Goyang bakery for cream salt bread: Boulangerie Tan

If you love bread, it’s hard to just walk past the bakery section when you’re at a department store, haha. I stopped by Hyundai Department Store KINTEX and started looking at the breads, and before I knew it there were more things than expected that I wanted to try, so I ended up choosing a few to take home! This is especially one of my favorite bakeries—the kind of great bread spot that people in the know already know about.

Boulangerie Tan, Hyundai Department Store KINTEX: hours and parking

• Mon–Thu 10:30–20:00
• Fri–Sun 10:30–20:30
• Parking available at Hyundai Department Store

It’s located in the basement of Hyundai Department Store, and though the shop is small, it’s packed with plenty to see. The upscale interior was especially pretty, too.

I think bakeries inside department stores are especially easy for looking over all the breads at a glance. That day, I also packed up a few to try at home. I arrived a little late, so it seemed like some of the tastiest breads had sold out, but there was still a really wide variety.

A range of breads, from cornet pies to ciabatta

The dessert called a cornet pie had a unique feel, like something I’d never seen before. It looked like cream was tucked inside the crisp, rolled pastry, and there were quite a few varieties. They looked lovely, so I think they would make nice gifts. There are gift boxes available, too, so they would make an atmospheric present.

There are several kinds of ciabatta as well. Normally, since I tend to prefer plain breads, I probably would have chosen the ciabattas, but that day I picked a range of things I don’t usually eat.

Milk cream salt bread and myeongran potato salt bread that caught my eye

Whenever I go to a bakery, I personally always end up checking out at least one basic salt bread (a buttery salted roll). This time, though, it wasn’t just regular salt bread—the milk cream salt bread and myeongran (seasoned pollock roe) potato salt bread caught my eye. Rather than plain salt bread, they have toppings like milk cream and myeongran potato, which seemed to make the flavors more varied.

They were also running an event where you get one regular salt bread when you buy three salt breads!

They say they use high-quality, premium butter here, too! Butter has such a big effect on the taste of bread, after all.

Reading their production principles made me trust them even more. They bake the bread that day and sell it that same day, disposing of anything left over. They also say they use only trustworthy, natural ingredients with good qualities. Maybe that’s why it feels like eating healthier bread.

Packed bread with a vanilla latte

They sell drinks as well as bread.

It felt a little disappointing to pack up only bread, so I ordered a vanilla latte too. When you go to a bakery, the bread-and-coffee pairing really can’t be left out. The vanilla latte smelled lovely and went so well with the bread that it just kept disappearing.

They packed everything in a pretty bag, haha.

Trying the chocolate baguette and cream salt bread

The chocolate baguette was a popular item, so I chose it. I usually eat fairly plain bread and often have baguettes, but I picked the chocolate-flavored baguette to share with a friend that day. The outside had that distinctive baguette texture, while inside there was a gentle chocolate sweetness, giving it a different appeal from typical dessert bread! It wasn’t overly sweet, and the subtly addictive flavor made me think I should have this kind of bread now and then.

The milk cream salt bread adds milk cream to the salty, nutty flavor of salt bread, so I expected it to be a little softer and sweeter than regular salt bread. Once I tried it, it really was a combination where you could enjoy the understated flavor of salt bread along with the smooth taste of the cream. Salt bread has a crisp, nutty exterior and a moist interior, and with the cream inside, it was also lovely as a dessert, haha. You can never go wrong with sweet and salty together. In particular, the milk cream made it feel a little moister and softer than bread on its own!

The myeongran potato salt bread also had the soft, nutty flavor of potato, plus the distinctive savory umami of myeongran, so I thought it would be good as a snack or even a light meal, haha.