Mangwon-dong bakery's priciest basil sandwich: Boulangerie Copain

Why Boulangerie Copain is a Mangwon bakery must-visit

Boulangerie Copain (블랑제리코팡) is a bakery in Mangwon-dong at 115 Huiujeong-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, 1st floor. It's open every day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and it's a fixture on the popular Mangwon bakery-hopping route. This is a post with a sponsored discount, but honestly, Boulangerie Copain is a bakery I run to whenever I get my hands on a coffee anyway.

It's quite a distance from the photo studio, but the reason I keep coming is the baguette sandwich. Today, though, I'm going to look around at the other breads besides my usual sandwich.

It was featured on Master of Living (생활의 달인) as a baguette and croissant master, so naturally baguettes and croissants are the signature items.

Since the breads sit out in the open, dogs have to wait outside.

When the baguettes come out, and the shop vibe

The baguettes come out at 10 a.m.! When 10 o'clock hits, lots of people rush in to buy baguettes and the shop gets crowded.

The shop is small. Breads line the left side, and on busy days they spill onto the tables on the right. A few kinds are also in the refrigerated case. There's no indoor seating.

At a glance there are lots of thick, hefty, huge breads. The toppings all look delicious too, and honestly there are so many breads I want to try.

They're this big, yet the prices are cheap. I guess I'll have to come back and work through them one by one.

The ₩5,500 ham and cheese baguette sandwich I've eaten 10 times

This is Boulangerie Copain's ham and cheese baguette sandwich, which I've probably eaten 10 times so far. The price alone is attractive. A sandwich for ₩5,500? Boulangerie Copain is the only bakery in Mangwon where you can get one at that price.

I didn't buy this sandwich today, so let me describe it in words: the cheese isn't just any cheese, it's Emmental, so it's a bit bitter, and the whole-grain mustard adds flavor for a really upscale taste. And the baguette being delicious goes without saying...

Right next to the ham and cheese baguette sandwich is angbutter (red bean paste and butter), also ₩5,500 and similarly thick, so I always hesitate about trying it. But I haven't eaten it yet. Next time I'll definitely try the angbutter.

The priciest bread: basil sandwich, Valrhona choco baguette, lemon cake

Today I'm going special and extravagant with Boulangerie Copain's basil sandwich. It's such a fancy one that it even comes in a case. I think it's the most expensive bread at Boulangerie Copain.

The Valrhona choco baguette! It's a popular item at Boulangerie Copain. I haven't tried it yet. The chocolate chunks studded all through it look so sweet and delicious.

Every time I see the lemon cake I want to try one. But it's too small, so it'd be more of a snack than a meal.

How the Earl Grey palmier from the fridge tastes

Inside Boulangerie Copain's fridge are assorted sauces, chocolate banana pudding and palmiers (palmier, a flaky puff pastry cookie).

I tried the Earl Grey palmier. It feels like a hard nu-ne-tti-ne (a crisp French-style cookie) covered in Earl Grey white chocolate. The surprising part is that I don't really like sweet things, and this palmier was really sweet, yet I still enjoyed it a lot.

Lots of neighborhood residents use this bakery, so there are plenty of everyday sliced loaves too.

Basil sandwich and iced Americano

Today is an extravagant day, so I ordered an iced Americano at Boulangerie Copain too. Honestly it was just so, so hot outside that I had no choice but to order one...

Casually plopping the iced Americano down next to the basil sandwich made me feel like a New Yorker.

It was so hot that on the way I walked along with the iced Americano tucked under my arm, sipping it as I ate the sandwich. I expected it to taste like the ham and cheese sandwich, but the combination of tomato and basil gave it a deeper flavor. It really was worth being the priciest at Boulangerie Copain..!

Boulangerie Copain is the best-value bakery in Mangwon-dong, and a regular vouches for it, so go check it out!