Hongdae bakery price list: 13 breads & counter ordering, Mandong Jegwa

While looking for good eats around Hongdae, I stopped by Mandong Jegwa (만동제과), a bakery in Yeonnam-dong. I knew it for its garlic baguette and was curious what else they had, but when I got there, quite a lot of the bread was already sold out.

Fewer breads were left than I expected, which was a bit disappointing, but there were still several items you don't often see at an ordinary bakery. From the cucumber baguette to yakbap bread, ssoktteok ssoktteok and jalapeño ciabatta, even the names were unusual.

So here's what I found at this Yeonnam-dong bakery: the kinds of bread, the prices, and a few things worth knowing before you buy.

What does Mandong Jegwa look like inside and out?

Mandong Jegwa is a bakery with a black brick exterior and a wooden front door. The name is written on the wall, and on one side there's a huge sign that just says "bread" (빵), so it's easy to spot.

Inside, a long display counter holds many kinds of bread. Most are individually wrapped, with the name and price shown, so it was easy to tell what each one was.

When I visited, though, lots of breads had already sold out and the shelves had gaps here and there. It was a pity that I had to look mainly at what was left, but checking out the lineup was still fun.

If you're planning to add a bakery stop to your Hongdae food crawl, whether the bread you want is still available is probably an important factor.

How much are Mandong Jegwa's garlic and cucumber baguettes?

The garlic baguette at Mandong Jegwa was ₩7,000 and the cucumber baguette was ₩6,900. The garlic baguette is one of the first things that comes to mind when you think of this place.

The garlic baguette was listed at ₩7,000.

Unlike the other breads, you don't put the garlic baguette on a tray yourself; a sign says to tell the counter how many you want. First-time visitors should know this.

A baguette with garlic is nothing new, but since it's known as Mandong Jegwa's signature, I was curious what makes it different.

And there was another bread with a name just as unusual as the garlic baguette: the cucumber baguette.

The cucumber baguette was ₩6,900.

Cucumber and baguette together? The name made me look twice. You tend to think of cucumber as something that goes into sandwiches or salads, but here it was sold as its own menu item, the cucumber baguette.

It came in a long baguette shape, and the ingredients were different from the regular garlic baguette from the start.

Personally, having breads with odd names like this was part of the fun of browsing this Yeonnam-dong bakery.

Basil tomato, corn mayo and chili sausage bread prices

At Mandong Jegwa, the basil tomato was ₩6,200, the corn mayo ₩4,900 and the chili sausage ₩4,300. The next one I looked at was the basil tomato.

It was a ring-shaped bread with a brown topping and green ingredients in the middle. Basil and tomato often go together in food, so I wondered how they'd combined them on a baguette.

The garlic and cucumber baguettes are long, while the basil tomato is round, so it was easy to tell them apart.

Next up was the corn mayo, at ₩4,900.

It's a round baked bread topped with corn and a yellow sauce in the middle. You can guess what's in the corn mayo from the name alone, right?

It was a different style from the garlic baguette or basil tomato, and it looked more like something you'd pick for a simple meal or snack than a cream-filled dessert.

Right next to it was the chili sausage. It was ₩4,300, and what set it apart from the corn mayo was that it uses sausage and chili.

If the corn mayo is a corn-focused bread, the chili sausage is the one with sausage. Even among savory breads, the ingredients differ, so you can choose by taste.

Yakbap bread, walnut bread and other unusual breads

The yakbap bread (약밥브레드) at Mandong Jegwa was ₩3,800 and the walnut was ₩4,300. Among all the breads, the yakbap bread had an especially unusual name.

It wasn't round or long like typical bread but closer to a rectangle, with nuts and seeds packed tightly on the surface.

Yakbap (a traditional sweet rice snack made with glutinous rice and nuts) comes to mind, right? I found it interesting that they turned that into a bread.

If you usually go for familiar things like cream buns or red bean buns, the yakbap bread would be a slightly different option.

Next, the walnut was listed at ₩4,300. As the name says, it's a bread made with walnuts. It was baked in a round but bumpy shape, and its rough surface texture stood out.

Both the yakbap bread and the walnut bring nuts to mind, but their shapes and makeup differ, so they felt like distinct breads.

Mandong Jegwa has not only simple cream or chocolate desserts but also products using nuts and traditional ingredients. If you want something you don't usually find at a Yeonnam-dong bakery, these are worth a look.

Ssoktteok Ssoktteok, jalapeño ciabatta and salt soboro

The ssoktteok ssoktteok (쑥떡쑥떡, mugwort rice cake bread) at Mandong Jegwa was ₩4,900 and the jalapeño ciabatta was ₩4,800. The ssoktteok ssoktteok was on a different shelf.

The name brings to mind mugwort and rice cake. It was a long bread with green ingredients mixed in and several toppings on the surface.

The ingredients went in a different direction from the chocolate or fresh cream you commonly see at bakeries. Together with the yakbap bread, it's a bread that people looking for traditional ingredients might find interesting.

They also sold a jalapeño ciabatta. Jalapeño is well known for its spicy kick, and since it's paired with ciabatta, it seemed better suited to people who want a savory bread rather than a sweet one.

It was individually wrapped in a long, plump shape, and a yellow filling showed between the bread.

Even ciabatta changes depending on what goes in it, and besides jalapeño, Mandong Jegwa also had one with bacon.

The salt soboro was also listed in this section. It was ₩3,600, but none was left when I visited.

The name adds salt to the familiar soboro (crumble-topped bun), and I wondered what it would be like, so I was sad I couldn't see the real thing this time.

Ang cream bun and bacon ciabatta

The ang cream (앙크림) at Mandong Jegwa was ₩3,500 and the bacon ciabatta was ₩4,900.

The ang cream was a dark-colored bread with a long strip of light cream in the middle. As the name suggests, it brings to mind a combination of red bean paste (anggeum) and cream.

It's a different kind from the chili sausage or jalapeño ciabatta I'd looked at earlier, so it's worth comparing if you're after something sweet.

The bacon ciabatta is a long bread made with bacon, a good one to look at alongside the jalapeño ciabatta. Both are ciabatta, but one uses jalapeño and the other uses bacon.

So when you're looking for a great Hongdae bakery, it's worth checking whether there's a kind that suits your taste rather than just fixating on one famous item.

How do you order bread at Mandong Jegwa?

A notice at Mandong Jegwa said the garlic baguette, onion bagel, basil tomato, cucumber baguette and cappuccino aren't put on the tray; you tell the counter how many you want. If you're visiting the Yeonnam-dong branch, it helps to know how to buy in advance.

Not everything is something you put on the tray yourself. Since the buying method differs from the other breads, first-time visitors should check this.

• Counter orders: tell the counter the quantity for the garlic baguette, onion bagel, basil tomato, cucumber baguette and cappuccino
• Tray use: lay one sheet of parchment paper on the tray and put in the breads you pick yourself
• Extra packaging: cooler bags and ice packs are sold in the shop

There was also a notice asking you to lay one sheet of parchment paper on each tray. Breads you choose yourself go on the tray as instructed, and for items that need a separate quantity request, you just tell the counter.

The shop also sells cooler bags and ice packs, as the notice showed. If you need extra packaging, I guess you can ask when you pay.

This is easy to miss for first-time visitors, so it's good to keep in mind.

The 1,500-won rusk by the register

Near the register at Mandong Jegwa, there was also rusk. The rusk was ₩1,500.

Rusk is a snack made by slicing bread and baking it again, so it's a different kind from regular bread. At Mandong Jegwa, several pieces came in one bag.

It's cheaper than the baguettes and ciabatta I looked at earlier, so people after a simple snack might be interested.

Since they sell small snacks like this too, there's another option besides picking out a single loaf.

Is Mandong Jegwa worth a stop on a Hongdae food trip?

The biggest letdown at this Yeonnam-dong bakery was that not much bread was left. I wanted to look at more of the kinds I'd been curious about, but some were already sold, so my choices were limited.

Even so, the menu I could check was quite varied.

From baguettes with unusual ingredients like the garlic and cucumber baguettes, to breads using traditional ingredients like the yakbap bread and ssoktteok ssoktteok, the lineup was a little different from a typical bakery.

The ciabatta was split into jalapeño and bacon, and there were choices from sweet breads to nearly meal-like ones.

Still, keep in mind that the kinds and quantities left will change depending on when you visit. If many items are already sold, as they were this time, you might not get to try everything you want.

If you want to add a bakery to your Hongdae food crawl, or you're looking for something a bit different among Yeonnam-dong bakeries, Mandong Jegwa's lineup is worth a look.