Myeongdong Croissant Taiyaki: ₩5,000 Fish Bread with 4 Fillings (Prices & Payment)
Croissant taiyaki at the Myeongdong street stalls costs ₩5,000 per piece. There are four fillings — red bean, cream cheese, nutella, and custard — and every one is the same price. You can pay with cash, a NAMANE card, Alipay, and other methods, and since the vendors bake in advance, each piece comes bagged individually and ready to eat while you walk.
What exactly is Myeongdong croissant taiyaki?
Taiyaki (bungeoppang in Korean) is batter poured into a fish-shaped iron mold and baked around a filling, like a small stuffed pastry. It's a snack Koreans grew up with, sold from carts on the street. For visitors to Myeongdong, it's one of those things worth trying once while you're here.
This particular cart does something different, and the name gives it away: croissant taiyaki. The sign on the cart explains it in Korean — the vendor calls it a completely new kind of premium croissant taiyaki, made with proper croissant dough instead of the thin batter normally used.
The sign goes on to describe the result: crisp outside, moist inside, with the buttery richness of a croissant and 128 living layers. That dough swap is the whole pitch of this stall.
So how many flavors are there, and does the price change depending on which one you pick? That's the part people get confused about most.
How much does Myeongdong croissant taiyaki cost?
Croissant taiyaki costs ₩5,000 for one piece. There are four fillings, and whichever one you choose, the price stays the same.
| Filling | Korean | Price (1 pc) |
|---|---|---|
| Red bean | 팥 | ₩5,000 |
| Cream cheese | 치즈 | ₩5,000 |
| Nutella | 초코(누텔라) | ₩5,000 |
| Custard | 카스타드 | ₩5,000 |
The overhead sign carries the English name CROISSANT TAIYAKI along with the ₩5,000 price in large letters. It hangs above eye level, so look up before you order and you'll have the price confirmed before anyone says a word.
The flavor list sits lower down, on the front panel of the cart. Red bean, cream cheese, nutella, and custard are printed in English right next to the Korean, which means you can order by pointing even if you don't speak a word of Korean.
The display rack has small tags too, one for each filling. Red bean is on a red tag, choco on black, custard on yellow — so you can tell at a glance which row is which before you commit.
How long do you have to wait for taiyaki?
Almost no waiting. The fish-shaped mold bakes five pieces at a time and each batch takes around three minutes, so the vendors bake ahead and keep the finished pieces on the rack.
You can eat it the moment you buy it. Each piece goes into its own separate bag, so it's easy to hold in one hand and eat as you go. That's really the format this snack is built for — walking and eating your way down the street.
While I was there, the work was split between two people: one kept baking, the other handled customers. The one at the mold was scraping leftover crumbs out of the iron with a skewer between batches. It read as a stall that takes cleanliness seriously.
How do you pay at a Myeongdong street stall?
You don't need to have cash ready. This stall accepts cash, NAMANE cards, Alipay, and several other payment methods.
Next to the cart hangs an official price board provided by Jung-gu District Office. The croissant taiyaki price of ₩5,000 is written on it by hand, along with a note that credit cards are accepted — printed in Korean, English, Japanese, and Chinese.
Below that is a NAMANE and Alipay QR code panel. The instructions say to scan the QR code and enter the amount to pay, and that notice appears in the same four languages.
The price board also carries a line offering to take your trash. It means you can hand the empty bag back to the stall instead of carrying it around Myeongdong looking for a bin.
What is the croissant taiyaki actually like?
I like custard, so I handed over ₩5,000 in cash and bought one. The soft, sweet custard lingered in my mouth, and it made for a good few minutes of snacking.
The vendor took the cash, passed over the taiyaki, and said "masitge deuseyo" — enjoy your meal — with a broad smile, in Korean. It's a small exchange, but it tells you a lot about what buying something from a Myeongdong street stall feels like.
Ahead of me was a tourist who looked to be from Southeast Asia, calling over to a friend standing a little way off to ask how many they should get. Two people negotiating over fish-shaped pastries on a busy street — that's an ordinary afternoon in Myeongdong.
Frequently asked questions
How much is croissant taiyaki in Myeongdong?
₩5,000 per piece. All four fillings — red bean, cream cheese, nutella, and custard — cost the same, so there's no surcharge whichever you pick. The price appears in two places: the overhead sign and the price board hanging beside the cart.
How many flavors are there?
Four: red bean, cream cheese, nutella, and custard. The stall's menu panel lists them in English alongside the Korean, and the display rack has a tag for each filling, so you can order by pointing if you'd rather not speak.
Can you pay by card at the Myeongdong taiyaki stall?
Yes. Along with cash, the stall takes NAMANE cards and Alipay among other methods. The price board states that credit cards are accepted in four languages, and a QR panel explains the scan-then-enter-the-amount process in those same languages.
Is there a long wait for taiyaki?
Usually you get it right away. The mold bakes five at a time and each batch takes around three minutes, so the vendors bake in advance and keep pieces on the display rack. Order, and it goes into a bag and into your hand.
How is croissant taiyaki different from regular taiyaki?
The dough. According to the stall's own sign, it uses croissant dough rather than the thin batter normally used, giving a crisp outside, a moist inside, and 128 layers. That description comes from the vendor's sign, not from an outside review.
Where should you eat next in Myeongdong?
Once you've got a taiyaki in your hand, the next cart tends to catch your eye. The Myeongdong street stalls run one after another, and prices and payment methods aren't posted the same way at every one.
If you haven't decided what to try first, have a look through the StreetFood category for other stalls. Each one is a record of prices and payment methods I checked myself on the way to work.
