Rice-dough walnut pastries on a Hwangnidan-gil backstreet, Gyeongju

On a weekend late afternoon I suddenly felt like going to Gyeongju, so I went on a spontaneous little trip. I took a leisurely walk around Gyeongju Bomun Tourist Complex, then stopped by Hwangnidan-gil to browse cute little shops — a proper Gyeongju outing after a long while.

But as I walked around Hwangnidan-gil, I started feeling hungry. That's when I happened to stumble upon Buja Hodu, a real deal walnut pastry spot made with Korean rice dough and whole walnuts — a Hwangnidan-gil dessert favorite.

When you think of Gyeongju, you think of Gyeongju bread, chapssal-boritteok, and Hwangnam-ppang — the kind of treats and gift sets you want to bring home from a trip here. This time I went with something different, walnut pastries, and after trying them I figured they'd work both as a gift and as a snack while traveling in Gyeongju, so I wanted to share.

Buja Hodu's location and parking

Buja Hodu, the Hwangnidan-gil dessert favorite, sits in a backstreet just off the main Hwangnidan-gil road. We parked at a paid lot near Korea Semiconductor Meister High School and walked toward Hwangnidan-gil, spotting it without much trouble.

Is the menu just walnut pastries? Coffee and affogato too

The shop sells not just walnut pastries but coffee, drinks, and dessert items too, so it looked like a nice place to take a break and enjoy a dessert while wandering Hwangnidan-gil.

What caught my eye was that the walnut pastries are made with Korean rice dough. Walnut pastries usually make you think of wheat dough, so I was curious how the texture would turn out with rice dough instead.

And looking at the standing signs, another menu item caught my attention — the walnut ice cream affogato. Apparently it's a menu item Buja Hodu developed first, which made me curious too. Next visit, I'll definitely try it along with the walnut pastries.

There's a holiday gift package too

Maybe because Chuseok was coming up, the gift packages caught my eye too. They said wrapping cloth is available for holidays, and the gift packages displayed near the counter looked much more upscale.

If you're coming back from a Gyeongju trip and wondering what food to gift family, relatives, or friends, this could be a good option. It's a treat that doesn't burden the giver and that the receiver can genuinely enjoy, so I thought it'd work well as a holiday gift or thank-you gift too.

And the owner at Buja Hodu was really kind. She made me feel at ease, which made for a pleasant visit. There were quite a lot of walnut pastries on display, and I could see customers steadily packing them up and the stock disappearing quickly.

Flavor lineup and the limited item

The walnut pastries at Buja Hodu, the Hwangnidan-gil dessert favorite, come in four flavors total: classic red bean paste, pea cream cheese, matcha, and almond praline.

There's separate packaging for eating on the spot and boxed packaging, so you can choose depending on the situation. The almond praline in particular is limited to 50 pieces a day, which made me curious. Unfortunately I didn't get to try it, but next time I'm in Gyeongju, I'll start with the almond praline!!!

They're also running a Naver receipt review event where you get 2 walnut pastries or one coffee for participating, so visitors might want to keep that in mind.

I packed the Buja Hodu 24-piece mix package, wandered Hwangnidan-gil a bit more, then headed home — off we go.

The iced americano I ordered alongside was great to sip while walking around Hwangnidan-gil. It wasn't a strongly acidic style — more of a nutty, savory flavor at its core, which suited my taste perfectly.

24-piece mix (6 red bean + 6 pea cream cheese + 6 matcha + 6 of a flavor of choice) / iced americano

Flavors told apart by wrapper color

The packaging is clean too, and the wrapper colors let you tell the flavors apart, so even with several kinds mixed together I could easily tell which was which.

• White is the classic red bean walnut pastry
• Orange is the pea cream cheese walnut pastry
• Green is the matcha walnut pastry!

The size was about what you'd see at a highway rest stop or a walnut pastry specialty shop — small enough to fit right in one hand.

I know Cheonan is famous for walnut pastries... I haven't tried them myself, but from a lot of reviews I've seen, people say this place is even more more more delicious than Cheonan's walnut pastries?!! That secretly built up my expectations a lot.

Here's the 24-piece mix from Buja Hodu, the Hwangnidan-gil dessert favorite. I picked pea cream cheese as my one flavor choice, keeping in mind my little one's love of cream cheese.

Red bean walnut pastry — rice-dough texture and a whole walnut

I tried the classic red bean one first. On the first bite, the outside was slightly chewy while the inside was soft and fluffy! Especially because it's rice dough, the texture felt softer and chewier than wheat dough.

Inside was red bean paste along with one whole, large walnut. The red bean paste wasn't overly sweet — more on the mild side — which I personally liked.

Rather than the sweet red bean paste lingering strongly in your mouth, it blended naturally with the nutty walnut flavor. And the moment you bite in, the walnut's presence is unmistakable.

It's not just a few small broken walnut bits — a whole large walnut is packed in, so the more you chew, the more the nutty flavor and that crunchy texture come through. Having the walnut crunch between the soft dough and sweet red bean paste made for a genuinely fun bite.

Pea cream cheese — the flavor my kid especially loved

The pea cream cheese walnut pastry starts with the mild, gentle sweetness of pea paste, followed by the smooth, savory flavor of cream cheese.

It felt softer and creamier than the red bean version, so it's a flavor kids especially might love. With the whole walnut adding both nutty flavor and crunch, it felt clearly different from a walnut pastry that's just plain sweet.

And as expected, my little one ate it up happily.

Matcha — a clean-finishing specialty

And the green-wrapped matcha walnut pastry! The matcha's characteristic bittersweet, subtle aroma isn't a style that hits you strongly right away.

At first you taste the soft dough and paste, and after eating, a fragrant, slightly bitter matcha aroma lingers gently in your mouth!!! So rather than getting tiring, the finish was actually clean.

Adding matcha's distinct flavor to the sweet walnut pastry made for a genuinely different feel. This one's a specialty too!

Personally, eating them in turn — red bean, then pea cream cheese, then matcha — was fun too. Each flavor has such a distinct character that eating one after another felt like eating a different dessert each time.

A Gyeongju travel snack, and a holiday gift

If you're heading to Hwangnidan-gil in Gyeongju, rather than just seeking out cafés or desserts, try picking up a special street food find too. You could eat one as a snack while looking around Hwangnidan-gil like we did, or pack a mix of flavors to take home.

If you're looking for a food gift for the coming Chuseok holiday or for family and friends after your Gyeongju trip, I'd recommend Buja Hodu, the Hwangnidan-gil dessert favorite.

With upscale gift packaging, a range of flavors, and most of all walnut pastries with a proper whole walnut packed in, I think the receiver would be satisfied too. A special walnut pastry discovered on a Gyeongju trip! Next time I'll have to revisit to try the almond praline and the walnut ice cream affogato I missed out on.