Tteokbokki for two, fried pepper snack: Bubuduri Tteokbokki, Cheongju

I don't usually like tteokbokki, but I heard there was a really good tteokbokki place in Cheongju?! So I went straight there. Bubuduri Tteokbokki, located in Bongmyeong-dong!

Cheongju's Bongmyeong-dong food alley — what about parking?

It's located in the Bongmyeong-dong food alley area, and there's no separate parking lot, so I parked on the roadside nearby and went in!

A cute-looking tteokbokki shop. The bright red sign really catches your eye.

The menu board and ordering counter! There's a kiosk next to it too. The fried snacks looked so golden and delicious, haha.

A spacious dining hall with table kiosks

Going further into the store, there's a seating area for dining — I was surprised at how many tables there were and how spacious the hall felt!

I was curious about the new gome tteokbokki, but I couldn't try it since my dining partner probably wouldn't like it. Sigh, such a picky one. There was also a lunch special menu — a main dish with tteokbokki plus rice seems like a solid, filling meal!

There's a kiosk at every table, so ordering is convenient.

Types of tteokbokki and draft beer

There are many kinds of tteokbokki! The new gome tteokbokki, duri tteokbokki, bubu tteokbokki, mala tteokbokki, rose tteokbokki, mala rose tteokbokki. With so many options, friends with different tastes can come without fighting over what to order.

Besides tteokbokki, there are fried snacks, sundae (blood sausage), odeng (fish cake), noodles and rice dishes to go along with it, so you can enjoy a full, hearty spread! The best part is you can enjoy cold draft beer with it too, but unfortunately I drove, so I had to skip the beer.

The self bar has pickled radish, small plates and fish cake broth. Feel free to help yourself!

One serving of duri tteokbokki + spicy odeng + fried snacks, all together

After about a 10-minute wait, our order arrived — ta-da! ⭐

• 1 serving duri tteokbokki
• 1 serving spicy odeng
• basic fried snacks + fried pepper snack
• and we ordered a cola too

I'm not really into snack food, but honestly, the visual was mouthwatering — I'm not even kidding.

Do you remember that tteokbokki from the snack shops in front of school way back when? So nostalgic... this had exactly that kind of feel.

The fried snacks smelled amazingly savory and golden brown — they fry it again right after you order, so it looks super crispy.

The spicy odeng my friend really wanted to order!

Just looking at that deep golden color of the fried snacks, you can tell they use fresh, clean oil. Not too hard, not soggy — just the right amount of crunch, and really tasty.

The fried pepper snack you can't pick up with chopsticks

Since it was just the two of us, I worried the portions might be small, so I ordered the fried pepper snack too — but honestly, you can't even lift it with chopsticks. It's huge and heavy, whoa.

You know it's supposed to be dunked in the sauce like this to taste its best, right. I came at an in-between time thinking of it as a snack, and we only ordered one serving of tteokbokki between the two of us — but the portion was seriously huge.

How did it taste — that nostalgic sauce

The tteokbokki has a sweet and spicy flavor, and the rice cakes are perfectly chewy — enough to instantly convert even a tteokbokki hater. It's exactly that nostalgic flavor from the past, and I devoured it without thinking.

The spicy odeng was nice and spicy too, and really tender.

There was a reason the fried pepper snack was so heavy. It's absolutely packed inside with meat and vegetables. I cut it right open without mercy and dunked it in the sauce.

Ah, so this is why tteokbokki places sell beer;;;;

Eating the spicy-sweet tteokbokki and fried snacks, I realized — this flavor practically begs for beer... Seems like a great spot for a casual second round after eating and drinking somewhere else.

So much food we had to pack the rest to go

The portion was really so huge we couldn't finish it all and ended up packing leftovers to go. Apparently the tteokbokki takeout container is made from a material free of hormone-disrupting chemicals, so it's safe to microwave right away, haha.

Honestly, that tteokbokki and sweet potato fried snack... I keep thinking about them... I might just end up loving snack food after all. Whether it's a light snack, a hearty lunch, or a second round after drinks, I recommend this Bongmyeong-dong favorite, Bubuduri Tteokbokki! I would definitely go back!