Mangwon bakery injeolmi croissant & cruffin: Boulangerie Copain

Every time I go to Mangwon-dong, there's one bakery I've been meaning to stop by: Boulangerie Copain (블랑제리코팡), famous for the croissants and baguettes featured on Master of Living (생활의 달인), a Korean TV show about masters of their craft.

I love bread so much that whenever I travel or visit a new neighborhood, I look for a bakery first. Mangwon is a neighborhood I visit often, with lots of famous restaurants and cafés, yet I only made it here now. Since Boulangerie Copain is a Mangwon bakery famous for the croissants and baguettes from Master of Living, my expectations were even higher.

What kind of bakery is Boulangerie Copain?

Boulangerie Copain is a European-style bakery in Mangwon-dong that sticks to the basics. They say they use skills from a baker trained at a top luxury hotel, kneading and fermenting the dough by hand every day. The signature items are the croissant and baguette featured on Master of Living.

These days there are plenty of flashy dessert breads, but Boulangerie Copain felt like a back-to-basics European bakery. Maybe that's why the baguettes and croissants caught my eye first when I walked in. Once I ate them, I could really feel how much the dough and fermentation matter, because the bread itself was so well made.

The croissant, their signature, was the classic style: crisp outside, moist inside. The butter flavor spread gently with the first bite, and it was really good. I could see why it was on Master of Living.

The first thing I noticed as I stepped in was the rich smell of butter. The shelves were packed with meal breads, croissants and dessert breads, and everything looked so tempting that choosing took me ages.

How did the 5 takeout breads at Boulangerie Copain taste?

On this visit I took home the five breads below.

• Mini brioche loaf
• Croissant
• Injeolmi croissant (with roasted rice-cake powder)
• Melon cream bread
• Cinnamon cruffin

Plain croissant: crisp outside, moist inside, subtle butter

Of course the first thing I tried was the plain croissant from Boulangerie Copain. The outside shattered crisply while the inside stayed moist, so the texture was really good. The butter aroma wasn't overpowering, just gently rising, which made me keep reaching for more.

Injeolmi croissant: the surprise favorite

Surprisingly, the most memorable one was the injeolmi croissant. The nutty injeolmi powder (roasted rice-cake powder) went far better with the croissant's buttery flavor than I expected. It wasn't too sweet, so it was easy to eat, and I think older folks would like it too.

Melon cream bread: a dessert bread that pairs well with coffee

The melon cream bread was packed with sweet cream, so it was lovely as a dessert. The cream in Boulangerie Copain's melon cream bread was far more luxurious in both taste and texture than store-bought versions!!! It went really well with coffee too.

Cinnamon cruffin and the mini brioche loaf

The cinnamon cruffin (a croissant-muffin hybrid) had a really impressive aroma. The cinnamon scent spread with the first bite, and the texture was great too, crisp outside and moist inside.

Personally, I was also very happy with the mini brioche loaf. It was so.. good that I was too busy eating to take photos...^^;; The crumb was soft and moist, tasty on its own, and I thought it would be perfect for breakfast at home.

Is Boulangerie Copain good for a Mangwon stroll?

Boulangerie Copain is close to Mangwon Market and Mangridan-gil, as well as Mangwon Hangang Park. So it's a good stop during a walk or a date, and also a good place to grab bread for a picnic by the Han River.

There were quite a few takeout customers in the shop, and I saw many people buying croissants, meal breads or sandwiches and heading to the river. When you look for a great bakery in Mangwon, you want one that isn't just tasty but also fits your route, and I was happy on that front too.

Verdict: if you want a European bakery in Mangwon

If you're looking for a proper European-style bakery in Mangwon, Boulangerie Copain is well worth a visit. Besides the Master of Living croissant, I was happy overall with the meal breads and dessert breads too. The excellent basics are what made it so memorable.

If you're hunting for a great bakery in Mangwon, I recommend dropping by at least once. You can browse Mangwon Market and enjoy lovely bread too, so it was a satisfying visit.

Boulangerie Copain: location and basic info

• Address: 115 Huiujeong-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea (1st floor)
• Hours: 10:00–22:00
• Parking: use a nearby public parking lot
• Takeout available