Ikseon-dong bakery on a hanbok shopping day: garlic bread only, Munhwa

A stop at Munhwa Bakery in Ikseon-dong after hanbok shopping in Jongno

You guys, when you're in Jongno for a hanbok (traditional Korean dress) fitting for my parents' outfits after ages, how could I not swing by Ikseon-dong? I stopped at Munhwa Bakery and grabbed garlic bread, and wow, even after a long time it was still so good!!! Garlic bread — honestly, I don't think there are many places that can compete with Munhwa Bakery... here's my genuinely, truly delicious review!!

If you wander the alleys of Ikseon-dong, there are so many good spots — cafés, desserts, Korean food, Western food, all sorts, which is why so many people come here looking for good eats :) Whenever I'm in Ikseon-dong I like to check out somewhere new, but Munhwa Bakery is somewhere I've personally kept coming back to for a long time whenever it crosses my mind 🥹 I especially love their garlic bread... crisp on the outside, moist on the inside, with that deep distinctive garlic flavor coming through — genuinely delicious 🧄✨

They cut it into nice bite-sized pieces like this too, so definitely ask for that!!

If you love garlic bread, I think you'll understand why I'm raving like this once you try it haha

Munhwa Bakery hours: 11:00 to 20:00

Munhwa Bakery, an Ikseon-dong favorite, is open 11:00 - 20:00

Munhwa Bakery is the kind of place that quietly pops into your head out of nowhere 🥖🤍

Why I bought only the garlic bread and skipped the rest

🥖 Munhwa Bakery garlic bread in Ikseon-dong — once again, I packed garlic bread to take home 🤍 When you're at a bakery, there are so many tempting-looking breads that at first I thought about grabbing a few different ones, but in the end the one thing I kept thinking of was garlic bread haha. Rather than buying a bunch of stuff and then getting home thinking 'I should've just gotten the garlic bread...', I'd rather just pick the one I know for sure I love 😌

What Munhwa Bakery's garlic bread tastes like: crisp outside, moist inside

Munhwa Bakery's garlic bread isn't the type with just a faint garlic scent — the first bite hits you with a real garlic butter flavor, so if you're a garlic bread fan, this will really suit your taste. And the texture of the bread itself is fantastic too. The outside is lightly crisp, the inside is soft and moist, and before you know it, one bite just leads to another 😂 Finishing a whole one by yourself is nothing!!

Garlic bread >_<

Packed and ready

When I eat garlic bread, I usually get sick of it fast if it's too sweet or too rich, but Munhwa Bakery's garlic bread has that salty, savory garlic flavor coming through too, which is exactly the kind of taste I personally love.

Still just as good after all this time

🧄 Honestly, with food you haven't had in a while, your expectations get built up from old memories, so sometimes when you actually eat it again you think, 'huh, not as good as I remembered?' But with Munhwa Bakery's garlic bread, even after a long gap, the first bite had me going 'oh yeah!!! This is it!!!' hahaha 🤣🤍 Guess truly good food stays memorable no matter how much time passes.

That savory, salty flavor unique to garlic bread pairs really well with coffee or tea, and for someone like me who's happy with just one piece of bread, it's the perfect snack ☕️🥖 Eating it at home, there's this extra feeling that it's bread I brought back from Ikseon-dong, which somehow makes it taste even better haha

How the garlic bread holds up packed and eaten at home

🏡 If you're visiting Munhwa Bakery while out in Ikseon-dong, eating it right away is great, but I'd also recommend packing it to go like I did :) Ikseon-dong has so many alleys worth exploring that it's actually nice to pack the bread and eat it at home, or after wrapping up other plans, instead of eating it on the spot. I was there this time because I had an errand in Jongno, so I packed the garlic bread and brought it along 🛍️ Eating it comfortably at home, the portion somehow disappears faster than expected, magically... haha. Why is it that with garlic bread, one piece just leads to eating the whole thing? 🥹

Is Munhwa Bakery worth a stop in Ikseon-dong?

📍 Ikseon-dong has so many famous restaurants and cafés that it's often hard to decide where to go. If you're like me, looking for good bread in Ikseon-dong — especially if you love garlic bread — Munhwa Bakery is worth a visit 🤍 Personally, the garlic bread was really satisfying, and even after a long gap it was just as delicious as before, so I think I'll be buying it again next time I have somewhere to be in Jongno haha. A day that started with a hanbok errand in Jongno ended up with a nice long-overdue look around Ikseon-dong and delicious garlic bread to bring home 🥖✨

Ikseon-dong really is the kind of place where, even after a long time away, wandering the alleys is still fun. And I'm the type who has to eat something good whenever I'm in Ikseon-dong haha... this time, Munhwa Bakery's garlic bread delivered for sure 😎🤍 If you love garlic bread, keep this in mind for your next Ikseon-dong visit! Next time I have a reason to head to Jongno, I think Munhwa Bakery will just naturally come to mind first 🧄🥖