Off-season mango cream cake at a Seocho dessert shop: Chef Cho

I was in Gangnam over the weekend and wanted something fresh and sweet, so I stopped by Chef Cho in the Sweet Park section of Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam. I have great memories of the strawberry cake from their Mullae flagship store, so this time I picked up a mango cake to take home! It was loaded with fresh mango and the cream's sweetness was just right, so I enjoyed it to the last bite without getting sick of it. I'd definitely recommend this for a birthday or anniversary gift :-)

Where is Chef Cho Shinsegae Gangnam in Seocho, and what are its hours?

• 📍 Location: 3-minute walk from Express Bus Terminal Station Exit 3, basement level 1 of Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam
• 🕖 Hours: Daily 10:30-20:00 / extended hours Fri, Sat, Sun 10:30-20:30 (closed on department store holidays)
• ✔️ Reservations: Not available
• 🚗 Parking: Department store underground parking

How to find Chef Cho inside Sweet Park

Chef Cho at Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam is located in Sweet Park on basement level 1.

If you go straight from the Sweet Park entrance without turning, you'll spot it right away! It's near the entrance so it's pretty easy to find.

The showcase is wide and packed full of every kind of cake. I found out Chef Cho's master pastry chef was featured as one of the 'Four Kings of Cake' on the show Masters of Life! They use 100% dairy cream so the cakes aren't too sweet, and they make cakes 2-3 times a day to keep them fresh and moist.

Chef Cho whole cake flavors, sizes and prices

The whole cake lineup changes each season, and when I visited there were 5 kinds〰️ Whole cakes come in two sizes, No.1 and Mini‼️

• ✔️ No.1 is a regular size for 3-4 people
• ✔️ Mini is a small size for 1-2 people

When you're eating alone or want to buy without the burden of a full-size cake, the mini size is just perfect😖

The new Fig Pistachio cake also looked delicious, loaded with figs🥹

Every cake looked so good I had a hard time deciding, but since I love mango, I ended up buying the Real Mango cake in No.1 size!

📌 Whole cakes (No.1) Peach Berry: ₩53,000 Fig Pistachio: ₩58,000 Real Mango Rose: ₩56,000 Pistachio Forest: ₩56,000 52% Cacao Chocolate Whole Strawberry: ₩56,000 📌 Whole cakes (Mini) Peach Berry: ₩39,000 Real Mango Rose: ₩39,000 Fig Pistachio: ₩45,000 Pistachio Forest: ₩43,000 52% Cacao Chocolate Whole Strawberry: ₩41,000

Cake slices at Chef Cho, from ₩9,800

Besides whole cakes, they also sell a variety of slice cakes (including crepe cakes‼️). They're loaded with fruit like mango, strawberry, and fig, so the cross-section looks great and the slices are on the larger side🙆‍♀️

📌 Slice cakes Real Strawberry Cream: ₩9,800 Real Mango Cream: ₩9,800 Matcha Chocolate Strawberry: ₩11,000 Fig Pistachio: ₩12,000 Sebit Crepe: ₩12,000 Fig Crepe: ₩12,000

Carrying the cake home for 30 minutes with an ice pack

When I mentioned it was a 30-minute trip home, they added an ice pack and packed the cake carefully so it wouldn't collapse, and I got it home safely🙋‍♀️

Real Mango Rose No.1 (₩56,000): how the off-season mango tasted

You could tell from the look alone that they didn't hold back on the mango. It was also pretty heavy〰️

Sliced mangoes were arranged densely in a flower shape on top, and there was mango on the bottom too. In the center of the flower was a tangy mango jelly, which added a fresh kick to the sweet mango — quite a nice touch✨

Lighting the candles and then blowing them out made the cake look even prettier. Maybe the candlelight made the mango look even more delicious😖

The cross-section showed sponge, mango cream, and fresh mango — with plenty of fresh mango throughout, so you get mango in every bite until the very last one🙌

First off, the fresh mango was in top condition🙌 Super fresh with high sweetness. The mango wasn't too mushy and didn't have that distinct overripe mango smell. The sponge was moderately moist, and the ratio within the cake was just right, so the combination of cream and mango worked well.

The mango cream had a texture between dense and moist, and since it's dairy cream, it wasn't heavy — I kept wanting more. The cream wasn't very sweet, so the fresh mango's natural flavor came through more. A clean cream that supports the mango flavor without covering it up✨

Maybe because it's made with good ingredients and less sugar, I didn't feel heavy or bloated after eating it. These days it's a bit past mango season so not many places sell fresh mango cake, so I was so glad Chef Cho had it💛 The mango was as fresh as hotel mango bingsu (shaved ice) level. I'll take two Chef Cho mango cakes over hotel mango bingsu any day🙌

Verdict: who should buy a Chef Cho mango cake?

• A premium cake loaded with fresh fruit
• Cream isn't very sweet, with a good sponge-to-filling ratio
• Low-sugar cake, so it's easy for older family members to enjoy
• Many seasonal fruit cakes like fig and mango
• Mango was as fresh as hotel mango bingsu level

• 🤍 Anyone looking for a fresh fruit cream cake spot
• 🤍 Anyone looking for a mango cream cake made with 100% dairy cream
• 🤍 Anyone looking for a cake shop older family members would enjoy too
• 🤍 Anyone looking for a good cake shop in Shinsegae Gangnam's Sweet Park
• 🤍 Anyone near Express Bus Terminal or Gangnam looking for a whole cake to take home