Try Bingsoo and Tiramisu; Shilla Bakery on Route 40 Opens

How about a pile of shaved ice, mixed with fresh strawberries and four scoops of ice cream? You can get it at Shilla Bakery, a cafe chain that opened a new location Monday on Ellicott City's Route 40, just make sure to bring some friends to help you finish it.

But if ice cream and ice isn't your thing, feel free to walk around the large counters in the middle of the cafe, taste testing the bits of soboro, corn bread, pizza baguettes, red bean doughnuts, or soft walnut cookies.

You won't be alone, on Monday, the grand opening, the bakery was bustling with over 30 people trying breads, spooning out bingsoo and sucking on boba tea during the afternoon.

"Our opening is great, I didn't expect this many people," said manager Connie Yu, who advised people not familiar with Shilla to, "come in, take a look and taste everything."

The bakery combines Asian and European bread and pastry. Inside, it has a sleek look, with a large black and granite counter framed by its black and white-lettered menu. The glass display cases are filled with cakes of various flavors—fruit, mocha, chocolate, green tea, butter cream—small tarts, and European specialties like tiramisu. One wall is decorated with large red, black and gray paintings. One painting appears to be a Maryland waterfront and the other looks to be a Parisian cafe.

Yu said their popular items include the various flavors of bingsoo (red bean, green tea, tiramisu, oreo, coffee... etc.), chestnut bread and pizza baguettes.

Shilla offers your basic cafe drinks—coffees, mochas, lattes and espressos—as well as specialties like Korean coffee, quince tea, black milk tea and various flavors of boba tea.

Bakery items range between less than a dollar to $5 for loafs of bread, boba is $4.95, bingsoo is $6.50. Shilla's cakes range in price from about $20 for a small one to $45 for a large one.

The cafe will offer breakfast as well, with menu items like egg sandwiches, omelets, crepes, waffles, salads and panini. Yu said they hope to be serving their breakfast menu within two months.

This is Shilla’s sixth bakery, all of which are in Maryland and Northern Virginia. 

Address:

Ellicott City Shilla Bakery
8801 Balt. National Pike
Ellicott City, MD 21043
410-480-4856

Hours

Mon-Thurs 7:00 AM-11:00 PM
Fri-Sat 7:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Sun 8:00 AM - 11:00 PM