byway Bakers even turned out to be a wakku salt bread spot endorsed by the well-known YouTuber Syugi.

Being famous doesn't automatically mean it'll suit my taste, but I wanted to try it myself, so this time I added the corn wakku salt bread to my order at Byway Bakers.

They also have 100% watermelon juice and yogurt ice cream affogato. It's a true dessert café that has gathered up all the good stuff.

Breads and financiers on the display counter

Walking into the store, there's a wide display of bread and financiers, and everything looked so good I had a hard time deciding.

Egg tart, Hong Kong pineapple bun baguette, butter rice cake, jambon-beurre, chocolate baguette salt bread — every single bread looked delicious...!

The financiers came in many different flavors. Since this café is famous for its financiers too, I wanted to try them all.

It was hard to choose, but in the end I picked an Americano along with an almond choco financier, a fig financier, and the corn wakku salt bread.

What does the corn wakku salt bread taste like?

I was curious about the other breads too, but what I was most curious about was the corn wakku salt bread.

The savory, salty taste of a regular salt bread paired so well with the sweet, nutty flavor of corn.

I love both salt bread and corn, so getting to eat them together like this was pure happiness — and delicious.

Almond choco financier and fig financier

The financiers had a slightly toasted exterior with a moist inside and a nutty butter flavor.

The almond choco financier wasn't just strongly sweet from the chocolate — the nutty, slightly crunchy texture of the almonds made it even tastier and paired well with coffee.

The fig financier had a subtle, understated sweetness added, which made it feel a bit softer and more delicate. I also liked the chewy texture of the fig as I bit into it, which paired well with the nutty flavor of the financier itself.

Financier and salt bread gift package sets

Byway Bakers is a dessert café where enjoying coffee and dessert in-store is great, but it's also good for taking home and gifting. They have financier and salt bread package sets too.

If you're thinking about a dessert gift from a Gangseo café, take a look at Byway Bakers' financiers and salt bread — the prices are reasonable and they taste great too.

On top of that, packing in the currently popular wakku salt bread would make it a fun experience for whoever receives it. I'd recommend Byway Bakers Balsan Station, a Gangseo café near Balsan Station, for enjoying delicious financiers and a variety of baked goods with coffee, and for trying the wakku salt bread that's popular these days.