Mugwort rice cake gelato café near Gangneung Central Market: Hi Gelato

I'd heard there was a gelato café near Gangneung's Central Market, so I went to check out Hi Gelato. They said the gelato was really chewy, so I had to see for myself — and once I heard they even had sundubu (soft tofu) gelato, I got curious enough to go.

Where is Hi Gelato, and what about parking and hours?

There was no dedicated parking lot at Hi Gelato, the gelato café near Gangneung Central Market, so you'd need to walk over or park at a nearby paid lot.

158 Toseong-ro, 1st floor, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea

Hours are 11:30–20:00 Monday through Saturday, and on Sundays they close at 15:30.

Inside Hi Gelato: atmosphere and seating

It was a clean, tidy gelato shop. Living up to its reputation, there were plenty of customers, and I kept seeing delivery riders coming and going nonstop. Along with regular tables,

there was also bar seating, which was nice for a comfortable bite. Doesn't it have a nice atmosphere??

Hi Gelato menu and gelato flavors

The menu had a good variety — the signature Hi Gelato cup, cup gelato you can pick and choose, and even takeout options, so there was plenty of range by price and type.

Following them on Instagram got you a whopping 10% discount, and various events were also announced there.

There were a lot of gelato flavors, too — blueberry, corn, sundubu (soft tofu), mango-strawberry, milk chocolate, mugwort rice cake, and more. We asked for milk chocolate and mugwort rice cake, plus mango-strawberry as a taste-topping.

The owner packed the gelato into the cups by pressing it down firmly and generously — that kind of care from the owner is really the best!

The chewy gelato was piled on thick and pressed down generously, and

the taste-topping portion came in a pretty substantial size. Is this really just a

Wait, is this really just a taste-topping? It felt like the generous kind of 'one bite' size you'd only see from a comedian on a food show — so generous, and I really appreciated it.

Milk chocolate and mugwort rice cake: the two-flavor cup

I got two flavors of gelato, and just looking at how dense and heavy they were made me want to dig in right away!

It was such a pretty-looking gelato from this Gangneung Central Market café. I started with the taste-topping first.

Sweet mango met tangy strawberry in perfect harmony — sweet, tart, and really delicious.

Next was the milk chocolate, a milk base with chocolate chips mixed in. The soft milk flavor with the crunchy little chocolate chips gave it great texture — I think both kids and adults who like a classic flavor would enjoy this one.

Next up was the mugwort rice cake (ssuktteok) flavor. It's built on mugwort, the kind of flavor that hits grandma's taste buds just right, layered with a dense, chewy texture reminiscent of nutty injeolmi (rice cake coated in bean powder). This flavor alone felt like it could fill you up.

What goes into the signature Hi Gelato cup?

I also got the signature menu item — a single, clean cup where you can taste several flavors layered together.

The taste-topping on this one was mugwort rice cake, and once again,

the mugwort rice cake flavor itself was so dense and chewy it couldn't help but be delicious.

Below that was vanilla gelato, with a rich vanilla flavor that was very enjoyable,

and further inside was a gelato with a lemon-sherbet-like texture, so around the middle you got a nice hit of tartness.

At the very bottom was blueberry compote, giving a sweet, cool finish — it all came together so well, truly living up to being the signature gelato.

Is Hi Gelato in Gangneung worth a stop?

The chewy gelato at this Gangneung Central Market café left a strong impression. There were plenty of flavors to choose from, and each one was delicious, which made it really enjoyable. The taste-topping portion was so generous it felt like buying a whole new ice cream, so I'd say the owner's service was very generous indeed. I'd definitely recommend stopping by this gelato spot on a Gangneung trip!