Seodaemun café garlic baguette for a Gangneung road trip: Mandong Jegwa

A garlic baguette find on a Yeonnam-dong bakery crawl

If you're a self-confessed bread lover who truly takes bread seriously, there are those must-visit holy grails you simply have to stop by when you're in Hongdae or Yeonnam-dong, right? Haha. I finally visited Mandong Jegwa Yeonnam Branch, a place so famous that people line up for it even on ordinary days—and one that had been at the very top of my bakery-crawl list!

It is such a popular hot spot that, if your timing is off, things can sell out or you may face a long wait. But I stopped by at exactly the right time and finally got to meet Mandong Jegwa's eternal signature item and star menu: the garlic baguette.

To give you the conclusion first... every garlic baguette I've eaten in my life up until now was a fake ㅠㅠ. The moment I took a bite, the cream and butter melted softly in my mouth. Let me tell you all about this moving encounter with a whole new world, haha.

The shop's aroma and the hefty bagged baguettes

It wasn't difficult to find: just stroll from Hongik University Station Exit 3 toward Yeonnam-dong's main alley.

The instant I opened the door, the shop was filled with the nutty, sweet buttery smell of freshly baked bread and that sharp, savory garlic aroma. It hit my nose in the best way and immediately lifted my mood, haha. The interior is small and simple, but every neatly displayed loaf looked delicious and substantial—I nearly lost my mind looking around.

I wanted all the other breads too, but today's mission was one thing only: garlic baguettes. So I placed a takeaway order without hesitation!

• Order: 2 garlic baguettes (₩7,000 each / ₩14,000 total)
• One was for a bread-loving friend's gift, and I claimed the other one entirely for myself, haha.

At first, ₩7,000 for a garlic baguette might sound a little pricey. But the moment it was handed to me, its remarkable weight made it feel completely worth it. They must have poured on the garlic sauce without holding back—the paper bag itself felt heavy, haha.

Eating garlic baguette in the car to Gangneung

It happened to be the day I was leaving for a Gangneung trip with friends. We set off early in the morning, so I was hungry on an empty stomach. I couldn't resist opening the package on the drive and taking out a piece as breakfast!

Seriously, everyone... the moment I put a piece in my mouth, my eyes flew open ㅠㅠㅠ!!! Ordinary garlic baguettes are usually so hard or chewy that they scrape the roof of your mouth, or you get only the faintest brush of garlic flavor, right?

But Mandong Jegwa's garlic baguette has those thin, distinct baguette layers on the outside, while the inside is soaked through with garlic butter cream sauce. It just melts in your mouth like pudding or a soufflé pancake!!

The garlic's distinctive sharpness is kept pleasantly in check rather than overwhelming, while the sweet-and-salty buttery flavor fills your mouth. It was shockingly delicious—enough to make me think, “How can a garlic baguette like this even exist?” A garlic baguette with this texture is truly my first ever...★

I opened it intending to taste just one light piece for breakfast, but it was so good that I couldn't stop. I demolished more than half before we even arrived in Gangneung, haha. A fragrant piece of garlic baguette with a sip of iced Americano in the car got my travel energy properly going right from the start.

Why it was such a hit as a gift, too

The friend I gave one to tried it later and then went wild on KakaoTalk, saying, “Where did you buy this? This is the best garlic baguette of my life!” It was such an unmistakably great flavor that anyone—regardless of age or gender—couldn't help falling for it. It made the gift-giver feel pretty proud, haha.

If you're looking for a proper bakery-crawl route around Yeonnam-dong or Hongdae, or want an all-time garlic baguette that goes beyond crispy-outside, soft-inside and simply melts tenderly in your mouth, you absolutely have to stop by Mandong Jegwa Yeonnam Branch. One baguette per person is a must, and I strongly recommend stocking up generously for the special people around you, too. 👍