Yeonnam-dong bakery, no garlic baguette: walnut & jalapeño, Mandong

Is Mandong Jegwa Yeonnam Branch still worth it on a day with no garlic baguette?

Mandong Jegwa Yeonnam Branch (만동제과 연남점) is a bakery whose garlic baguette is a must-stop on any Yeonnam-dong bakery tour. Whenever I travel or visit a new neighborhood, I always go on a bakery crawl, and this place was so famous in Yeonnam-dong that I had it saved for ages. I finally went! The garlic baguette is the big name, so my expectations were sky-high.

I'd been hanging out in Hongdae, started craving bread, and dropped by, and for once there was no crowd?! I walked right in, and it turns out everyone else was waiting for the garlic baguette to come out, hahaha (T_T). I went on a day with no garlic baguette.

Mandong Jegwa's atmosphere and how entry works

The inside of Mandong Jegwa Yeonnam Branch isn't very big, so when it gets busy, the staff limit how many people can enter at once. When I went, there were about 5 groups inside picking out bread. It felt well managed so it never got too crowded, and even when the line is long, it runs in an orderly way rather than feeling chaotic, which I liked.

The Yeonnam-dong bakery vibe was lovely too. It's small and warm, and the smell of baking bread was seriously insane. The moment you walk in, butter and garlic scents hit you. Bread lovers will lose their minds, haha.

What breads does Mandong Jegwa have besides the garlic baguette?

Besides the signature garlic baguette, Mandong Jegwa has plenty of other popular breads, like the onion bagel, basil tomato, cappuccino, shrimp baguette and rump bun. There were so many kinds that I struggled to decide what to grab, and these are the ones I saw lots of people taking.

• Onion bagel
• Basil tomato
• Cappuccino
• Shrimp baguette
• Rump bun (eongdeongi-ppang)

Lots of people were also buying the shrimp baguette. It has chopped shrimp inside, so I hear it works well as a meal-style bread.

The 5 breads I bought at Mandong Jegwa, and their prices

This time I bought 5 breads at Mandong Jegwa Yeonnam Branch: walnut bread, fig campagne, jalapeño ciabatta, rump bun and rusk, and each one had a totally different charm.

• Walnut bread ₩4,300
• Fig campagne ₩5,800
• Jalapeño ciabatta ₩4,800
• Rump bun ₩3,500
• Rusk ₩1,500

The fig campagne is packed with figs and cream cheese, so it tasted nutty and plain-but-satisfying the more I chewed, and the jalapeño ciabatta had a spicy kick that was sneakily addictive, the kind of bread you keep reaching for.

What does the jalapeño ciabatta taste like?

Mandong Jegwa's jalapeño ciabatta (₩4,800) is a ciabatta with olives and cheese, topped with a jalapeño egg sauce, and it's salty and savory. Surprisingly, the jalapeño ciabatta and the walnut bread were the ones that stuck with me most from this haul. The salty, nutty flavor hits you from the very first bite.

I loved the chewy ciabatta texture, the olives inside boost the flavor even more, and the nuttiness of the cheese pairs really well with the gentle heat of the jalapeño. The jalapeño egg sauce was the highlight. It isn't harshly spicy, but it cuts the richness just right, so it kept me coming back for more.

Rump bun and rusk

Mandong Jegwa's rump bun (eongdeongi-ppang, ₩3,500) is filled with fluffy milk cream, soft and sweet. It looks cute too, just like its name. I picked up the rusk (₩1,500) casually, but it was so crunchy that I kept eating it.

The rusk is so good too!

Walnut bread: a must if you like walnuts

Mandong Jegwa's walnut bread (₩4,300) has walnuts in the dough and a crunchy soboro (crumble) topping made from walnuts, so it hits the spot for walnut lovers. The crunchy topping caught my eye from the first glance, and since it's not an ordinary soboro but a walnut one, the nutty aroma was incredibly strong and so delicious!!

There are walnuts in the dough itself, so a nutty flavor keeps rising with every bite, and the walnut crunch soboro on top adds a crisp texture too. It's slightly crisp outside and moist inside, so it didn't feel like a dry, dense health bread.

Overall it isn't too sweet, so it's easy to eat, and since the nutty flavor is the main thing, it goes really well with coffee. If you like nuts, I really hope you'll try the walnut bread at Mandong Jegwa alongside the garlic baguette!