Jongno 3-ga bakery on a gold-buying trip: chewy coffee bread, Munhwa

I went out to buy gold and came back having found the bakery of my life. 🍞✨

How I found Munhwa Bakery in Jongno 3-ga while buying gold

Munhwa Bakery (문화제빵) is a Jongno 3-ga bakery I found by accident while out buying gold. Parking in Jongno is hard, so I left the car at the Changdeokgung public parking lot I'd looked up beforehand. On the walk over, I saw a line outside Munhwa Bakery even though it was still early.

Last weekend I made a sudden trip to Jongno to buy gold. Every time I go, I'm reminded how hard parking is there. So I parked at the Changdeokgung public lot I'd found in advance and strolled toward Jongno with Hodu (my dog). Gold was the whole point, but this day I unexpectedly discovered a great bakery in Jongno 3-ga. It was still early, yet people were lining up, and I thought, "What is this place?" and we naturally joined the line. I was a little hungry too, and I can never walk past a place with a line, so we started waiting right away.

How long is the wait at Munhwa Bakery?

The shop is small, so only 2 parties are let in at a time, and this day I waited about 7–8 minutes before going in. Even when the line looks long, most people buy quickly and leave, so it moved faster than I expected.

The shop was smaller than I'd imagined. There isn't much room inside, so they let in 2 parties at a time, but even when the line looks long, most people buy and leave fast, so we got in sooner than expected.

Hodu, excited at the thought of bread (?). Of course, I'm the one eating the bread.

While waiting, I learned that Munhwa Bakery donates bread that doesn't sell that day to people in care facilities or in difficult circumstances. Making good bread and doing good too made me like the place even more.

After about 7–8 minutes, we finally got in! Honestly, I came with zero information about Munhwa Bakery. Which breads are famous, what the signature is, why people queue. I knew nothing. I was just a person who followed the crowd in. But with places like this, the answer comes naturally while you wait: watch which bread people grab most and you instantly know the popular items.

Munhwa Bakery's most popular breads: garlic bread and coffee bread

Almost every customer at Munhwa Bakery picked up a garlic bread. A long coffee bread also caught my eye, but it isn't on the display: they hand over a pre-sliced, packaged one separately.

Of everything, the garlic bread was something almost everybody bought. It felt like every person who walked in put one in their basket. Watching that, I thought, "Ah, so this is the signature!" A famous Jongno 3-ga bakery is famous for a reason.

And one more bread caught my eye: the long coffee bread! While waiting outside I kept wondering why that one bread never seemed to run out. Turns out they give you a pre-sliced, packaged one separately, so the loaf on display never shrank.

The four breads I bought at Munhwa Bakery

I bought four breads at Munhwa Bakery: walnut bread, coffee bread, garlic bread and black sesame bread. Only the walnut bread was easy to eat while walking, so I pulled that one out right away.

• Walnut bread
• Coffee bread
• Garlic bread
• Black sesame bread

Of the four, only the walnut bread felt like proper walk-and-eat food, so I took one out immediately.

Bread first, then gold: the perfect route. Gold and bread. Isn't that a lovely pair of one-word treasures? After one walnut bread, just finding this Jongno 3-ga bakery already felt like a successful outing.

What does Munhwa Bakery's garlic bread taste like? Triple the garlic

I ate the garlic bread in the car on the way home, and it felt like the most garlicky garlic bread I've ever had. Even with all that garlic it isn't harsh, so you keep reaching for more.

Car-bread on the way home, right away. It felt like the highest garlic content of any garlic bread I've eaten. Triple garlic bread, by feel. But strangely, it isn't overdone. Lots of garlic, yet not harsh, just the kind of taste you keep reaching for. I understood why so many people were buying it.

Munhwa Bakery's coffee bread and black sesame bread: all about the chew

My top pick from Munhwa Bakery is the coffee bread, with a very strong coffee aroma and an incredibly chewy texture. I froze the black sesame bread, then thawed it at room temperature for about 1 hour two days later, and it tasted almost like I'd bought it that day.

But my top pick was something else: the coffee bread. The aroma is so strong I wondered if it was too much, like it's shouting "I'm coffee!" The texture is super chewy, the kind you rarely find at an ordinary bakery. I kept saying "this is really good?" while eating. At this point, it's a candidate for bakery of my life.

I put the black sesame bread in the freezer and ate it two days later; after thawing about 1 hour at room temperature, it tasted almost as if I'd bought it that day. These two breads in particular had a seriously impressive chew. It had a charm I haven't felt at other bakeries. The coffee bread has become my absolute favorite... By now Munhwa Bakery is almost the bakery of my life. The coffee bread alone is reason enough to go back.

A birthday tradition: gold in Jongno, then bread at Munhwa Bakery

While eating Munhwa Bakery bread after buying gold, my husband and I promised each other that every birthday we'd buy 1 don (3.75 g) of gold in Jongno and pick up Munhwa Bakery bread too. Though if I crave the coffee bread, I may not wait for my birthday and just go for the bread.

While buying gold and eating this bread, my husband and I made a promise: every birthday, we'll each come to Jongno, buy 1 don (3.75 g) of gold, and bring home Munhwa Bakery bread too. Gold and bread every birthday. I think it'll be a pretty good tradition. But honestly... I don't know if I can wait until my birthday. If I crave the coffee bread, I might go back just for bread. That's how satisfied I was. A bakery of my life, found by chance in Jongno. Gold and bread. The best.