Tablet-order restaurant in Yeonnam-dong: chili-soy noodles at Ttasijia

When I heard Ttasijia had opened in Korea, I went straight away. Ttasijia is a restaurant known for great Singaporean shrimp noodles, and now it's landed in trendy Yeonnam-dong. I figured I'd get there before it blows up as a Yeonnam-dong favorite~

Where is Ttasijia Yeonnam, and what are the hours?

Ttasijia Yeonnam Location: 390-72 Yeonnam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul Hours: 11:30 – 22:00 Menu: shrimp gukbap, shrimp broth fried noodles, small black vinegar guobaorou, fresh apple juice

To get to Ttasijia Yeonnam, come out of exit 3 of Hongik University Station and walk straight along the Gyeongui Line Forest Path toward the food alley — there it is, with that orange-colored exterior, the shrimp noodle specialist. You could tell a lot of care went into both the storefront and the interior. The Singapore vibe starts the moment you walk in~

There was a sign saying it's the first official store in Korea, featured in the Michelin Guide four years running — now I was really curious~ I'd had shrimp noodles before and remembered loving them, so I dove right in haha

Right at the entrance you're greeted by the Merlion, Singapore's symbol with a lion's head and a fish's body~ Water was flowing out of it, giving off a cool feeling perfect for the hot summer, and the atmosphere was great.

The hours posted in the store say 11:00–21:30, but online it says 11:30–22:00. I'd recommend going with some time to spare~ It works fine for lunch or dinner, and apparently it's the kind of approachable menu that locals in Singapore eat often too~

Outdoor tables at Ttasijia Yeonnam were full — patio season in Yeonnam-dong

Ttasijia Yeonnam's indoor seating was full of customers so I couldn't get photos of everything, but the atmosphere was great throughout! The indoor vibe was nice, but with the weather these days the outdoor tables seemed really appealing too. There weren't many outdoor tables, but when we arrived they were all taken. These days the evenings are cool but not cold, so people seem to be eating outside a lot. Patio season is here!!!!!!

Ordering by tablet at Ttasijia Yeonnam: what do people get?

At Ttasijia Yeonnam, each table has its own tablet for ordering, and there's a clear set of signatures, so most customers seem to order pretty similarly. There's a wide range — shrimp broth fried noodles, shrimp gukbap, chili clams, black vinegar guobaorou, mala chicken, cereal shrimp, olive fried rice, shrimp roll fries, stir-fried water spinach, seasoned cucumbers — but we focused on the signatures.

We ordered shrimp gukbap, shrimp broth fried noodles, small black vinegar guobaorou, and fresh apple juice, and looking around at nearby tables, most people ordered the same, or swapped the fried noodles for shrimp noodle soup. Every single table had either a shrimp noodle dish or the black vinegar guobaorou.

After ordering, we killed a bit of time and the food came out quickly, all at once, which was nice. Shrimp tucked into every corner of the menu — pure happiness if you love shrimp~~ haha. The smell and the visuals were great the moment it arrived~~

What does the shrimp gukbap taste like?

Ttasijia Yeonnam's shrimp gukbap (rice soup) looks like Korean-style gukbap at first glance, but richer, and topped with shrimp — a distinctive twist. The rice comes already soaking in the broth, soaking up all that flavor, and it kept pulling me back for more. No overpowering spice notes at all — a dish you can eat without any hesitation.

The shrimp were plump and came halved, so all I had to do was grab the meat with chopsticks and peel off the shell — the flesh slid right out. Easy to eat, plump texture, savory and clean the more you chew — this is exactly why we eat shrimp~~ I worried the shrimp buried in the soup might be dry, but not at all — delicious through and through.

Eating the rice and broth together, the vegetables and meat mixed in gave good texture, and the broth had a soup-like body that delivered deep flavor with every bite. Totally different from Korean-style pork gukbap, but if you're a fan of gukbap in general, this shrimp version is impossible not to like! One bowl left me completely full.

Shrimp broth fried noodles dipped in chili-soy sauce

Ttasijia's second dish was the shrimp broth fried noodles, arriving topped with shrimp, and the portion was way more generous than I expected. The smell the moment it landed made me want to dig in right away!

It's tasty on its own, but a chili-soy sauce comes alongside, and staff told us to dip the noodles in it. From reading other blog reviews, some people dip, others just pour it in and mix — down to preference — but I liked dipping each bite with a bit of chili on the side. Without the sauce, the noodles had a clean, rich flavor a bit like sari gomtang (beef bone soup ramyeon); with the sauce, it leaned closer to soy sauce noodles, with the chili as the finishing kick. The noodles weren't thick, more on the thin side, well coated in seasoning, and had a soft bite that felt great in the mouth.

Black vinegar guobaorou (small): enough for two

Yeonnam-dong favorite Ttasijia's black vinegar guobaorou (sweet and sour pork) came out as two large pieces. You might think two pieces sounds skimpy, but each one was huge, so it wasn't small at all. Perfect side portion for two people who already ordered two main dishes.

Cut into bite-sized pieces, I popped them straight in — crispy outside, chewy inside, that classic top-tier guobaorou texture, with a sauce that had a noticeable but not overpowering black vinegar flavor, tangy with a hint of black vinegar aroma, which I personally loved. The kind of taste that makes you crave a beer?? The meat was tender with zero gamey smell — felt like a really good side order.

Don't skip the fresh-pressed apple juice

For a drink we ordered the fresh apple juice — you have to order this!! It wasn't like a sweet apple drink at all, but tasted like freshly juiced, clean Aori apples, and it paired really well with Ttasijia's dishes. After eating, it left my mouth feeling fresh and clean!!! Ttasijia seems like a solid pick as a Yeonnam-dong restaurant! If you want to taste Singapore in Korea, go check it out haha