Mugwort & salted caramel half-and-half castella cake, Gimpo: Jinsim

A review of Jinsim Castella in Gurae-dong that was so delicious I ended up paying for it myself, my sibling paid for their own, and even a friend paid for theirs.

Location and hours of Jinsim Castella Gimpo Gurae Main Branch

📍 Address: 525 Gimpohangang 4-ro, 1st floor, units 101–103, Gamduri Building, Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi-do ⏰ Hours: Daily 10:00–21:00 *may close early when sold out 🚗 Parking: brief stop in front of the store possible *15 minutes free per turnaround *30 minutes per session

It's on the street side of the building where Olive Young and Ginza Roko are (next to Bbaekboy Pizza).

It's a takeout-only shop so you can't eat there, but the waiting area is neatly set up.

Cozy shop, spacious kitchen — and the kitchen you can glimpse is gleaming. Sparkling clean. They must really care about hygiene.

You order from the kiosk at the store entrance.

Jinsim Castella menu and the 7 cream flavors

There are 4 types of bread total: original, chocolate, mocha, chocolate. Without cream it's 8,700 won, with cream it's 9,700 won, and half-and-half cream is also 9,700 won, so the price difference isn't big. And beyond just whether you get cream or not,

you can also choose the type of cream.

• Cream flavors: Original / Oreo / Lotus / Injeolmi / Salted Caramel / Apple Cinnamon / Earl Grey

You instantly understand how serious they are about castella, why it's called Jinsim ("sincere/genuine") Castella, and why Gimpo locals went wild when it opened. (Cream can also be bought on its own.)

There's also a drinks menu — coffee, non-coffee latte options, and fruit drinks. This castella pairs well with coffee, and also with milk or tea.

There's even a menu where you pick your bread and split the cream into two flavors for 9,700 won. That's what I went with, no question.

I ordered two castellas (should have ordered like five, ugh) and happily took them home. But seriously, the size is huge. You could easily call this a cake — it's 2–3 times the size of a regular slice cake.

Nice touch from the owner: take as many disposable utensils as you need. *Make sure to join the review event too.

I was so excited. My aunt makes castella from scratch, so my family has pretty picky-but-fond taste when it comes to castella. Oh, except my sibling who dislikes it. So I was thrilled to bring these people in for a taste test.

How does the half-and-half castella taste? Original + salted caramel

Half-and-half castella, 9,700 won. Basic bread + original cream + salted caramel.

Cutting to the chase — this is seriously incredible. Even if you don't usually like whipped cream cakes, I think you'd end up liking this one. I once had some kind of super-premium dairy cream made by a master chef, and this tastes similar. And the bread isn't limp and melts-in-your-mouth without substance — it has a dense chew to it, but not dry, still soft. And definitely add the salted caramel.

I meant to have just one bite but ended up eating half of it by myself. It went so well with pu-erh tea.

Mugwort castella wins over the sibling who dislikes castella

This is the mugwort bread. I was a bit skeptical, worried the distinctive mugwort aroma or bitterness would be too strong, but the sibling who dislikes castella took one bite and immediately asked where to buy it, saying they'd get one for their girlfriend. I actually preferred the mugwort over the original — the original can feel like too much if you eat it all at once, but the mugwort had a more balanced flavor.

This bowl is the one we use for pajeon (Korean pancakes) at home lol. That's how much there is. Bread-lovers, run there now.

Storage period and why it makes a great gift

No preservatives, refrigerated storage lasts 6 days, and frozen storage lasts up to a month. I think it would taste great warmed up too, or topped with fruit, or with extra cream bought separately and eaten like a cake. Jinsim Castella is a top recommendation — I plan to buy it again.

Castella is genuinely a great snack for health check-up diets, so I highly recommend it, and my parents really loved it. They're the type to reject bread if it's even slightly too rich, so I'd recommend this for parents' snacks too, and for group gifts to hospitals, daycare centers — I don't think there's anyone who wouldn't like it.