Hodo Kwaja

Get the red bean, it’s the original and the best! Their pancake is good too except sometimes the filling is sometimes too little or isn’t spread around equally. Still their stuff is good!

I come here often for Walnut cakes! 6 little delicious balls for $ 2! My fave are the potato and walnut, and potato and almond cakes. Walnut cakes with roasted green tea Korean style — you can’t go wrong! Total: less than $ 4! Great snack and totally different from timbits.
Run by a sweet Korean family!

This place stands the test of time. It was the first of it’s kind to set up shop in Toronto and still standing long after the others have closed. Whenever I am in the area I always drop by to pick up some Ho Deok and the walnut cakes. The brown sugar pancakes (ho deok) heat up really well in the toaster oven and make a great snack the next day!

Get the walnuts when you see people making them on the little conveyor line thIng. Get the pancakes all other times. Remember:
walnuts+conveyor= yes, always yes.
walnuts+no conveyor= get the pancakes.
if you are intoxicated= GET EVERYTHING. DO NOT DISCRIMINATE BASED ON CONVEYOR FUNCTIONALITY. YOU’RE WELCOME.

Mmm… come here for. some inexpensive dessert! Really like their brown sugar pancake that goes for $ 1.75 each. Goes really well with a hot cup of tea. Their red bean pancake ($ 2 each) is pretty good too. Cute walnut cakes! Seating in the back though most people takeout.

Delicious mini desserts that make me so happy. Everything is made fresh in store. The walnut cakes come in three different flavours (walnut-​potato, almond-​potato, and red bean) and you have the option of mixing flavours in any order but red bean is by far my favourite of the three. They also have these mouthwatering pancakes. So good when it’s served fresh off the grill. The brown sugar pancakes may sound overly sweet but it’s just the perfect amount of sweetness. The best part is that these desserts can be packaged to go and still taste amazing the following day (if you don’t eat it all before then!)

Shared shaved ice with fruits with a friend here recently. Compared to other shaved ice I’ve had elsewhere, the one here is just «A-​OK» as the rating says. The ice was actually kind of rough and had chunks of ice. Shaved ice should feel more like snow than crushed ice. Some pieces of fruits were still frozen and hard to chew on.
The walnut cakes were delicious, would eat again! Soft and warm and Mmm! Also enjoyed the sugar pancake.
I recommend this place for the pastries but now the shaved ice.

I adore this place. Hands down, the best place to get the walnut cakes and korean red bean pancakes. I think I’ll be going there more often once it gets cold.
I wasn’t there when the machines were running, but the walnut cakes were fantastic. They offer 3 flavours (red bean, walnut, almond) for their walnut cakes. They also have the red bean or brown sugar pancakes. I personally like to get the walnut cakes to go, and you can walk along the street while snacking on these goodies. I would eat the pancakes in the store, they taste fantastic when they are warm. I found that the brown sugar pancake to be too sweet for my liking, but if you have a sweet tooth then I would try it.

I love stopping by this place to get walnut cakes to take back home in Oakville. They’re still good after they’ve been lugged in my bag while I explored the city. I like all three flavours of walnut, almond, and red bean. This time, I got their famous brown sugar and peanut Korean pancake. Nice and warm taken from the grill.

I love this place to bits! I once came here when it was pouring rain (sans umbrella) and was soaked. That’s how good the walnut cakes are.
The friendly people who work here always greet me warmly and are very kind.
The red bean walnut cakes are my favourite out of the three fillings– I always pick up a box of 70 to share with family. Skip the madelines though!

I only had the Red Bean Walnut Cake here and I wish I could have more next time! Red bean is always my favourite ingredient for making desserts. And this one is both delicious whether you eat them as soon as it is cooked out of the stove or after getting it frozen.
And the restaurant is quite small but gives a comfortable atmosphere as some old ladies sitting there and shooting the breeze.
Next time I’ll try more food there!

Found this little place while walking through Koreatown and am I glad I did! The people are really nice and friendly! I got the red bean pancake (hodddeok) and it was made fresh and was so hot and yummy!
Will definately come back to try their famous little walnut pastry and the patbingsu!

Tasty and delicious I keep coming back for the walnut cakes. The staff are extremely friendly and I absolutely love the walnut cakes. I also tried the red bean sherbet which was okay but I am not usually a fan of shaved ice. Whenever I am in koreatown, I always have to make a stop at Hodo Kwaja before I leave.

Didn’t want to go home right away after a big meal, my friend and I decided to find a place for dessert that is closest to us. We found this place on Unilocal (thank you Unilocalers!)
The shop was so small! (1^st impression). I stepped in and I asked my friend if they really bake some cakes here because I didn’t smell any cakes (you know the smell of flour and butter and stuffs? — 2^nd impression). After being introduced to all the cakes they have, we decided to get walnut cakes. I was shocked when I looked at the price (3^rd impression). $ 2.25 for 6 hell yeah! So I got 2 of each (walnut with red bean, walnut with mashed potato, and almonds with mashed potato)
Service is fast, and the staff is very friendly. She introduced their products quickly and briefly. The owner is very funny. I overheard him talking to another customer. He kept saying that his business has been here for 15 years and they should trust their cakes. I was convinced by that along with the cheap price to buy their walnut cakes.
The walnut cakes were okay for me. I like them, just won’t be a fan of them. They were filled and not very sweet. But they were a bit cold. If they gave me warmer and fresher ones, I may like those cakes better.
Interesting desserts for a good, reasonable price tho!
We were too full to try anything else but I would love to come back here for their pancakes with both brown sugar and red bean filling. They look so pretty dang good!

One of the most delightful things about living near this strip of Bloor is this little gem right here. I’d never heard of nor tasted walnut cakes before! The staff were so amused by my amusement that they gave me samples to try and watched as my chew turned into a grin and I ordered a mix of six with my mouth full. This place is simply charming.

nothing amazing about this place.
very cheap, $ 2 for 6 little walnut cakes, tried the ones wiz red bean paste filling.
Just alright.

Where else can you find delicious freshly made walnut cakes at such a low price?
they have a handful of flavors to choose from, all of which are equally good.
ALSO, I find if you come here around when they are closing, the lady always gives you EXTRA walnut cakes and just stuffs the box full for you!!! ;) make sure you say thank you when that happens! hehe

We have been coming here for years 15 plus years.
Always a great treat.
Fresh and tasty walnut cakes.
The service is very friendly.
Make sure you buy enough if you don’t live in the area
Great with coffee

What a nice little hidden place this is.
Many do not know this but once upon a time, I used to really love sweets. Big on cheesecakes, pies, cakes, small pastries… although never about cookies. They are soulless, buttered treats that are meant to kill you. :-P
Anyway, I stopped eating sweets a few years ago, in fact I just recently had a chocolate bar after… Wow, almost 5 years. Damn you Halloween induced peer pressure!
I digress, this little spot in Korean town is fairly unique as nowhere else in town can you get these tasty little pastries filled delicious walnut, red bean or potato filling.
Personally I have tried them all and the red bean, is not my favourite as I rather prefer the other flavours, the walnut is my favourite and the potato is alright. When I go I mostly get the walnut filled ones.
They also sell Korean flat pancakes which is not anything like its savory Japanese cousin but if you do get it, eat them warm. Just like pastries, they really do shine when fresh and loose a little bit of their luster as they cool. I have noticed they make the snacks throughout the day and late afternoon, the pancakes seems like they make them constantly.
They do not have a lot of space so if you want to snack in, well, just be aware they are short on space, and tables and chairs. Personally I pick to go.
The owner is very friendly and during my first time there, I mentioned that I would be back and asked at what time they close, at which point she gave me her card and said: «We close at 10:00pm but if you are coming, just call in and I will keep the store open.» I am sure she meant within reason but that is insanely good customer service to have even offered. The type I have seen in other parts of the world but hardly ever here. You can feel that she enjoys what she does.
On that alone she has a new customer in me, not to mention they are great snacks.
Check them out.

Came here late afternoon. It was pretty filled but our orders of walnut cakes came immediately and they were still really warm. We tried all 3 flavours, and we were delighted that the store owner let us mix-​and-​match our 3 different flavours!
The mashed potato ones sound weird, but rest assured, they are still pretty good.
I’d go for just the original (red bean ones) next time though!
It is pretty hidden though, so make sure you keep an eye out for it.