Bakery:
Pourtoi
Address:
201 Donggyo-ro, Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Website:
n/a
Style:
Korean
Price:
$$
I will admit that given this bakery's less stellar online reviews, especially in comparison to other independent bakeries in Hongdae, made it not a priority on my must-visit list; however, I walked past it purely by chance and thought I might as well just step inside.
Unlike the many quaint or chic bakeries in the area, Pourtoi is nothing fancy; it's a classic Korean bakery that, though it may perhaps resemble bakery franchise giants Paris Baguette and Tous les Jours with its no-nonsense decor and utilitarian shelves of plastic-bagged baked goods, has quite the large, fully-loaded selection of Korean Western-style sweet buns with a few French-inspired surprises here and there. One unusual thing about Pourtoi is that only maybe 25-30% of their baked goods - both sweet and savoury - are labelled. That means no names, descriptions or prices. Which was frustrating, especially since Korean bakeries are normally great with this.
Not wanting to end up with something too extravagant, I took this monster of a cream bun (2,500 won). It was a classic Korean cream bun and I had yet to try one on my trip, so here was my chance. A simple, soft hot dog-shaped bun with some crumble topping and a bit too much powdered sugar cut in half and generously stuffed with choux cream. Maybe there was too much of it at times, but it was delicious: creamy and fluffy, with the soft texture and crumble topping of the bun acting as a perfect complement. Sure, the service was a bit... no-nonsense as well, but Pourtoi proved to be a pleasant surprise. It may have the same vibes as Tous les Jours, but Tous les Jours it certainly is not.
Rating: ***
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