Midsummer at Yangsan bakery café Choi: 9 best breads, drink prices

A bakery café near Busan, in Yangsan — Choi Main Branch, a café selected as a Blue Ribbon pick two years running

Looking for a café not too far from Busan to make a little drive out of it, I recently visited Choi Main Branch, a Yangsan café. Yangsan is an easy drive from Busan, so it's always come to mind when I'm looking for a café near Busan, and this Yangsan branch of Choi felt like somewhere you go not just for coffee but to spend a relaxed afternoon with good bakery items too — so I really wanted to check it out. Here's my visit report on Choi Main Branch in Gyeongnam, Yangsan.

Choi Main Branch location, hours and parking

• Address: 83 Yangsan-daero, Dongmyeon, Yangsan-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 9:00 AM – 9:50 PM (last order 9:20 PM)
• Facilities: Takeout available, Wi-Fi, separate men's/women's restrooms, high chairs, group seating, terrace seats, wheelchair-accessible entrance, accessible parking, no pets allowed, 3rd-floor rooftop is a no-kids zone
• Parking: Free use of Choi Main Branch's own parking lot

What kind of café is Choi Main Branch? Nakdong River panorama by Hopo Station

Right in front of Hopo Station in Yangsan, the storefront looks out onto a grand panoramic view of the Nakdong River, with the great outdoors of Geumjeongsan National Park behind it, and trains running along the rail lines that stretch endlessly on both sides. This Yangsan café sits where still nature and moving scenery meet in perfect harmony! Especially around sunset, the view of the Nakdong River glowing through the window creates a wonderful atmosphere. And climbing up to the rooftop on a nice day gives you an even better view — that's what makes Choi Main Branch, a bakery café near Hopo in Yangsan close to Busan, so appealing.

Rather than always sticking to cafés within Busan, sometimes heading out to the outskirts like this is refreshing and makes the drive itself fun — this day, just getting to the café felt like a little outing. The first thing I noticed on arrival was that it really had the feel of a bakery café. Rather than a place you just come to for coffee, it felt like somewhere to pick out bakery items too and take your time. Being such a popular Hopo café, when I visited there were tons of people seated on the second floor — pretty much every window seat was already taken.

First impression of the bakery counter at Choi Main Branch 🥐

One of the reasons I came to Choi Main Branch, a Yangsan café, was the bakery itself. At a bakery café, I tend to check out the bread before even looking at the drink menu, and this time too, the moment I walked in I slowly browsed the bakery display. Looking at all the bread laid out somehow makes you want to pick one up even if you're not hungry. There's fun in each person choosing what they want to eat, and it was oddly enjoyable figuring out which bread would pair well with coffee.

There were even some bakery items that looked photo-worthy, so I browsed for a while before picking out breads to go with our drinks.

How ordering works at Choi Main Branch: order on floor 1, collect on floor 2

At Choi Main Branch, they seemed committed to the basics — softness and nuttiness in freshly baked bread, coffee with deep flavor, and comfortable seating, baking bread carefully every day and brewing coffee fresh. The first floor has the bakery display case and order counter, where you choose your bread and order your drink together, then pick up your order on the second floor.

The 9 best breads at Choi Main Branch

Choi Main Branch offers not just standard bakery items but a wide range including pastries, croissants, salt bread, croquettes, and red bean bread. With so many different breads and pastries laid out in the store, I found myself agonizing over what to pick for quite a while. Especially with that smell of freshly baked bread filling the display case, it's a fun place to browse if you're a bread lover.

1. No.1 Croissant

With a crispy exterior and visible layers, this is the signature menu item Choi highlights above all. The menu describes it as "the No.1 croissant, made directly by a croissant master," which made it feel even more anticipated.

2. Choi Bread

Choi's signature bakery item, filled with nutty fresh cream and red bean. If you like the combination of soft bread, sweet red bean, and fresh cream, this one's worth a look.

3. Herol Joeun Dal

Introduced as a signature item only found at Choi. The menu reads, "Nowhere else in the world — only at CHOI!" — which really underlined how distinctive this item is.

4. 72-Hour Panettone

Described as being made with natural leaven over a long, careful process. A bakery item that lets you expect a fermentation flavor a bit different from regular bread.

5. Butter Roll

A pastry-style item with layers built into every fold — crispy with a nutty, buttery flavor that's easy to enjoy.

6. Korean Beef Bulgogi Croquette

A croquette packed with in-house stir-fried Korean beef bulgogi. With sweet-savory bulgogi paired with a crispy croquette shell, it felt like it could work well as a light meal.

7. Red Bean Bun

A steady-selling item made with CHOI's own recipe for red bean paired with nutty walnuts. If you like sweet red bean with plain bread, this is a solid basic pick.

8. Green Onion Salt Bread

Choi's distinctive take on salt bread, with green onion cream added. Recommended for those looking for something different from the usual salt bread.

9. Six-Clove Garlic Baguette

A chewy baguette topped with garlic cream and other toppings. Worth trying if you like the sweet, nutty flavor characteristic of garlic bread.

What else is on the Choi Main Branch bakery shelves

• Croissants
• Various pastries
• Salt bread
• Garlic bread
• Red bean bread
• Croquettes
• Nut-based breads
• Various meal breads
• Baked cookies and snacks
• Gift-ready bakery items

🍓 Handmade products sold alongside the bread

Above the bakery display, I spotted jars of strawberry jam with the Choi logo on them. They sell jam separately that's great for spreading on bread, and it looked like a nice option to buy along with the bakery items or to give as a gift.

🎁 Bakery gift sets at Choi Main Branch

Besides individually wrapped bread, there were also gift items in clear packaging tied with ribbon. It's a good lineup whether you're picking out bread to take home and eat or looking for a simple gift or thank-you present.

If you're the type who gets overwhelmed by choice at a place with this many bread options, going in the order BEST MENU → pastries → meal breads might make picking easier. In particular, Choi highlights certain items as BEST — the No.1 croissant, Choi bread, green onion salt bread, six-clove garlic baguette, Korean beef bulgogi croquette, and red bean bread — so if it's your first visit, it might help to choose based on these.

※ The bakery lineup and what's on display can vary depending on the time of your visit and the day's stock.

Choi Main Branch drink menu and prices

※ The menu marks H/I to separate hot and iced drink prices

Coffee menu

• Choi Signature Latte ₩7,500
• Americano ₩5,000
• Airy-cano ₩5,500
• Café Latte ₩5,500
• Vanilla Latte ₩6,000
• Caramel Mocha ₩6,500
• Caramel Macchiato ₩6,500

Cold brew menu

• Choi Ice Superner ₩7,000
• Cold Brew ₩6,000
• Vanilla Cream Cold Brew ₩7,500

Smoothie menu

• Yogurt Smoothie ₩6,500
• Strawberry Smoothie ₩7,000
• Blueberry Smoothie ₩7,000
• Mango Smoothie ₩7,000

🍹 Summer-only drinks

• Choi Cheongmangsu ₩8,500
• Choi Mango Cheongmangsu ₩9,000
• Pomegranate-flavored Handmade Water ₩8,000

🍋 Ade and juice menu

• Green Grape Ade ₩7,000
• Grapefruit Ade ₩7,000
• Lemon Ade ₩7,000
• Strawberry Juice ₩6,500

🥛 Tea and other drinks

• Milk ₩3,500
• Milk Tea ₩6,500
• Citron Lemon Bow Tea ₩6,500
• Iced Tea ₩6,000
• Grapefruit Tea ₩6,000
• Honey Citron Tea ₩6,000
• Lemon Tea ₩6,000
• Vin Chaud ₩7,000
• Chamomile ₩5,500
• Peppermint ₩5,500
• Herb Tea ₩5,500
• Earl Grey ₩5,500

☕ Latte menu

• Strawberry Matcha Latte ₩7,500
• Strawberry Latte ₩7,000
• Kkukkura Latte ₩6,000
• Choco Latte ₩6,000
• Matcha Latte ₩6,000
• Grain Latte ₩6,000
• Cinnamon Latte ₩6,500

Nakdong River views and passing trains from the 2nd-floor window seats

The interior is quite spacious, with terrace seating and a variety of chairs and tables set up for many people to sit and relax. Since a lot of families visit too, high chairs are naturally stocked. Note, though, that the 3rd-floor rooftop is a no-kids zone — young children aren't allowed up there. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the Nakdong River unfolded like a panorama. With Hopo Station right nearby, the rail lines stretched out on both sides and you could watch the trains pass by in full view.

Of course coffee is essential at a café. Rather than just eating bread, having it with coffee made for a much more relaxed café moment. Sitting with a warm cup of coffee and some bakery items in front of me felt like a brief break from a busy everyday life. These days some people just visit famous cafés to snap photos and leave, but personally I much prefer cafés like this, where you order drinks and bread and actually sit and talk.

What is the 3rd-floor rooftop like in midsummer heat?

Being a bakery café, Choi Main Branch was fun just for browsing the bread. After picking out what I wanted to eat from the display and ordering drinks, I looked around the space. Drinking coffee indoors is nice, but on a good-weather day, spending time on the rooftop offers a different kind of fun. Going up to the rooftop gives you an openness quite different from being indoors. Unlike a regular café seat with a ceiling overhead, being able to feel the outside air while taking a break is probably the rooftop's biggest appeal. Especially if you visit on a day that's not too hot or too cold, it seems like a great spot to relax with coffee. When I visited it was scorching hot, so we enjoyed the bakery and drinks inside, but stepping out to the rooftop for a bit to take in the Yangsan riverview, with Hopo Station right nearby, let me watch trains pass by in real time.

🍞 Honest review after visiting Choi Main Branch

Visiting Choi Main Branch in Yangsan myself, it wasn't just a café where you drink one coffee and leave — it was a place with the fun of enjoying the bakery alongside it. I love browsing the bread on display whenever I go to a bakery café, and this time too, deciding what to pick was part of the fun. Above all, since Yangsan isn't far from Busan, it was great for a drive, and sitting there enjoying coffee and bakery items for a bit of a break felt good. Even without going far, this kind of small outing seems to help a lot with a change of pace. If you're looking for a café near Busan, this is a bakery café worth remembering as somewhere to drive out to in Yangsan. Next time I head out to Yangsan, I'd like to try some of the other bakery items I didn't get to this time. 😊