Jongno 3-ga bakery for Mandong fans: garlic & coffee bread, Munhwa

Why I finally visited Munhwa Bakery in Jongno 3-ga

Munhwa Bakery (문화제빵) is a bakery on Donhwamun-ro near Jongno 3-ga Station, famous for its coffee bread and garlic bread. I finally got to try both, haha!

I'd actually known about Munhwa Bakery from the internet for a while. It's famous for its coffee bread and garlic bread, and I really wanted to try them, but I never had a reason to go all the way to Jongno, so I kept putting it off T_T Then I finally had a reason to be near Jongno and rushed over!

How to find Munhwa Bakery

Using Starbucks as a landmark made it easy to find, and a sign reading "빵" (bread) stands out front, so I spotted it quickly.

The first thing I checked the moment I walked in was whether the coffee bread and garlic bread were in stock! I was worried they might be sold out, but luckily both were still there, haha. Looks so good 🤤🤤

What breads does Munhwa Bakery have?

Besides the coffee bread and garlic bread, Munhwa Bakery has sliced bread loaves, bagels and squid ink condensed milk bread. Browsing almost made me lose all self-control.

I'd planned to buy only the coffee bread and garlic bread, but once I was inside, all the other breads looked so good too. There were loaves and bagels, and there was squid ink condensed milk bread as well.

The squid ink condensed milk bread was exactly my kind of name, so I agonized over it, haha.

For a moment I nearly lost control and grabbed a bit of everything, but I remembered today's mission and held back. In the end I stuck with the coffee bread and garlic bread I came for!

There was also a notice in the shop about a KCIA Korea Consumer Industry Evaluation excellence award, plus a Save the Children notice, so the bakery seems to take part in that kind of activity too. Funny the things you notice while browsing bread, haha.

Does Munhwa Bakery slice the garlic bread?

At checkout, the staff asked first whether I wanted the garlic bread sliced. I was planning to eat it right away, so I asked for it, and the moment I stepped out of the shop I started eating on the street.

How does Munhwa Bakery's coffee bread taste?

Munhwa Bakery's coffee bread is a fluffy bread dusted with coffee powder on the outside and filled with coffee cream inside. I tried the coffee bread first and wow... it's seriously so good.

The bread itself has such a soft, fluffy texture that I loved it from the very first bite. The coffee powder on the outside is delicious, and there's coffee cream inside too. Fluffy bread plus coffee cream is a combination that can't possibly be bad T_T Please try it, I really hope you do... I enjoyed it so much.

Is Munhwa Bakery's garlic bread similar to Mandong Bakery's in Daejeon?

Munhwa Bakery's garlic bread felt similar to the garlic bread at Mandong Bakery in Daejeon. I tried the garlic bread next, and does anyone know the garlic bread sold at Mandong Bakery in Daejeon?! I'm completely obsessed with it, lol. And Munhwa Bakery's garlic bread has a similar feel!

Garlic cream is spread moistly on the inside of the baguette, and it was so delicious. The outside is slightly crisp, while the inside is soft and moist! Totally crisp outside, tender inside 😋

If you like Mandong Bakery's garlic bread, I hope you'll try Munhwa Bakery's too. If you like moist garlic bread like I do, I think you'd really love this. I definitely bought it to take home, but ended up finishing it all on the street 😅 It felt like it vanished in about 5 minutes, lol.

Overall verdict on Munhwa Bakery in Jongno 3-ga

I'd wanted to try Munhwa Bakery in Jongno 3-ga for a long time, so my expectations were high, and I was happy because both the coffee bread and the garlic bread were so delicious. Next time I'm near Jongno, I'd like to try the squid ink condensed milk bread I resisted this time, haha.