[Bakery Tour in Songdo, Incheon] Root Bakery and Cinqvaleur

If you are a bread lover, you will definitely want to try out the local bakery when you visit Korea. In this post, AREX will recommend two bakery shops located in Songdo, Incheon, which is Root Bakery and Cinqvaleur.

#1 Root Bakery 

Root Bakery is a small neighborhood bakery shop located at Songdo Canal Walk, and they are famous for chestnut bread.

The chestnut bread will release at 1 pm, but sometimes they serve it 10 or 20 mins earlier. As the bread gets sold out really fast, it might be all gone if you visit the bakery shop too late. Therefore, it is recommended that you arrive before 1 pm if you are planning to buy the chestnut bread. Starting 1pm, the shop starts to get crowded and you will see the customers queuing up to buy the bread.

Currently, you can only buy the bread for take-out at Root Bakery. Besides that, coffee is not available too.

During our visit, we bought the chestnut bread, croissant and olive stick.

One customer can only buy ONE chestnut bread, and it is first come first served basis. Although the chestnut bread is not very cheap (Price: KRW 5,500) but it is definitely worth the price.

Why is this bread worth the price?

The moment you cut the heavy bread, you will get the answer. There are plenty of big chestnut inside the bread, which is like a bread that your mum made it for you. The size is also different from the usual chestnut bread you can see in the market. The texture of the bread is chewy and soft (except the chestnut part).

The size of the croissant is also different from other bakery shops. It is as big as your fist, but it does not feel greasy as you eat it. The butter is moist and has a savory flavor.

Olive sticks is a pastry that are topped with olives and cheese. It is a good combination of crispy bread and the olives that are sour and salty.

If you are looking for a good bakery serving a variety of bread in Songdo, Incheon, we recommend Root Bakery to you!

[Information about Root Bakery]

 

1. Getting There: At AREX Gyeyang Station, Transfer to Incheon Subway Line 1  ▶  Get off at Central Parl Exit 3, Walk 16 mins 

 2. Address: 131 Art center-daero, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 

 3. Opening Hours: Tues - Sat 11:00 - 19:00 (Close when all sold out) / Closed on every Sundays and Mondays (Chestnut releases at 13:00)

 4. Contact Number: +82-32-832-4181

 5. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/root_bakery/

 6. Price: Chestnut bread KRW 5,500 /  Croissant KRW 3,200 / Olives Stick KRW 2,500

#2 Cinqvaleur

The next bakery shop that AREX is going to recommend to you is the Cinqvaleur bakery located in Songdo. Cinqvaleur is known to be serving healthy bread without preservatives.

Cinqvaleur is famous for salted bread and the release time for salted bread is at 12:00 and 15:00 (two times a day).

We visited Cinqvaleur at 2 pm on a weekday and unexpectedly it was still available. Salted bread is available at the price of  KRW1,800 for 1 pc, KRW 5,000 won for 3pcs, and  KRW 10,000 for 7 pcs. 

You can order delivery on Naver too : https://m.booking.naver.com/booking/6/bizes/401830

Due to the COVID-19 situation, you are not allowed to dine-in, so only take-out is available.

Besides salted bread, it is also famous for custard cream bread which has been discontinued since February due to increase price of egg. If the custard cream bread is available once again, they will make announcement on their Instagram account.

We bought the salted bread,1 pc of matcha roll and pollack roe baguette. The strong scent of French butter and salty taste of salt in the salted bread creates a good synergy. Although it looks normal, it makes you want to try it over and over again.

In order to enjoy the best taste of salted bread that is crispy on the outside and moist inside, it is recommended to eat it on the day you bought it.

Salted pollack roe baguette is good as a side dish for drinking session, and you can enjoy the Matcha roll with a cup of nice coffee. Cinqvaleur is the bakery shop where you can enjoy not just salted bread, but other kinds of bread as well. Most importantly, you can eat healthy and delicious bread here!

When you visit the bakery shops, please remember to wear a mask and follow COVID-19 preventive guidelines.

[Information about Cinqvaleur]

 

1. Getting There: At AREX Gyeyang Station, Transfer to Incheon Subway Line 1  ▶  Get off at Incheon University Exit 4, Walk 18 mins 

 2. Address: 14, Convensia-daero 130beon-gil, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 

 3. Opening Hours: 9:00 - 21:00 daily  (Salted bread releases at 12:00, 15:00)

 4. Contact Number: +82-32-831-2274

 5. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMvynL5J1vk/

 6. Price: Salted bread KRW 1,800 for 1, KRW 5,000 for 3, KRW 10,000 for 7 / Salted pollack roe baguette KRW 3,000 /  Matcha Roll KRW 2,000 for 1 pc

[Attraction in Yeongjongdo Island] Canola Field at Haneul Garden, Incheon Airport

 

Canola Field at Haneul Garden, Yeongjongdo Island 

If you are tired of routine life and looking for a place to have some healing time, we recommend you to visit Incheon Airport Haneul Garden located in Yeongjongdo Island, where you can feel the scent of spring flowers until early June.

How to get to Incheon Airport Haneul Garden:

AREX Incheon International Airport Cargo Terminal Station Exit 1

You can get to Haneul Garden in Yeongjongdo Island by taking the free shuttle bus heading passenger terminal from AREX Incheon International Airport Cargo Terminal Station. The bus stop for free shuttle bus is located outside Incheon International Airport Cargo Terminal Station Exit 2, so you may take the escalator at Exit 1.

Temporary bus stop for Haneul Garden

Haneul Garden bus stop is a temporary bus stop, so there will be no announcement. You should tell the driver when you get on the bus. The bus stop to take the bus back to Incheon International Airport Cargo Terminal Station is on the other side of the bus stop.

Haneul Garden near Incheon Airport

Haneul Garden has a canola field with the size of 36,000㎡. There are five sections: Haneul Square, Haneul Walk, Observatory, Flower Hill and Windy Hill.

You will meet the large canola field after crossing the Haneul Garden Stone Bridge located on the right of the Haneul Garden signboard.

The Incheon Airport Haneul Garden is favorite place of many people for enjoying canola flowers and watching the aircraft taking off and landing at a short distance. You may visit this place from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m, and it is free admission.

In the past, there were many swings, benches and hut at the canola field for people to relax while enjoying the canola flowers, but it is unavailable this year in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

If you want to see the taking off and landing of aircraft, cross the bridge and go to the Windy Hill.

There is plane that pass by every few minutes, so it is not difficult to take a picture with it as the background. Do include Incheon Airport Haneul Garden in your must-visit list when you come to Korea next time and get some healing time while enjoying the canola flowers that make you feel like you're in Jeju Island!

Please remember to always wear a mask and follow the COVID-19 preventive guidelines such as maintaining social distancing, obeying cough etiquette, washing hands often, etc. Stay safe, everyone!

[Information about Haneul Garden]

 1. Getting There: Get off at AREX Incheon International Airport Cargo Terminal Station Exit 2, Take the Airport Shuttle Bus to Passenger Terminal ▶ Get off at Haneul Garden

 2. Address:  2848-6 Unseo-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon

[Yeongjongdo in Incheon] Enjoy Beautiful Scenery at Baegunsan Mountain

Baegunsan Mountain in Yeongjongdo Island, Incheon, stands 255.5m above sea level and is not too steep, so anyone can easily walk up the mountain. Although it is not high compared to the other mountains, you can enjoy amazing panoramic views when you reach the mountain peak.

In this post, we will introduce Baegunsan Mountain that offers easy hiking for you to get to the peak to enjoy beautiful scenery of Korea.

How to get to Baegunsan Mountain?

There are 5 entrance to climb up the Baegunsan Mountain. If you take the Airport Railroad train, you will be able to get the Haneul High School course from AREX Unseo Station and Yonggungsa Temple course from Yeongjong Station. Today, we will introduce to you about Yonggungsa Temple course.

Firstly, get off at AREX Yeongjong Station Exit 2, and walk about 200m towards the opposite direction of the exit, until you arrive Jayeon-daero. Cross the road and then turn left and keep walking.

After walking about 1.8km, you will come to Unnamgyo road. When you see the licensed real estate agent building (with yellow sign board like the one in the pic above), stay on the right and keep walking.

If you keep walking for about 600 m, you will see a sign board showing Yonggungsa Temple. You can walk from Yeongjong Station to Yonggungsa Temple. Besides, you can also get there by taking a bus. 

At Yeongjong Station Exit 1, take Bus Jung-gu #3 or Bus Incheon e-eum #15 and get off at Yonggungsa Temple bus stop.

Trekking at Baegunsan Mountain

Follow the signboard and walk towards the hill on right side for about 600m. You will soon arrive at the Yonggungsa Temple. The temple was under construction when we visited in early April this year.

Baekunsan Mountain hiking trail is located on the left side of Yonggungsa Temple. The Baegunsan Mountain trekking begins here.

Not long after the start of the trekking trail, you will see a pavilion. You can follow the sign board indicating "Baegunsan Mountain (top)" which can be found opposite the pavilion. It is approx. 1.6 km to reach the peak.

The trekking trail is easy to walk and well maintained, allowing you to enjoy the hiking. Sometimes, you will also see many Koreans doing exercise at the exercise equipment in the middle of the hiking trail.

The sight of bloomed Spring flowers can be found along the trekking trail in Spring. As you are climbing up the mountain, just take a short break along the way to enjoy these colorful flowers that give a little pleasure.

How far have we gone? Finally, there is an open view and blue sea can be spotted under the blue sky. It is the Baegunsan Mountain Heliport. We have yet to see any higher ground than the heliport. But this is not the peak of Baegunsan Mountain yet.

The peak of Baegunsan Mountain is about 100 m from the heliport. It takes about 40 minutes from Yonggungsa Temple to the top of Baegunsan Mountain. As long as you wear a comfortable clothes and sneakers, most people can climb to the peak without much problem. A smoke signal and observation deck can be found next to the sign board of Baegunsan Mountain peak.

A fire signal at the peak of Baegunsan Mountain was installed to strengthen the closed-door policy of Heungseon Daewongun. They were not built during the Joseon Dynasty, but were reproduced based on historical facts.

Baegunsan Mountain Observatory is the highlight of this hiking trip. From here, you can enjoy a wide and spectacular scenery from Baegunsan Mountain.

From the mountain top, you can see not only Yeongjongdo Island, but also Incheon International Airport, Incheon Bridge, Muiido Island, even Wolmido Island across the sea, and Sin, Si, Modo Island , and also Jangbong Island. After sunset, you will see the colorful night view of Incheon Airport runway, Incheon Bridge and Songdo New Town. If you want to enjoy the nice weather and beautiful scenery of Yeongjongdo Island, let's go for a hiking trip to Baegunsan Mountain.

Please wear a mask even at outdoors and follow COVID-19 preventive guidelines such as keeping social distancing, washing hands frequently, obeying cough etiquettes, etc.

[Information about Baegunsan Mountain]

 1. Getting There : At AREX Yeongjong Station, Get off at Exit 1, Take Bus Jung-gu #3 or Bus Incheon e-eum #15  ▶ Get off at Yonggungsa Temple bus stop, walk 10 mins

 2. Address : Unnam-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon