Chang-dong café walk with Mom: original chimney bread at Uisagye

A dessert café by Uicheon stream, and a chimney bread bakery worth a stop in Chang-dong: Uisagye.

Where is Uisagye, and what are the hours and parking?

Uisagye is at 178 Uicheon-ro, Dobong-gu, Seoul, and it's open every day from 10:00 to 21:00. The café has no parking of its own, so use the roadside Modu Parking lots in front or Chang 3-dong Public Parking Lot No. 1, both paid.

A Chang-dong café found on a Uicheon walk with Mom

It was one of those days when my mom and I go on a little date in Chang-dong. The weather was perfect for a walk along Uicheon, and as we strolled we spotted a bakery café with lots of people inside. Uisagye sits right in front of the stream, so it's a quiet, healing kind of dessert café.

There are plenty of parking lines along the stream road in front of the café, so Modu Parking would work too, but I parked at Chang 3-dong Public Parking Lot No. 1 and walked along Uicheon to the café.

It was my first time walking Uicheon like this, and it was quiet, sunny, with just the right breeze. A totally perfect place for a walk.

Uisagye chimney bread menu and prices

Chimney bread (kkultteok-ppang style, a hollow rolled pastry baked on a spit) at Uisagye starts at ₩5,500 for the original, and there's no chimney bread on Wednesdays. Here are the prices:

• Original chimney bread ₩5,500
• Cinnamon chimney bread ₩5,800
• Chocolate chimney bread ₩5,800
• Cheese chimney bread ₩6,000
• Injeolmi (roasted soybean rice cake) chimney bread ₩6,000
• Chimney gimbap (seaweed rice roll style) ₩8,800
• Ice cream chimney bread ₩8,500

There's a wide range of coffee, tea, ades and lattes, like americano, café latte and vanilla latte. The signatures are the maron (chestnut) latte, apple cinnamon tea, Ui Einspänner, homemade omija ade and the Sangha Farm milk ice cream latte. And remember, no chimney bread on Wednesdays, so if you want it, avoid that day!

Every chimney bread is baked hot to order, which takes about 4–5 minutes. The chewy, plain-tasting chimney bread made with good Canadian flour is Uisagye's signature bakery item, and I hear the brunch-style chimney gimbap, loaded with Emmental cheese, jambon and arugula, is popular too.

What desserts does Uisagye have besides chimney bread?

Yes! Uisagye has salted caramel financiers, big Teddy cookies, Teddy chocolate cake, pure milk cream rolls, chestnut pound cake and chocolate marble pound cake, so there's plenty of dessert even if you skip the chimney bread.

How many coffee bean blends does Uisagye offer?

Also known as a great Chang-dong coffee spot, Uisagye has three beans: a decaf blend, a matte brick blend and a strawberry pink blend, so you can pick the coffee that suits your taste.

Inside Uisagye: a 50-year-old red brick house

Uisagye is a café reborn from a 50-year-old red brick house, embracing Uicheon stream. Through the big windows you can watch the seasons: the light green of spring, the sparkle of summer, the colors of autumn and the stillness of winter. It's an ideal interior for quietly drinking coffee.

Small dogs up to 10 kg are welcome too, so it also works as a dog-friendly café. Walk Uicheon and take a break together!

What we ordered: original chimney bread, financier, americano and omija ade

At Uisagye we ordered the original chimney bread, a salted caramel financier, an americano and a homemade omija ade. The chimney bread is baked right then, so you really get a piping hot bakery treat.

The sunlight by the window was so good that we grabbed a seat there, but honestly it's a pretty café wherever you sit, terrace or window.

Uisagye americano made with nutty beans

For the Uisagye americano I chose the nutty beans, and the sweetness of dark chocolate plus the nuttiness of almond made it really good.

What does Uisagye's signature homemade omija ade taste like?

I ordered the signature homemade omija ade too. I love a café with good omija ade! The tang of omija and the cool fizz were great, and it wasn't too sweet, just pleasantly sweet.

First visit to Uisagye? Start with the original chimney bread

Chimney bread is the thing you can't skip at Uisagye in Chang-dong. Since it was my first visit I picked the original, and it was plain, chewy and so good. Next time I definitely want to try the chimney gimbap at this bakery.

It seems the chimney bread is baked by wrapping the dough around a roller, which is why it comes out so tasty. It was good even without cream cheese, but next time I'll try it with tomato cream cheese.