Abalone hot pot rice dinner in Apgujeong, Seoul: THE GIWA

From seafood cheese tteokbokki loaded with plump shrimp and scallops, to abalone hot pot rice with great rice flavor, to a scorched rice finish — a satisfying meal all around.

What we ate at THE GIWA Apgujeong, a Korean restaurant near Apgujeong Rodeo

I went to THE GIWA Apgujeong Main Branch for dinner with a friend. It's a place where you can enjoy Korean dishes alongside hot pot rice, and I found it while looking for good Korean food near Apgujeong Rodeo.

My friend picked the abalone hot pot rice and I ordered the seafood cheese tteokbokki. While eating the tteokbokki, I wanted some rice too, but there was no rice ball option on the menu, so we decided to share the hot pot rice my friend ordered.

THE GIWA Apgujeong Main Branch: address, hours and parking

• Address: 15 Seolleung-ro 155-gil, 1F, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: Sun–Thu 11:30–23:00 / Fri–Sat 11:30–02:00
• Parking: Paid parking and valet available
• Reservations available

What THE GIWA Apgujeong looks like inside and out

First off, the exterior was decorated with roof tiles and earthenware jars, so it stood out even from a distance.

Inside, the lighting was dim and warm, and the tables weren't cramped together. There's also a private room on one side.

Paintings hung on the walls, blending a traditional feel with a modern atmosphere naturally.

What we ordered at THE GIWA Apgujeong and what it cost

• Seafood cheese tteokbokki: ₩22,000
• Abalone hot pot rice: ₩18,000
• Plain hot pot rice: ₩5,000
• Two sodas: ₩3,500 each
• Total: ₩52,000

My friend and I each ordered a soda too.

Abalone hot pot rice, 18,000 won: how was the rice?

My friend's abalone hot pot rice came with kimchi, pickles, quail eggs, and meat patties as side dishes, plus a clear soup with bean sprouts.

When I first opened the lid of the abalone hot pot rice, there were generous slices of abalone on top, garnished with chopped green onion and sesame seeds.

After scooping the rice into a bowl, my friend gave me a bite while it was still warm — the grains were glossy with just the right amount of stickiness. The abalone had a nice chewy texture that paired well with the rice.

Adding a plain hot pot rice for 5,000 won

I originally wanted a rice ball, but since it wasn't on the menu, I planned to just eat the tteokbokki. But since I usually like hot pot rice too, seeing it on the menu made me want rice as well, so I ordered a plain hot pot rice at the same time as my friend.

I paired the hot pot rice with a meat patty and pickled perilla leaves — it was savory and delicious even without side dishes. If you're looking for hot pot rice in Apgujeong, both the abalone version and the plain version are solid choices.

Seafood cheese tteokbokki, 22,000 won: plump shrimp and shell-on scallops

The seafood cheese tteokbokki came out generously in a large stone pot.

Cheese and chopped green onion were piled high on top of the red tteokbokki, with scallops and shrimp clearly visible among the seafood.

I especially liked that the shrimp weren't small — the meat was plump.

The scallops came shell-on, so it was fun picking through them one by one, and there were plenty of familiar tteokbokki ingredients too, like rice cakes, fish cakes, and quail eggs.

The broth had a rich seafood umami to it — it felt more like the seafood was the star, giving it a different feel from a typical tteokbokki.

When I lifted the cheese with my chopsticks, it stretched out long and mixed nicely with the rice cakes and fish cakes.

With so much cheese, the spiciness was mellowed out overall, and eating it with the seafood added a nutty richness. The seafood cheese tteokbokki alone was quite a filling portion.

Pairing bites of hot pot rice in between the tteokbokki worked really well. After the spicy, rich tteokbokki, a bite of savory rice tied the two dishes together naturally.

Finishing with sungnyung (scorched rice tea)

After scooping out the hot pot rice, we'd already poured water in earlier, so we finished with sungnyung (scorched rice tea). The warm, nutty broth softened the remaining rice grains stuck to the pot, making for a hearty finish.

If you're looking for a place in Apgujeong Rodeo where you can enjoy rice and cooked dishes together, THE GIWA Apgujeong Main Branch is worth a visit. The abalone hot pot rice had great rice flavor, and the seafood cheese tteokbokki was filling thanks to the plump shrimp and scallops and the generous amount of cheese.