Bake and Chill: Sold-Out Bakery Near Jeonju Hanok Village
After unpacking at our accommodation, I took a quick walk around the Hanok Village. The buildings had traditional hanok tiled roofs, making it feel like a completely different world. However, mismatched neon signs kept appearing alongside weird menu combinations. Also, I thought a tourist area of this size would have plenty of places to rest, but surprisingly, there was nowhere to sit down in the cool air for a light snack. Plus, it was the sweltering heat of summer, so even a short walk made me crave Pocari Sweat (a popular sports drink). I walked through the unforgiving weather.
Realizing it would be hard to get a proper rest inside the Hanok Village, I searched for a spot and found a bakery just a short walk away. I just wanted a quick break, but this place ended up becoming my second all-time favorite bakery—where almost everything sells out after lunch—since Maybell Bakery (in Seoul).
Seeing the empty display cases, I hurriedly ordered whatever bread was left. Since the tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patties) I had for lunch was already digested, I ordered the remaining Earl Grey croissant, focaccia, a few cookies, and plenty of ade. That's how killer the weather was today. After making a "give me all of this" order—feeling like a flashy nouveau riche tourist—I went up to the second floor and found a space with a completely different vibe from the Hanok Village. The shops inside the village felt quite tacky, forcing a mix of traditional and modern, but the interior here was cohesive and unified, much like a cafe in Seoul. I let out a sigh of relief and instantly felt relaxed. Finding comfort in the most European-style cafe right in the middle of traditional Jeonju... I guess I can't hide the fact that I'm a city boy from Seoul.
The food was ready. I took a refreshing sip of the ade and quickly took a bite of the croissant, wondering just how good it had to be to sell out so fast. Wow... It was definitely on another level compared to the mediocre pastries sold at typical cafes. The outside was sweet and crispy, while the inside was incredibly soft to chew. There were no off-flavors or weird textures; the more I chewed, the more premium it tasted. Being a neighborhood bakery in the provinces, I assumed they just eyeballed the recipes, but it was better than most bakeries in Seoul or Namyangju. Just based on the croissant alone, I wondered why they opened a shop in Jeonju instead of moving up to Seoul. My travel mate, my friend's 4-year-old daughter, must have liked it too—she had left her tteokgalbi saying she was full, but she polished off a whole croissant by herself. (And her dad was clapping like a seal, making a huge fuss over it...)
The focaccia felt exactly like eating a small pizza. The owner kept going in and out of the area next to the pastry display, and they were actually baking the bread right there. These days, most cafes in Seoul buy their pastries from outside and just warm them up, so things like focaccia sometimes feel undercooked or like chewing on rocks. But because this was freshly made, the bread was so soft I couldn't stop eating it. The only other times I've been this impressed by bread recently were at Maybell Bakery in Hannam-dong and another bakery in Yangjae. This was a slightly different style, but it had been a long time since I clapped like a seal while eating.
It was so good that I looked it up, and it turns out the husband and wife are both bakers who make everything in-house. I usually don't trust Naver ratings because there's so much manipulation, but this time it guided me to a real gem. When I went down to the first floor to pay, the remaining sandwich bread and kkwabaegi (twisted donuts) were completely sold out too. Even so, people kept coming in and leaving disappointed that there was no bread left. It must be a really famous bakery in this neighborhood.
After eating, I thought, "I definitely need to write a dedicated post about this place," but I forgot to take a picture of the menu. Roughly, an Americano is 3,000 KRW, and most of the pastries are between 3,000 and 5,000 KRW. Maybe because it's Jeonju, it's definitely cheaper than Seoul. In Seoul, even a warmed-up Costco pastry costs over 5,000 KRW, and drinking an Americano with a view of a lake or mountain will set you back nearly 10,000 KRW. Here, you can get a coffee and two pastries for just 10,000 KRW. The prices inside the Hanok Village felt exactly the same as Seoul, but just walking about 200 meters out, the prices dropped significantly.
People say all the best restaurants are in Seoul because successful places in the provinces eventually move up there, but I don't think that's necessarily true. Jeonju is definitely on another level when it comes to food. Even their bakeries are different. If you go to Jeonju Hanok Village, I highly recommend taking a mid-trip break for some pastry time at Bake and Chill.