Kuchen Brot [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Kuchen Brot
Address: 28 Yeonhuimat-ro, Yeonhui-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul
Website: n/a 
Style: Korean 
Price: $$ 

This was the inaugural bakery of my trip to South Korea and, strangely enough, very few equalled or exceeded this fantastic neighbourhood bakery just north of the Hongdae business "cluster". Kuchen Brot is what I would term a classic Korean bakery: grab a tray and make your way down the aisles of Westernized, but not entirely Western, sweet and savoury baked goods. A few French-inspired like the madeleines, others a bit more North American like the pies and chocolate cake and others after that are quintessentially Korean like the cream buns. Outwardly, they don't look that much different from other bakeries, but taking a bite was a very pleasant and wholly welcome surprise.

 The first item was a massive, generous cream bun (2,800 won) with a fantastic crusty exterior and plenty of rich, delicious cream on the inside. Maybe a bit too much, but a little extra cream was nothing to complain about. This was like ice cream.

Beyond this, there were the twist doughnuts (1,200 won). Yes, those twist doughnuts. Freshly fried, perfectly plum; impeccably crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. Coated in simple sugar. And incredibly good. This was the reason for the onslaught of twist doughnut trials that followed me on my trip throughout South Korea. One or two did reach the same level, but there is still something sentimental about that first really good bakery. Thanks for the memories, Kuchen Brot.

Rating: ****