I remember seeing I’m Donut in Harajuku and wanting to try it, but the lines were so legendary that I eventually gave up. So when I heard they’d opened a location in Korea, I just had to check it out.

A place like this

The line was insane at first, but by the time I got there, it was down to about a 30-40 minute wait.

Walking around the neighborhood after getting my number…

Haz Bakery seems to be pretty famous too. There were lines everywhere.

Etre Bake House

Looks like they have a long line for a salt bread pop-up…

Blue Elephant…

I heard the owner went in there, wonder if it’s any good…

I’m Donut

The vibe is that you have to pick your donuts quickly, and the layout makes it pretty difficult to take photos.

These donuts

There are so many varieties. I didn’t expect this many.

Donuts

Donuts

Interior

They seem to be working hard making them…

Donuts

They even have gamtae (seaweed) and other unique options. Since they’re fermented rather than just being sugary, they pair really well with various ingredients.

Cream donut

As it turns out… the cream donuts are incredibly difficult to carry because of their look. You can probably tell just by looking. Great for Instagram, but a pain to actually eat.

Various donuts

I didn’t realize they had meal-replacement donuts too.

Products

Products

Cream donut

In the end, the cream on top fell off while I was carrying it… Anyway, the cream tasted great. Actually, the donuts themselves are all delicious. However, it did leave me wondering: if a donut—which is supposed to be junk food—is this light, not too sweet, and healthy-tasting, can you even call it a donut? Well, looking at L’Atelier Tempo’s donuts too, I guess this is just the trend these days.

Also, while they aren’t super expensive, they are small, so your budget can disappear quickly if you buy a few different kinds.

Cotopaxi

Looks like they opened a Korean branch…

Ganadi pop-up store

Classic Seongsu…

Bonghwa Apple pop-up

There were so many different pop-ups.

Songhwa Shanxi Daoxiao Mian

I heard this place is famous, but I don’t really see myself going. And as for the place next door, Daerisa Rice Noodles… it’ll probably be similar to standard Vietnamese pho. Or maybe they’ll serve noodles with a lot of cilantro.

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