Hwangnidan-gil walnut pastry shop baking to order, Gyeongju: Buja Hodu

What kind of shop is Buja Hodu?

Buja Hodu is a walnut pastry shop on Hwangnidan-gil in Gyeongju, open daily from 09:30 to 20:00, that bakes your order fresh on the spot. The address is 38 Poseok-ro 1095beon-gil, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongbuk.

When you're traveling in Gyeongju and walking along Hwangnidan-gil, there are always a few places where a delicious smell just stops you in your tracks. I love walnut pastries so much I always buy some whenever I stop at a highway rest area..!! And while I was walking, this nutty aroma drifted over, and sure enough there was a walnut pastry shop!! So I ended up wandering into Buja Hodu, just kind of staring at it.

Getting closer, they were in the middle of baking a batch, so I found myself pausing just to watch 🤎 Seeing them baked right in front of you makes it so much harder to just walk past 🥹💛🥹💛

Buja Hodu walnut pastry flavors and menu

Buja Hodu offers several flavors of walnut pastry — classic red bean, pea cream cheese, matcha, and almond praline. Looking at the menu board, there were sets as well as single items, which seemed good both as a travel snack and as a gift. They also sell drinks like coffee, ade, and juice.

I actually came across this place while searching for good Hwangnidan-gil dessert spots, and I liked that there were so many walnut pastry flavors to choose from. They also sell a walnut ice cream affogato — walnut ice cream plus espresso ☕️, how could that not be good, aaaah. There are round little walnut pastries sitting right on top of the ice cream, and it looked like a delicious combination just from a glance.

Gift sets to take home as a Gyeongju souvenir

When you're not sure what to bring back as a travel souvenir from Hwangnidan-gil, something easy like snacks or walnut pastries can actually be the perfect answer. Buja Hodu also sells holiday gift sets, wrapped in cloth bojagi that looked quite upscale — good for anyone looking for a Gyeongju souvenir gift set.

There's also a table out front where you can sit for a bit and eat right away.

Walnut pastries baked the moment you order

Buja Hodu bakes the walnut pastries the instant you order. I waited after ordering, but watching them get baked hot and fresh meant the wait wasn't boring at all. If anything, watching them come off the griddle fresh was half the fun~

The finished walnut pastries have such a cute round shape that it's fun to pick them out one by one.

Inside the 24-piece mix box: how the three flavors compare

Since I wanted to try several flavors, I picked the 24-piece mix box. The lineup: 12 red bean, 6 pea cream cheese, 6 matcha — 24 total!

The classic red bean filling is low-sugar, so it tasted less sweet and cleaner than red bean paste usually does. The pea cream cheese combined the nuttiness of pea with cream cheese for a soft, easy bite. Matcha had a gently bitter note, giving it a different appeal from the sweet red bean. Switching between the three kept things interesting, and I kept reaching for one after another without getting tired of them.

Is Buja Hodu worth a snack stop on Hwangnidan-gil?

What I liked most was being able to eat a warm, freshly-baked walnut pastry right on the spot. If you're walking Hwangnidan-gil on a Gyeongju trip and get hungry, stopping by this Hwangnidan-gil dessert spot, Buja Hodu, seems like a good call. If you want to try several flavors like I did, go for the mix box; if you're looking for something to bring home for family or friends after the trip, the Gyeongju souvenir gift set looked good too. I wandered in following a delicious smell on Hwangnidan-gil and ended up getting to enjoy warm walnut pastries as a happy mid-trip snack :)