Sinnonhyeon oden bar for a rainy date: shrimp fish balls, Odeng Osaek

What's the vibe at Odeng Osaek, a quiet oden bar near Gangnam Station?

If you want a quiet drink near Gangnam Station, Odeng Osaek Gangnam Station Branch (오뎅오색 강남역점) is a pretty good pick! ★★★★★ It isn't crowded and rowdy like Euljiro; it's just right for one drink after work!

I visited on a rainy day, and I think that's exactly why the atmosphere felt even better. I'll probably think of this place whenever I'm looking for an oden bar in Gangnam! haha

Odeng Osaek Gangnam Station Branch: hours, payment and what we ordered

Odeng Osaek is open from 16:00 to 02:00, with last order at 01:00. It's in Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu, near Gangnam Station, and takes cards as well as local currency (consumption support vouchers).

• Oden set (mild) ₩19,500
• Yakiudon (fried udon, yakisoba-style) ₩18,000
• Happy-hour draft beer ₩2,900 x2
• Happy-hour event: draft beer ₩2,900 from 4pm to 7pm

Complimentary side dish and the self-serve wasabi and oden soy sauce

Once we sat down, a tuna canapé came out first as the complimentary side dish.

Wasabi and oden soy sauce are set out self-serve, so you can dip to your own taste. Wasabi on oden is seriously delicious, and this place even has wasabi.. it totally hit the spot..★

₩2,900 happy-hour draft beer: what time should you go?

Happy hour at Odeng Osaek runs from 4pm to 7pm, when draft beer is ₩2,900. I went around 6pm on a weekday, right in the window, so I ordered two glasses of draft first to wet my whistle~~ Getting it for ₩2,900 is a total steal haha >,<

The downside: a broken built-in oden pot at our seat

The thing is, the oden pot built into the table at my seat was broken, so we had no choice but to put the oden pot on a gas burner and eat that way :( If you want to feel the real oden bar atmosphere, I recommend asking to be seated at a built-in table. That would make it feel much more like a proper oden bar, I think.. haha

What's in the ₩19,500 mild oden set?

The ₩19,500 mild oden set came with 2 kkobuli (curly fish cake), konjac, mul-tteok (rice cake wrapped in fish cake), a shrimp fish ball and dumpling fish cake, plus 2 handmade odens of your choice, for 6 skewers in total. I started with the konjac skewer, in order, haha. The chewy konjac texture was fun~

For the handmade odens I chose the perilla leaf oden and the chili pepper oden, and there were so many kinds that trying them one by one was definitely fun!!

Kkobuli fish cake

Kkobuli fish cake is the basic of basics; dab it in soy sauce and the beer just goes glug glug down -☆

Handmade chili pepper oden

Next, the chili pepper oden I picked as a handmade one!! You get a slight lift of chili flavor, and even though it's the mild set, the spiciness is subtle rather than strong, which makes a great kick!

The best bite: the shrimp fish ball

The shrimp fish ball skewer that comes with the oden set! This was my favorite.. it's high in shrimp meat so it was soft, and the fish ball filled with glass noodles was even better than I expected!! I want it again.. haha

Yakiudon (₩18,000): is it too salty?

The yakiudon (fried udon, yakisoba-style) at Odeng Osaek is ₩18,000, and the seasoning was less intense than I expected. We ordered it as our dinner too, haha. I needed some carbs for dinner, so it was a perfect pairing with the oden soup!!

The yakiudon was really good because you'd normally expect yakisoba packed with saltiness.. but this was moist, full of onion, and not overly strong in flavor, so it was surprisingly delicious..!!!!

Choco was thrilled to be on an oden bar date after so long. haha If you're after an izakaya or oden bar after work around Gangnam or Sinnonhyeon Station, draft beer and oden at Odeng Osaek is just the best..

Odeng Osaek's review event and whether I'd go back

At Odeng Osaek Gangnam Station Branch, if you leave a Naver receipt review you get 2 kkobuli, braised radish, or a fish-shaped glass. Next time I'll come and get the fish glass too.. haha

Definitely recommended as a place for a quiet drink near Gangnam Station!! Just know that some seats have a broken built-in oden pot, so when you visit, check beforehand that you're sitting at a built-in table >,< I'd go back, and it's just right for anyone who wants a quiet drink after work!!