Sinyongsan snack bar, 2pm wait for egg-crumb tteokbokki: Hyeonseonine

Whenever I crave tteokbokki (chewy rice cakes in spicy sauce), this place always makes the shortlist, and I'd saved it forever without going. Finally, I made it to Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch (현선이네 용산본점)! Look at that pile of egg crumbs on top, doesn't just the photo make your mouth water? (slurp) It's a famous Yongsan tteokbokki spot, so I really wanted to try it at least once.

How to get to Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch from Sinyongsan Station

Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch is about a 4-minute walk from Sinyongsan Station Exit 5, in an alley right near Yongridan-gil.

The red awning with the "Hyeonseonine" sign is easy to spot, so it wasn't hard to find. It's easy to slot into a Yongridan-gil food crawl, which I liked even more. But wow, we went at 2pm, a really awkward time, and there were still 4–5 groups waiting..? Catchtable is available, so if you want to reserve ahead, do it before you come!

How do waiting and ordering work at Hyeonseonine?

At Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch you get a number through Catchtable and go in when it's called, and there are waiting benches by the door (both inside and outside). It said 20 minutes per group, but tables open up surprisingly fast :)

Inside it's roomier and cleaner than I expected. The tables are spaced out, so it's comfortable to eat. When you sign up on Catchtable, you have to choose between instant (cook-at-table) tteokbokki and regular, because the tables are different! Once inside, you order at the kiosk by the door :)

Hyeonseonine menu prices and heat levels

At Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch, set menus run from ₩13,000 to ₩32,000, and instant tteokbokki is ₩11,000 per person (minimum 2 people). See the menu in the big photo below :)

• Hyeonseon Beer Set ₩32,000 (tteokbokki, sundae, fried snacks, mini gimbap, 2 draft beers)
• Hyeonseon Combo Set ₩26,000 (tteokbokki, sundae, fried snacks, mini gimbap, fish cake)
• Hyeonseon Set ₩23,000 (tteokbokki, sundae, fried snacks, mini gimbap)
• Sunny Set ₩18,000 (tteokbokki, sundae, fried snacks)
• Baby Set ₩13,000 (half-and-half portions)
• Single items: tteokbokki ₩6,000, handmade sundae ₩6,500, assorted fried snacks ₩6,000
• Instant tteokbokki ₩11,000 per person (minimum 2 people)

Heat comes in mild, medium and spicy. Spicy is Hyeonseonine's signature and is said to be really hot (the place is famous for spicy tteokbokki to begin with), so beware if you can't handle heat! Medium is said to be a little spicier than Shin Ramyun.

What's at the Hyeonseonine self-service bar?

At the self-bar at Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch, you can help yourself to pickled radish, fried rice and sauces. This self-bar is honestly a stroke of genius. The fried rice has egg mixed in and is nutty and savory, and rubbing it through the leftover tteokbokki sauce is the ultimate way to finish. Small plates, soy sauce and salt are all there too, so just take what you need.

How was the ₩26,000 Hyeonseon Combo Set?

I ordered the Hyeonseon Combo Set (₩26,000)! Tteokbokki, sundae (Korean blood sausage), fried snacks, mini gimbap (seaweed rice roll) and fish cake, all of it comes out generously with just one combo set. It arrives as a neat spread, and even though it isn't the instant kind, turnover is so quick that everything was warm, as if cooked to order!

How spicy is Hyeonseonine's medium tteokbokki?

I tried the main, the tteokbokki, first. The chewy wheat rice cakes had soaked up the thick, saucy broth, and from the first bite the old-school snack bar vibe hit me. I ordered medium, and it was only slightly spicier than a spicy ramyeon, which was just right.

Fried snacks, fish cake, mini gimbap and handmade sundae

The fried snacks in the combo were freshly fried and crispy. The fish cake comes in hot broth, which is perfect for sipping between bites of spicy tteokbokki. The mini gimbap is bite-sized, so you keep reaching for it, and the handmade sundae is chewy and clean, with no gamey smell. Piling egg crumbs on the tteokbokki softens the heat and gets addictive.

Dunking the fried snacks in the tteokbokki sauce is the truth. When the sweet-spicy sauce soaks into the crispy batter, this combo never fails. The mini gimbap cross-section was packed full, and the sundae is stuffed too, getting nuttier the more you chew.

Hyeonseonine review event and opening hours

I hear Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch gives a slush or a tteokbokki size-up gift if you leave a Naver Place review, so be sure to grab it when you visit!! Personally, the number one star is still the t-t-eok-bok-ki. A little spicy yet full of savory depth, not too salty, just right in heat! I drank up the broth too, every last drop!

• Hours: daily 11:00–24:00 (last order 22:40)
• Monday break: 14:30–16:00
• Address: 2-13 Hangang-daero 39-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea