Mangwon bakery Melona melon bread, pain suisse: Boulangerie Copain

A leading name among Mangwon bakeries, and a place to try premium bread in a different league.

What kind of bakery is Boulangerie Copain?

Boulangerie Copain (블랑제리코팡) is a premium French-style bakery in an alley off Huiujeong-ro in Mangwon, and it is takeout only. Walk along Mangwon's quiet, atmospheric backstreets and the neat, tidy shopfront comes into view. Even from the outside it has the professional air of a premium French bakery. The clean signboard, easy to spot from far away, and the classic mood add to the shop's overall elegance.

There were signs of its TV appearance too, and once I learned it was named a master in the baguette and croissant category on SBS's Master of Living (생활의 달인), I got so excited. It runs as a bread-to-go shop, so there are no tables for eating in, only takeout. The whole inside is filled with rich buttery scent and the smell of freshly baked bread, a space where just breathing makes you happy. On the shelves, pastries, baguettes and baked sweets baked with care every day are laid out neatly.

What breads are on the Boulangerie Copain shelves?

On the shelves, you're greeted first by plain campagne (country bread), luxurious Valrhona chocolate baguette, classic salt bread, and soft milk salt bread.

Then there are these:

• Sweet angbutter (red bean and butter bread), tangy lemon cake
• Fig financier, plain financier
• Salty corn cheese sausage croissant, garlic cheese balls
• Hearty ham and cheese baguette sandwich, layered and nutty pain suisse
• Tomato olive danish, Colby Jack sandwich, blueberry croissant
• Nutty injeolmi (rice cake) croissant, raspberry almond croissant
• Fragrant basil sandwich, basil crunch
• Burst-of-freshness mango danish, fig cream cheese baguette
• Classic croissant, chestnut loaf studded with chestnuts
• Mini brioche, brioche loaf
• Crispy sweet kouign-amann, cinnamon croffin, honey toast
• And the nostalgic melon cream bread too

Boulangerie Copain fridge corner

There was also a well-stocked fridge corner for things that need to stay fresh. Sweet-tart raspberry blueberry jam sauce and savory onion cream cheese sauce were sold separately, and sweet choco banana pudding, chocolate palmiers with a great crunch, Earl Grey palmiers with a subtle tea aroma, and soft castella cream bread were all kept fresh, so choosing to your taste is half the fun.

The 5 breads I picked at Boulangerie Copain: overall verdict?

Today's stars from Boulangerie Copain were five in all: melon cream bread, a plain croissant, pain suisse, a ham and cheese baguette sandwich, and a fig financier. I put together a varied mix, from sweet cream bread to a savory meal-type sandwich, authentic layered pastry and sweet baked treats. Overall it felt like they didn't hold back on ingredients and just piled them in, and each bread's own texture and aroma came through clearly, so my mouth was happy the whole time. It works as a meal replacement and is perfect for dessert time too, a well-balanced combination.

Never mind the classic quality of the basic baguette and croissant: the variations like melon cream bread and pain suisse, and baked sweets like the fig financier, were all evenly excellent. You could feel in every bite that good butter and fresh ingredients went in without skimping. If you're visiting Mangwon or want really good premium bread, don't hesitate, stop by and enjoy a bread pilgrimage (빵지순례). I sincerely recommend it.

Ham and cheese baguette sandwich: ham, Emmental, mustard

Boulangerie Copain's ham and cheese baguette sandwich is a meal-style sandwich with thinly sliced ham, Emmental cheese and mustard sauce in a baguette. It's mild yet deeply flavored. The baguette is so crisp outside it crackles, and chewy inside, layered with thin slices of quality ham and nutty, deep-flavored Emmental. A thin spread of sharp, clean mustard sauce balances the whole thing. The combination could easily be plain, but the bread itself is so good that a toasty flavor spreads the more you chew, and it's addictive, the kind you keep going back to.

What does the melon cream bread taste like?

Boulangerie Copain's melon cream bread has a gentle, sweet Melona (Korean melon ice bar) flavor that really comes through. The top is covered with a thick streusel biscuit with a fresh melon scent, giving a crunch on the first bite. Inside, there's plenty of soft, moist premium melon cream, no skimping. The crisp outside and moist cream inside work together and fill your mouth with sweetness. It's big too, so even one bread leaves you full and satisfied.

Croissant, reheated 5 minutes in an air fryer at 180°C

Boulangerie Copain's signature classic croissant was kept in the freezer, then reheated in the air fryer at 180°C for about 5 minutes. You can feel the master's touch in this croissant. The moment I took it out, the rich, luxurious buttery smell that had filled the shop spread through the whole house. One bite makes a crackle so loud it's a treat for your ears, and inside, the air pockets and layers were perfectly intact, one after another, which made me gasp. It's the real essence of a properly made croissant.

Pain suisse: is it okay frozen and thawed?

I froze Boulangerie Copain's pain suisse at home after buying it and thawed it slightly before eating, and it still wasn't hard. The pastry layers are tightly packed. Maybe because it's loaded with butter, it wasn't hard at all even after freezing, and kept a chewy texture like a firm cookie or a luxurious financier. Sweet chocolate sits between the layers that tear apart, so with every bite the nutty butter aroma and the chocolate blend smoothly in your mouth, and I really enjoyed it.

Fig financier: crisp outside, whole fig inside

Boulangerie Copain's fig financier is a baked sweet that's crisp outside, moist inside, with bits of real fig to bite into. The deep, dark brown color made me feel it would be delicious from the look alone. Top-quality butter is used generously, and thanks to the right sugar ratio, the crisp, crunchy outside is clear. The inside stays dense and moist, with sweet fig pieces packed in, so it's fun to chew. The deep butter flavor and the fig's distinctive, luxurious sweetness work together, a dessert I savored one careful bite at a time.