Mangpo Station café with cream cheese toast and einspänner: Hongrad

My own little hideout! Time to write up my visit to Hongrad Mangpo Station Branch. I've come so many times I honestly don't remember the count anymore, haha. It's on the 4th floor of a Nonghyup building.

From the entrance you can already feel that good-vibes café energy. There's a full-length mirror, a regular mirror, and what looks like a camcorder-style TV, so it's great for taking selfies. Perfect if you come with a friend to snap photos. But for someone my height (170cm/5'7"), the mirror sat a bit low, so selfies were a little tricky...;; 📸 you can still get a shot if you do the manner-leg pose (bending one knee).

Finding Hongrad Mangpo Station Branch: 4th floor of the Nonghyup building (watch the step)

The entrance to Hongrad Mangpo Station Branch is on the 4th floor of the Nonghyup building, and there's a step right at the café door, so watch your footing going in!! The door on the right connects to a staircase — if you come up those stairs, you'll walk straight into Hongrad's entrance.

Once inside, the café feels bigger than expected, which puts me in a good mood. I can never stay long in a cramped little café, so this is a relief.

Inside Hongrad: American-style interior and the stamp coupon

The inside of Hongrad Mangpo Station Branch is packed with American-diner interior vibes. I believe there are about 5 branches in Suwon alone.

It's such a shame — I keep losing my Hongrad stamp card every time I get one... even though it has a cute cat face printed on the back, I still lose it!!! Anyway, make sure to get your stamps. They say stamps are honored across all branches. Collect 10 stamps and get a free drink!!! (If I'd actually kept track, I would've had a free drink ages ago, haha, so annoying.)

Seats and outlets at Hongrad: where is best for laptop work?

There are lots of plush chairs by the floor-to-ceiling windows, so it's really well suited for laptop work!! There are also plenty of outlets in the back, great for charging. With sofa seats and chair seats in all kinds of styles, it's fun just picking where to sit.

Today I wanted a corner spot, so I sat in front of a wall with what looked like animal hide hanging on it. There's a rug underneath too, which somehow adds to the atmosphere, haha. The chair was super plush, loved it. But the table was oddly small, so it's not the most convenient table for laptop work. If you want to work on a laptop, another sofa seat is more comfortable.

Besides the sofa seats, there are also these wooden chair seats. I saw what looked like high schoolers and college students studying here. It seems like women in their teens to thirties make up most of the crowd. There's a charging cable on top of the green lockers. Last time it didn't seem to be working so I called a staff member over, but it started working right away — a bit awkward and embarrassing... Make sure to plug your charger in all the way!!! I'd recommend taking your phone case off before plugging in, haha (turned out it wasn't charging because I hadn't plugged it in firmly enough).

Gifts and small goods for sale at Hongrad

There are cute little items to browse too, hehe. Cute stickers, rings, and more? It has the feel of someone curating only the cutest picks from a Dongdaemun accessory shop, haha.

Self-serve water and hand cream at Hongrad

Water, tissues, and hand cream are all set out. It's nice being able to pour yourself water whenever you're thirsty. Asking staff for water always feels like a bit much (?), so a café with its own self-serve water is a plus, hehe.

The 4th-floor window view and how busy Hongrad gets on weekends

Being on the 4th floor means it's pretty high up for a café. Maybe that's why the sunlight comes in so nicely, and staring out the window while zoning out is great here. Good spot to soak up some sun, haha. I also come here sometimes on weekends to read, but weekends are surprisingly busy!! If you're planning a weekend visit, come early to claim your favorite spot.

Browsing these cute little knick-knacks is also fun in its own way. Whoever designed the interior and picked out these items has seriously great taste.

Where are the restrooms at Hongrad Mangpo Station Branch?

I didn't even know there was a men's restroom until this visit... 🫢🫢🫢 It's to the right of the ordering counter. The women's restroom is near the entrance. There's a restroom inside the café and it's clean, which is probably part of why I keep coming back.

How do the Hongrad toast and einspänner taste?

I ordered three things total: einspänner, omija tea, and Hongrad toast.

I'd already tried the brownie and the Ex-Boyfriend Toast last time, so this time I went for the Hongrad toast. If you like cream cheese, you'll probably love this. It's tasty, but I'm just not that into cheese flavors, so... next time I think I'll try the brownie or kaya toast (coconut jam toast) instead. Alternating bites of banana and ice cream on top just keeps them going down, yum. I honestly want to skip real meals and just live on sweet stuff like this...

The design drawn on top of the einspänner seems to depend on whichever staff member makes it. Feels like a random gacha pull. Either way, it's cute. But I always end up leaving about 3 sips of foam behind, which is such a waste. Sweet, sweet foam... when I'm eating without thinking, I sip it straight without stirring it in, so I always leave some foam behind, lol. Sweet foam, gone to waste.

Since I ordered what looked like a 2-person portion by myself, they gave me two forks. Felt... kind of good, honestly. But since I'm a piggy, haha, I ended up eating it all by myself. Anyway, that wraps up the review of my precious little hideout.